The FIFA Weekly Issue #32 by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

ISSUE 32, 30 MAY 2014

ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

SAO PAULO HOW FOOTBALL CAME TO BRAZIL BLATTER 64TH FIFA CONGRESS IS A GAME-CHANGER KLOSE TWO MORE GOALS FOR THE OUTRIGHT RECORD Build-up to the festival of football

BRAZIL W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY

CONTENTS

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S epp Blatter The FIFA President considers the 64th FIFA Congress: “It unites all 209 member associations and forms football’s democratic basis,” he says. “It is a ground-breaking event, even though neither hosting rights nor elections are on the agenda.”

J ust a ten-minute job Leroy Rosenior holds an extraordinary record: he was fired after just ten minutes as Torquay United coach. The English former player considers the turning point in his life.

North and Central America 35 members www.concacaf.com

Thirteen days to go The World Cup is looming on the horizon. The 20th edition of the world’s greatest sporting event gets underway on 12 June when hosts Brazil face Croatia. We look back over the glorious history of Brazilian football and examine why a sixth world crown matters so much to the nation.

South America 10 members www.conmebol.com

Ecuador National coach Reinaldo Rueda predicts a tough World Cup for European sides.

G unter Netzer The World Cup features 48 group matches. Our columnist explains why no-one should miss the Italy v England clash in the Amazon jungle.

Sao Paulo Brazilian football's roots can be traced back to the country's commercial centre.

Brazil Our cover image shows Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The picture was taken on the evening of 9 January 2014.

World Cup 2014: Groups A-C

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP

Group A

The FIFA Weekly Magazine App The FIFA Weekly, FIFA’s football magazine, is also available in five languages as an e-Magazine on your tablet every Friday.

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Group B

Group C

Brazil

Spain

Colombia

Croatia

Netherlands

Greece

Mexico

Chile

Côte d’Ivoire

Cameroon

Australia

Japan

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

Europe 54 members www.uefa.com

Africa 54 members www.cafonline.com

Asia 46 members www.the-afc.com

Oceania 11 members www.oceaniafootball.com

Japan The Blue Samurai are being put through a tough training programme in preparation for the World Cup.

Miroslav Klose Will the German break Ronaldo's record? Klose needs just two more goals to stand alone at the top of the all-time World Cup goalscoring list.

World Cup 2014: Groups D-H

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Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Uruguay

Switzerland

Argentina

Germany

Belgium

Costa Rica

Ecuador

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Por tugal

Algeria

England

France

Iran

Ghana

Russia

Italy

Honduras

Nigeria

USA

Korea Republic

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UNCOVERED

Counting down the days

Adrenalin rush A World Cup sparks agony and ecstasy among football fans like no other tournament.

here are now less than two weeks to go until the 2014 World Cup kicks off in Brazil, where the hosts will be determined to secure their sixth title and simultaneously erase the painful memories of the 1950 tournament. In that edition, A Seleçao only narrowly lost out to Uruguay, as Thomas Renggli explains. Pele, whose father was moved to tears after that defeat, later played a leading role in the country’s golden years. “I don’t want to cry on 13 July 2014,” Pele said, hoping his compatriots will be lifting the trophy in the Final.

Klammer / Keystone / Laif

eanwhile, Germany forward Miroslav Klose, who will soon turn 36, is preparing for what will be his fourth - and final World Cup. The Lazio striker, famed for his discipline and love of nature, states that “I think this will be my last tournament.” Having netted 14 World Cup goals to date, he is only one behind Ronaldo’s all-time record, giving him the opportunity to set a new best-mark in Brazil. Franco Nicolussi paid a visit to Klose in Rome.

hat goes on at World Cup training camps? And where are the teams gearing up for the four-week tournament? Sven Goldmann and Jordi Punti reveal all from the Japanese and Spanish bases respectively.

he 64th FIFA Congress will take place in Sao Paolo from 10-11 June. FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter describes it as a watershed summit with the target of “implementing the decisions the Congress made last year in Mauritius.” Particular emphasis will be placed on “the reform process, but also other current issues: racism, match fixing and football-related security matters.” Å Perikles Monioudis

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ÂŠ David Alan Harvey/Magnum Photos 6

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MARACANA DREAMING

Viva Brasil. After a 64-year absence, the World Cup finals are returning to the land of unlimited footballing potential. Not surprisingly, expectations are running sky-high ahead of the global showdown.

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Thomas Renggli

hat do we spontaneously associate with Brazil? Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana, Ipanema and of course football, all symbols of beauty and aesthetic perfection. We also think of elegance, levity, joie de vivre, and the concept of Joga Bonito as an attitude to life. In the course of the next month and a half there is also a spectre to be banished and pride to be upheld. The national dream is of the Maracana stadium in the eponymous suburb of Rio de Janeiro, the stage for the World Cup final. If all goes according to plan it will be the setting for a collective outpouring of joy and a cascade of yellow, green and blue confetti. This year they hope carnival takes place in July. The significance of football in Brazil almost defies imagination. The game defines the coun8

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try’s culture and identity, and is almost certainly more strongly rooted in public life and thought than anywhere else in the world. “Brazil is football, and football is Brazil,” according to FIFA President Blatter. In the book “Brasil, o País do Futebol” (Brazil, Football Country) author Betty Milan writes: “Football in Brazil is not only a sport. It is a creative pursuit where dribbling is an art, outfoxing opponents with malicious feints. In the course of a match it can happen that Brazilians forget to shoot at goal, convinced that success without enjoyment is a contradiction in terms.” Traumatised by 1950 A Seleção and their followers will be hoping this literary interpretation is a case of artistic licence. Anything short of winning the World Cup would be the latest instalment in a national tragedy, a reload of the Maracanazo, the historic defeat to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup Final in Rio. The entire nation and the 200,000 crowd confidently expected Brazil to lift the trophy. A

draw would in fact have been enough, but Uruguay’s Alcides Ghiggia wrecked the occasion with a 79th-minute goal to make the final score 2-1. According to contemporary reports, it was like being at a New Year’s Eve party where, on the stroke of midnight, someone pulled the plug on all the electronics, poured the champagne down the drain and ordered all the guests to sit down and complete their tax returns. Brazil, the land of unlimited footballing potential, became paralysed by trauma. It all went against a meticulously prepared script. Shortly before the decisive goal FIFA President Jules Rimet left the VIP box and headed for the bowels of the stadium, ready to present Brazil with the trophy immediately after the final whistle. In his book “The Wonderful History of the World Cup” Rimet wrote: “When I came out onto the pitch for the trophy presentation, a deathly hush had descended on the stadium. Suddenly there was no guard of honour, no national anthem, no speech, and no joyful celebration. I found myself in the middle

Allsport/Getty Images

Final 1970 Pele embraces keeper Ado after the 4-1 victory over Italy.

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World Cup highlights To date, the 19 World Cups to have taken place have produced eight different winners and no shortage of drama, upsets and heroes, as well as throwing up the occasional bizarre moment. We look back on 80 years of World Cup history, spanning four continents – from Uruguay all the way through to South Africa.

1930

Uruguay A 4–2 triumph over Argentina meant Uruguay became the first ever World Cup winners. Security searches prior to the final led to around 1,600 guns being confiscated.

1934

Warm-up 2013 Neymar comes under close scrutiny from national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari (back left) during the Confederations Cup.

Italy Uruguay refused to participate in retaliation for European countries’ lack of interest four years earlier, while England also boycotted the tournament. Hosts Italy ended up lifting the title.

1938

“Brazilians are convinced that success without enjoyment is a contradiction in terms.” Betty Milan

France The competition was overshadowed by the political landscape at the time. Germany were knocked out in the first round by Switzerland, while Italy, wearing black shirts on Mussolini’s orders, defended their crown.

1950 Brazil A Seleção stormed towards the title on home soil but lost the decisive game against Uruguay in the infamous “Maracanazo”. Brazil subsequently abandoned their traditional white shirts.

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1954 of the crowd, hemmed in from all sides, with the trophy in my hands but not knowing what to do. I tracked down the Uruguay captain and almost furtively presented him with the trophy, offering him my hand without being capable of saying a word.” Reviewing the momentous day now, current Brazil head coach Luis Felipe Scolari reckons there is a positive dimension to that calamitous defeat: “The 1950 team actually pushed open a door and set us on a path that would

lead to five World Cup titles. This is the interpretation of the 1950 tournament I pass on to the current internationals.” The perfection of Pele Eight years later, a 17-year-old prodigy by the name of Edson Arantes do Nascimento stepped through the open door onto the global footballing stage. At the start of the tournament coach Vincente Feola left young Pele on the bench and sent out his proven and established troops,

SWITZERLAND The world’s footballing community was left in raptures after the “Miracle of Bern”, as a seemingly invincible Hungary team lost to Germany. Sepp Herberger’s side gained the upper hand in the final in part thanks to their decision to don the first studded football boots. T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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the likes of Gilmar, Djalma Santos, Didi and Garrincha. Pele did not enter the fray until the meeting with the Soviet Union at the end of the preliminary stage, but that was the start of a rapid ascent as the tournament progressed. The youngster thrilled the crowd with his stellar technique and cold-blooded ruthlessness. He scored the only goal of the game in the quarter-final against Wales, hit a hat-trick in the semi-finals against France, and crowned his burgeoning reputation in the Final against hosts Sweden. His goal to make the score 3-1 defined the art of the game at the time. Some 42 years later the acrobatic finish made it to third place in the list of the best goals of the century. Pele’s personal memories of the masterpiece make it sound simple: “I had my back to goal, I trapped the ball on my thigh, flipped it up over my own head, turned and shot.” Even the partisan home crowd at Stockholm’s Rasunda Stadium paid homage to the Brazilian magician. “I was only 17 and it was all like a dream. The World Cup in Sweden was my 10

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first-ever trip to Europe. I played with the carefree ease of a newcomer, and it all basically took care of itself,” Pele said. The Lord be praised Pele’s dream was shared by an entire nation. The fascinated world watched as football was hauled up to a new level: playful, unburdened, stylish and skilful, reflecting an entire national culture. You might even argue that dribbling symbolises an approach to life in Brazil, a statement of anti-establishment defiance, an athletic representation of creativity and inspiration. Brazil is indeed a country of dribblers, players who learn the game on the white sandy beaches and whose elegance and agility keeps it in the spotlight. These were the qualities that saw the South Americans dominate global football between 1958 and 1970. At the heart of it all was Pele, the king amongst footballers. Thanks to his partnership with Garrincha, the babe magnet and drinker with deformed legs, Brazil simply dazed their

opposition into submission. The national team never lost when the pair played together up front. Didi pulled the strings behind them, but Pele was the undisputed main man. A radio commentator described him as a “supernatural being” and thanked the good Lord for blessing Brazil and no other nation with this “miracle Creole”. On 19 November 1969, a 200,000 crowd at the Maracana and the watching world saw Pele tuck away a penalty to score his 1,000th goal. The rapturous hordes stormed the pitch, and the referee was obliged to interrupt play for the great man to take a lap of honour in a shirt bearing the number 1,000. Throughout the land church bells rang in honour of the extraordinary achievement. The fact that American astronauts stepped out onto the surface of the moon at around the same time passed almost unnoticed in Brazil. Pele’s reputation as the first superstar of football was sealed once and for all in 1970 when he led Brazil to their third world crown. “I played my best football at that tournament,” he

Bob Thomas/Getty Images

Frustration 1982 Toninho Cerozo (5) and Oscar (3) after being outwitted by Italy’s Paolo Rossi.

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1958 SWEDEN Pele took his bow on the World Cup stage and fired Brazil to a maiden success. His breathtaking goal in the final against Sweden has become an unforgettable part of the tournament’s folklore.

1962 Hopes on his shoulders Thiago Silva takes aim in an international against France. Determined Neymar (left) is focused on the opening match against Croatia.

Chile Brazil took the title again as one of the greatest teams in footballing history bowed out in style on the international stage. Pele was injured in the group phase.

1966

England Geoff Hurst is the only player to date to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final, doing so for England as they beat Germany. His second strike to make it 3–2 remains controversial to this day. Prepared Dante (right) will marshal the defence

1970 Mexico Italy’s 4–3 victory over Germany in the semi-finals is still considered one of the games of the century. Ultimately however, Pele and Brazil were crowned world champions again.

1974

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Brazil had to learn to defend. It felt like a betrayal of their identity. says today. A Seleção were all but flawless, merging sublime individual class with collective perfection. Pele’s lead partner on this occasion was Tostao, a lanky striker with a powerful shot and a previously undreamt-of workrate. Don Seraphin, the Bishop of Belo Horizonte and a radio commentator, was a big fan: “Pele is the genius who does it all instinctively, but Tostao is the talented one, always using his intelli-

gence.” Pele opened the scoring in the final against Italy in front of a 107,000 crowd at the Azteca, and Brazil went on to win 4-1. It was both a fitting climax and the end of an era. The road to the fifth crown The greatest Brazilian magicians now faded from the scene. In 1974 they were undone by the Orange revolution, the Dutch team spearheaded by Johan Cruyff. Third place in 1978 offered scant consolation. Good defending strangled the life out of exuberance and inspiration. National coach Claudio Coutinho said: “Dribbling is time lost.” In 1982 and 1986 coach Tele Santana revived the inventive, elegant and fluid glories of Joga Bonito. But attack is not always the best form of defence. The Europeans had come up with answers. The world’s most successful national team were thwarted in 1982 by Italy and four years later by France. The conclusion was painful but significant: Brazil must learn to defend. It felt like a betray-

Germany Despite the Netherlands’ jawdropping displays of “Total Football”, Johan Cruyff and Co lost out to Franz Beckenbauer’s Germany in the title decider.

1978 Argentina A tournament with a difference, played out under the keen eye of the political situation in Argentina. Germany suffered the “Disgrace of Cordoba” before the Netherlands finished as runners-up to the hosts.

1982 SPAIN Italy’s Paolo Rossi dumped Brazil out of the competition in the second round, with the Squadra Azzurra overcoming Germany in the final to secure a third World Cup title. T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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Research provides a fresh perspective When scientists dispassionately evaluate their data on the World Cup, the results can be somewhat surprising. According to this study, Brazil will not emerge as winners this summer.

comes by, plays 3-4 World Cups together and then a gap of 1 or 2 tournaments emerges with weaker squads. If our model confirms this to be an important factor, that leaves Brazil, Italy and Spain (the last 3 winners) in a hard spot…

his study focuses on the World Cup and has three main objectives. First, to develop an econometrical model that is able to correctly explain recent World Cup winners. The big advantage in explaining more than one World Cup Germany in pole position alone is that we can use the model to In the second step, a logit model is used to estimate the probability of forecast future winners as well. Second, to assess the FIFA rankings’ predictive winning the World Cup for each team power for World Cup winners. Third, to in each tournament. The explanatory evaluate whether a sophisticated gamvariables are all those that our empirbler could beat the odds and make a ical analysis pointed out to be possible relevant factor in this goal: host, FIFA dollar, or in economic terms, investigate World Cup oracle ranking, number of star players, team whether the betting market is efficient. Paul the octopus (deceased) earned global fame as a footballing clairvoyant. In the first step, information for experience, coach experience, distance, each and every World Cup since 1930 is whether the team won any of the last three tournaments or not. We focus on tournaments that took place obtained. Our empirical analysis reveals that hosting the tournament from 1994 to 2010 since the FIFA ranking is only available since 1993. potentially helps towards the likelihood of winning (six out of the total The model correctly predicts 4 out of the last 5 winners, having only 19 winners were hosts). A team’s quality is another obvious contribution. missed in 2006 where it predicted the host nation to win. As it was, Using FIFA’s ranking to quantify the role of team’s quality in the last five Germany finished third in that tournament. The more important motournaments (the ranking is only available since 1993) we find that in three of those five World Cups the winner was one of the top two ranked tivation behind developing such a model is that it allows the researchsides. A third factor to be considered is the presence of a star player in er to pinpoint which factors contribute the most in the determination the squad (who doesn’t remember Pele in 1958, Maradona in 1986, or more of the winners (marginal effects). Our results show that hosting the recently Zidane in 1998?). Using FIFA’s World Player of the Year award World Cup, having a generation of players that is reaching its peak (not (1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions) we can objectively count the number of star having won any of the last three tournaments), and the FIFA ranking players participating for each team in the tournament. It is found that are the more important predictors for lifting the trophy. Experience teams that win the World Cup have on average two star players compared and having star players also matter but are not the key differentiating factors. Finally, coach experience and distance do not have any signifto only 0.5 for all other teams. icant impact on the probabilities. With the World Cup 2014 starting in a month, the ambitious test Most world champions have new coaches Other findings were that the winning side’s experience is always high for our model is whether it can correctly predict the winner. Using each but unlikely to be a differentiating factor amongst the top ten teams team’s statistics and the coefficients that emerge from the regression (which are all highly experienced). However, less experienced nations analysis, each team’s probability is obtained and all teams ranked. We try to compensate that shortcoming with more experienced coaches predict Germany to win in Brazil with 26.6% likelihood, followed close(Bora Milutinovic with the US in 1994, Nigeria in 1998, and China in ly by Argentina with 21.8%. Spain and Brazil are next, but with prob2002; Henri Michel with Morocco in 1998 and Ivory Coast in 2006; Guus abilities already down to 6% and 5% respectively. In the final step of Hiddink, Carlos Alberto Parreira,…). Nations that win the World Cup our analysis, we compare the model predictions with FIFA’s top ranked typically have coaches that are debutants in coaching at the event (it team entering each of the last five World Cups (ranking in May) as well has happened in 13 of the 19 total tournaments). Distance between each as with some of the most well known betting companies in the soccer business. We find that the FIFA ranking is a poor predictor for tourparticipating nation and the host country is another variable that could potentially affect the probabilities. European nations lifted the trophy naments results and also that the team with the highest winning odds, nine times in the ten World Cups that took place in Europe, yet only more often than not, does not win the tournament. We therefore cononce in the nine global showcases to have been staged outside Europe clude that the model’s performance as a forecaster of World Cup re- Spain in the last World Cup in South Africa. Finally, we find that in sults is superior to either of these two alternatives. the last 40 years, only twice has a team won the World Cup after winSurprises do happen and randomness (unexplained variance) can interfere with any researcher’s results. Therefore, as a Portuguese myning any of the previous three tournaments (Argentina in 1986, and Brazil in 2002). That can typically be attributed to generational cycles self, I can only wish and hope Cristiano Ronaldo proves my model that all national teams go through. One generation of good players wrong… Å 12

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imago

Ricardo Manuel Santos, Trinity University, San Antonio (USA)

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al of their own identity, but the globalisation of football had a profound effect on tactics and physique. Athleticism was suddenly trumping brilliance. Brazil could no longer afford to play Brazilian football. The march to the world title in 1994 often felt like the antithesis to the footballing samba of Pele. It is no coincidence that the abiding memory of the tournament is the penalty missed by Italy’s Roberto Baggio in the Final. Joy and footballing wizardry returned with a vengeance eight years later though as Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos conclusively showed the world that Brazil still produced the most talented players. Felipe Scolari led the men in canary yellow to a 2-0 victory over Germany in the Final. Ronaldo struck twice to restore national pride with the yearned-for “Penta”, the fifth world crown. Pele: I want no tears Now, 12 years later and on home soil, the aim is to add a “Hexa” and finally banish the haunting spectre of 1950. Pele too would like to lay a personal ghost to rest: “My father wept uncontrollably after the final in 1950. I was only nine at the time and didn’t understand. I asked him what had happened. He told me Brazil had lost to Uruguay.

I don’t want to be crying on 13 July this year.” A near-obsession with the sixth title has gripped Brazil, similar to Real Madrid’s utter preoccupation with “La Decima” prior to the Champions League final against Atlético. But 12 years on from his first World Cup triumph, has Scolari come up with a recipe for success? He has opted to leave artists such as Robinho and Ronaldinho out of his squad. Scolari likes to keep genius on a tight rein. Organisation is more important than improvisation, and athleticism beats inspiration. If you consider the muscular power of model Portuguese athlete Ronaldo, you would never conceive that the stars of the past were nurtured on sandy beaches, or that 1994 World Cup winner Romario honed his technical excellence by playing football tennis. But if you stroll the Copacabana today you will be astonished to discover the beaches still producing Romarios and Ronaldos galore. The experts are telling us that an artistic approach and intuition alone will lead at best to a consolation prize at the World Cup. Perhaps Brazil are set to teach us a different lesson over the next few weeks. The game’s incurable romantics would certainly wish it to be so. Å

1986 Mexico Maradona’s World Cup: The Argentinian scored the Goal of the Century and netted another with the Hand of God to help his country to glory. In his homeland “Dieguito” was hailed as being on a par with Pele.

1990 Italy Germany spoiled Italy’s party as Beckenbauer lifted the trophy once again, only this time as coach. Roger Milla’s hip-swivelling dance moves linger long in the memory.

1994 USA Brazil secured their fourth World Cup as Roberto Baggio skied the decisive penalty, while Stefan Effenberg showed the world his middle finger.

1998 FRANCE Zinedine Zidane’s artistry captured the imagination and David Beckham was sent off for England against Argentina.

2002 Korea / Japan A Ronaldo-inspired Brazil went all the way, France failed to hit the net at all and Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was an intimidating presence.

2006 Germany The hosts enjoyed a fairytale summer but Italy were celebrating come the end.

Corbis, imago, Getty Images (2)

2010

Confetti 2014 Leonardo Moura lifts the trophy as Flamengo celebrate winning the Campeonato Carioca at the Maracana. The Brazilian dream involves plenty more confetti and another glittering trophy in July.

SOUTH AFRICA The first World Cup on African soil stood as a symbol for peace, and the footballing world had no answer to Spain’s tiki-taka. T H E F I FA W E E K LY

NEWS FROM THE TR AINING CAMPS

Heat tests and holiday resorts Thomas Renggli writes for The FIFA Weekly.

The encounter between England and Italy in Manaus on 14 June has been dubbed the “Rumble in the Jungle”, and coaches Cesare Prandelli and Roy Hodgson have been using unconventional methods to prepare their charges for the heat. The Italians have been simulating the tropical climate with daily sauna visits at their Coverciano base in Tuscany, while England have been completing training sessions on the Algarve in Portugal in long thermal underwear. The Dutch delegation has also made the Algarve their training base, staying at the Cascade Resort, a five-star holiday home with an affiliated football academy. The resort describes itself as “the most luxurious hotel” in the region. Germany’s training camp is not exactly a budget hotel either. The three-time world champions have made the 73 suites of the Passeier Valley’s Hotel Andreus their home in recent days. In addition to a football pitch, Joachim Low’s team have a golf course, riding complex, five tennis courts and around 7,000 square metres of grounds at their disposal. Å

Sweat and toil Defender Hiroki Sakai finds the pre-World Cup training camp no laughing matter.

Japan

Tough times in Ibusuki Sven Goldmann is a football expert at Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin.

If the Japanese squad had expected an easy ride at their pre-World Cup training camp in Ibusuki, they were in for a shock. In truth, the majority of the Samurai Blue selection had known what lay in store for them when they received the call-up to Alberto Zaccheroni’s 23-man squad, but the knowledge of what was to come did little to soften the eventual blow. “Even the training sessions at Manchester United aren’t as tough as this,” said Shinji Kagawa on day 1 of the five-day camp. The creative midfielder is one of the AFC Asian champions’ biggest stars, but has been forced to settle for a bit-part role with the Premier League giants since joining the club in 2012. Having been used sparingly by former Red Devils coach David Moyes this season, the extra fitness work is unlikely to do Kagawa any harm. Located in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima, Ibusuki is known for its black sandy beaches. Not that the players will have had much chance to go sightseeing. Defender Gotoku Sakai, who is under contract at German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart, was recently forced to sit out training due to illness. That was the official reason given for the 23-year-old’s absence at least. The arduous training programme might just have been a contributing factor. One thing’s

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for sure, Italian coach Zaccheroni won’t be able to blame his team’s shortcomings on a lack of fitness should the Samurai Blue fail to achieve their objectives in Brazil. The former Juventus and AC Milan boss has high hopes for his side, who are looking to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history. Four years ago in South Africa, Japan lost to Paraguay on penalties in the last 16. On this occasion, Zaccheroni’s charges have been drawn in Group C alongside Greece, Colombia and Ivory Coast, whom they are set to face in the searing heat of Natal, Caiaba and Recife respectively. “Having good stamina is vital in places like these,” said striker Shinji Okazaki, one of seven Japan players who currently ply their trade in Germany. Okazaki managed to help his club side FSV Mainz 05 defy the odds by finishing in a UEFA Europa League place in the Bundesliga this season, and Zaccheroni’s inclusion of the inexperienced Yoshito Okubo in his squad was no less surprising. The striker, who plays for Japanese topflight outfit Kawasaki Frontale, made his last appearance for the national side in February 2012 when he played the first half of a 3-1 friendly win over Iceland. AC Milan’s Keisuke Honda and Inter Milan’s Yuto Nagatomo took part in their first training session on Saturday, having joined up with Zaccheroni’s squad late on Friday after recovering from injury. Next stop for Japan on their pre-World Cup adventure is Tampa, Florida, and with Zaccheroni expected to focus more on tactics than on fitness levels in the USA, his players are now looking forward to a well-earned rest. Å

imago

The Bible says that “the first will be last”, and Australia hope the same will apply to their World Cup campaign. The Socceroos were the first to arrive at their Brazil camp, 16 days before their first match. Coach Ange Postecoglou wants his players to have enough time to acclimatise to both the climate and the change in time zone and ensure that they only have to head home after the “last call” – the Final. He is clearly not concerned about the prospect of cabin fever.

NEWS FROM THE TR AINING CAMPS

Spain

Wanted: reliable goalscorer Jordi Punti is a novelist and football journalist for the Spanish press.

Vicente del Bosque is in no rush. While most of his opposite numbers have announced their squads for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, not without a surprise or two, the Spain coach has still to make his mind up. “We don’t have to give FIFA the final list until 2 June, so what’s the point in doing it early?”, he said with habitual calm last Sunday, while also admitting to having “reasonable doubts” about the make-up of his squad.

the wide players. The way things stand today, the Spain coach looks likely to go with the three forwards who featured against the Netherlands in the Final at South Africa 2010: Pedro, Torres and David Villa. As well as a nod to the triumphs of the past, that would be no bad choice for the world champions’ World Cup opener, though the fact is that Del Bosque has for some time been planning a gradual, seamless overhaul of the group of players who have brought him so much success. Part of that change has involved Xavi, a metronome for both club and country but now 34. His most obvious replacement was Thiago, until injury denied the Bayern Munich man a place at the finals. Fortunately for Del Bosque, he does have a long list of midfielders to call upon, among them Santi Cazorla, David Silva, Ander Iturraspe and Cesc.

The coach has one more opportunity to review his striking options before he announces his final list for Brazil, with Spain taking on Bolivia in a friendly four days ahead of the deadline. Pedro, Torres and the 20-year-old Gerard Deulofeu – a surprise inclusion – are the only three out-and-out forwards to have been called up for the game. “We have a lot of confidence in him. He could be a good solution,” said Del Bosque of the nimble and gifted Deulofeu, who was called up to the full national side for the first time, having spent last season on loan at Everton and since been recalled by Barcelona. A solution is something the Roja coach only looks for when he has a problem, and right now, with just two weeks to go before the World Cup, Del Bosque’s problem comes in the shape of a 9. Å

Del Bosque was in Lisbon the day before, looking on as Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 after extra time in the UEFA Champions League final, a game that allowed him to draw few conclusions about his attacking options, even if defensive mainstay Sergio Ramos did get on the scoresheet once again. Not for the first time, Del Bosque’s biggest quandary as he finalises his squad is who to pick up front. Last summer saw some of Spanish football’s leading forwards make the move abroad. Internationals to a man, Fernando Llorente, Alvaro Negredo and Roberto Soldado followed the path taken by Fernando Torres and signed for Juventus, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. In the meantime, Atleti’s Brazilian-born top-scorer Diego Costa took out Spanish nationality, giving the national coach another and altogether more combative option up front.

Sergio Perez / Reuters

While Del Bosque has plenty of big-name strikers to choose from, he seems to lack confidence in all of them. Negredo, Soldado and Torres had their ups and downs in England last season, while Llorente, though ready for the finals if called upon, has never been a first choice. As for Costa, his desire to play at all costs at the end of Atletico’s dramatic season saw him succumb to recurring muscular problems in the opening minutes of their last two games, including the Champions League final. The forward’s impatience could well cost him a place at Brazil 2014. Front men usually have a secondary role to play in Del Bosque’s midfielder-centric gameplan. On more than one occasion he has even resorted to deploying Cesc Fabregas as a false No9 on account of his ability to link up with

It's all a blur Vicente del Bosque's vision for his World Cup squad remains unclear. T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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C O U N T D O W N T O B R A Z I L 2 0 14 : 1 3 D A Y S T O G O

Football comes home to Sao Paulo The World Cup kicks off in Sao Paulo in 13 days’ time. The economic metropolis has played a pivotal role in the country’s history and is also regarded as the birthplace of Brazilian football.

A city swathed in yellow, green and blue Sao Paulo is ready to host the Opening Match, when Brazil face Croatia.

Dominik Petermann

F Rahel Patrasso / Keystone

ootball is worshipped in Sao Paulo. It is the talk of the town, whether you are in the street, at the barber’s or at the carnival. Everyone supports a club and shares a love for the beautiful game. With a metropolitan area of almost 8,000 km², the city represents the largest industrial conurbation in Latin America and is also the country’s most important economic, financial and cultural hotspot. And it was also here that Brazilian football first emerged 120 years ago. From England to Brazil It was in 1894 that the Sao Paulo-born Scotsman Charles William Miller returned to his homeland from England with a rulebook, two football shirts, a pair of football boots, an air pump and two balls. However, the returning 19-year-old was shocked to see that football was unheard of in Brazil and made it his mission to introduce the sport to the South American nation.

Miller’s job in the railway sector meant he faced few problems putting a team together. Within a short space of time, he had founded the Sao Paulo Railway Team, for whom he played in the first public, documented football match to take place on Brazilian soil on 14 April 1895. The opponents that day were the employees of a local gas company and the legendary venue, once known as the “Varzea do Carmo”, is now the Dom Pedro II Park, located between the Sao Paulo motorways. Youngsters still descend on the dusty pitch to kick a ball about, with two new goals recently being installed on the playing field. Miller was also the driving force behind the founding of the Sao Paulo state championship, Brazil’s first football league, and actually won the competition with the city’s first football team, Sao Paulo Athletic Club (SPAC), in 1902, 1903 and 1904. A new stadium for the World Cup Nowadays, Sao Paulo boasts a rich footballing history and is home to some of the country’s

most successful clubs, including Corinthians, Palmeiras, Sao Paulo and neighbouring side Santos. The city’s most famous showdown is the “Derby Paulista” between Corinthians and Palmeiras. The latter was founded in 1914 by an Italian living in Sao Paulo and some of the club’s first members who had previously been associated with Corinthians were subsequently regarded as traitors by their former team. There is still a toxic atmosphere between the two clubs today, with local derbies often descending into chaos. Corinthians’ home stadium is now located at the “Praca Charles Miller”. But despite having a large fan base in Sao Paulo, they were the only club in the city not in possession of a stadium with a sufficient capacity until recently. Thankfully, the World Cup has resolved this issue, with the Arena de Sao Paulo recently erected in Itaquera - a traditional stronghold for Corinthians fans in the east of the city -all set to host six World Cup matches. Å

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

THE INTERVIEW

“It will be tough for the European sides” Ecuador is one of the newest powers in world football. Their coach Reinaldo Rueda explains why his team have already beaten Brazil and what South American sides can learn from the Germans.

Senor Rueda, all of the previous World Cup tournaments held on the American continent have ended with a South American winner. Why do you think that is? Reinaldo Rueda: Experience shows that the tournament can be tough for Europeans in particular, due to a range of factors such as the long distances, the climate and the accommodation. If they prepare as well as possible, football associations should be able to reduce the impact of these considerations and help their sides compete irrespective of external influences. It is for this reason that all the World Cup teams will probably bring their own chef with them, for example.

To what extent can Ecuador benefit from a “home advantage”? Any advantage we might have is relative, because Brazil is a huge country with different climatic influences, almost like an entire continent. During the group stages, we’re likely to encounter warmer weather in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, and somewhat cooler conditions in Curitiba. It’s a very different picture for the teams who have to play in the tropical climate of Manaus.

With regard to home advantage, Ecuador are a force to be reckoned with at Quito’s high altitude. During qualification, your team only dropped points there in the draw against Argentina. How does the altitude affect your tactics and playing style? We always try to play the same way: aggressively, bravely, and successfully. In qualifying we proved that we could endure intense heat too, managing a draw in both Venezuela and Uruguay.

You even beat Brazil in Quito… We’ve got a very impulsive and emotional team, and that definitely makes us stronger at home. I generally focus on good organisation and allocating clear roles. Given the amount of pressure at a major tournament, it’s vital to be able to rely on a 18

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stable structure within the team, and you have to find the right level of risk.

In 2010, you qualified for the World Cup finals with Honduras. How did your starting point back then differ to the one you face with Ecuador today? For the players in the Honduran team, it was the first time they’d qualified for a World Cup, and that complicated the situation. Routine is important at major tournaments. In Ecuador, we’re also seeing the start of a new generation; only five of our players featured at the finals in Germany eight years ago. Having said that, the team proved in qualification that they can hold their own with the world’s best.

And your side will meet Honduras, of all teams, in the group stages… That’s a very special situation for me. I worked in Honduras for four years and had a great time there, with many wonderful encounters and experiences. The people in that country became very close to my heart during that time, but at the World Cup, none of that matters. It’s part of the job, and as such I’ll deal with the situation professionally.

How do you rate your overall chances of qualifying for the last 16? With a group containing Switzerland, France and Honduras, it doesn’t seem like an impossible target… It’s a big challenge. France are favourites, given the number of well-known names and exceptional footballers they have at their disposal. The fact that Manchester City star Samir Nasri isn’t in the squad says it all about how much quality France have in their ranks. I probably would have picked Nasri… (laughs) The Swiss are technically and organisationally strong – their formidable qualifying campaign speaks for itself. And Honduras are always a difficult opponent; they tackle well and have experience from the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

Those in charge of the Ecuadorian league do not seem particularly optimistic about the country’s chances, given that the championship resumes on the very same day as the World Cup Final… (Laughs) That doesn’t really sound like a big vote of confidence, does it? But the players know that success means playing seven matches in Brazil. I can only hope that nobody goes home before the Final.

You come from Colombia but completed your education at the German Sport University in Cologne. What can South Americans learn from the Germans? My experiences in Germany really helped me in terms of planning, tactics and football psychology. We can learn a lot from the Europeans in that respect, but the Europeans can take much from us too. Nowadays, the differences between the two continents are getting ever smaller, given that most of South America’s top stars now play in the European leagues.

Who will win the World Cup? I’m going with one of the top favourites; I think Brazil are the number one candidates for the title. After that, I think Germany have the best chance. It’s no accident that an outsider has never been able to win the World Cup, because experience plays such a key role in these tournaments. Reinaldo Rueda was speaking to Thomas Renggli

Name Reinaldo Rueda Date and place of birth 16 April 1957, Cali, Colombia

Sven Thomannâ&#x20AC;&#x2030;/â&#x20AC;&#x2030;Blicksport

Teams coached Cortulua, Deportivo Cali, Independiente Medellin, Colombia U-20s, Colombia, Honduras, Ecuador (since 2010) 2014 FIFA World Cup Group matches: Switzerland (15 June), Honduras (20 June), France (25 June)

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First Love

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Place: Recife, Brazil Date: 17 Ju ne 2013 T i m e : 9. 3 7 p . m .

Simon Stacpoole / Offside

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T HE DEBAT E

Reforms and breakthroughs

Staying active FIFA President Sepp Blatter wants to implement the resolutions adopted at last year’s Congress (in Mauritius).

Sarah Steiner and Perikles Monioudis

he 64th FIFA Congress takes place in Sao Paulo on 10 and 11 June. The Congress is FIFA’s legislative body, acting as a parliament for world football’s governing body. In the spirit of true democracy, each member association has one vote, irrespective of its size or footballing prowess. The associations decide upon issues such as amending the statutes and approving the financial statements and FIFA’s progress report as well as accepting, suspending or excluding members. The associations also select the President. The Congress is committed to promoting football and has initiated numerous far-reaching decisions. Here are a few examples: 22

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Buenos Aires 2001 At this extraordinary FIFA Congress, delegates from the member associations passed a resolution against racism. This resolution invited all members to assist in the fight against racism in football, take stronger action against it and promote values such as tolerance. Zurich 2011 The Congress approved proposals for extensive reforms within FIFA, the most noteworthy of which was granting Congress the power to award the World Cup Finals to a host nation in the future, instead of the Executive Committee. The Ethics Committee was also divided into investigatory and adjudicatory departments to make it more effective, and a new FIFA Committee for Corporate Governance was established. Mauritius 2013 The 2013 Congress built on earlier reforms. Already in 2012 the powers of the Audit and Compliance Committee created were expanded and the Ethics Commission formally divided into two chambers. In 2013 they saw the appointment of the FIFA Executive Committee’s first

ever female member. As well the new resolution against racism and discrimination was adopted, based on the three pillars of education, prevention and sanctions. Sao Paulo 2014 The football world is now looking eagerly towards Brazil, and the member associations will continue the reform process at this year’s Congress and decide on the limitations on age and terms of office. The agenda also includes the following items: the reform of FIFA’s players’ agents system, extending the mandates of the Executive Committee’s female members and the project “Football for Health”. Å

The weekly debate. Any thing you want to get off your chest? Which topics do you want to discuss? Send your suggestions to: feedback-theweekly@fifa.org

Jamie McDonald / Getty Images

With the 64th FIFA Congress fast approaching, world football’s governing body is keen to continue its programme of reforms.

T HE DEBAT E

PRESIDENTIAL NOTE

On FIFA.com, FIFA Weekly asked: What’s the best way to combat racism?

Racism is a very tricky thing to combat. Racism, unfortunately, is part of the human condition. As one grows and begins to rationalize and understand that there are differences amongst one another that is when it all begins. There is no way to eradicate racism but there should be tolerance and mutual respect to one another pushed as the foundation to fight racism.

should keep mouths shut at least to not subject anyone else to the ignorance of prejudice we will never be able to eradicate. tammydfw , USA

A new slogan! “Different colors, one blood” Stop Racism! bshamieh, Senegal

NJLOR17, USA

We have to make people understand that everyone is equal, no matter of race. Maybe one way is to have many soccer events around the globe in which people of different race and ideals come together as one to play soccer. Who doesn’t like a little game of soccer? Peace through soccer! Ponchito_C, USA

If it is a player he/she should be banned for at least two games and his/her club should be fined. If it is recurrent the club should be relegated to make a statement. In the case of a supporter he/she should be banned for life from the stadium. double_nash, Ghana

We could have a common anthem which can be played after every game with the players of both teams standing alternately. Because we need to bring change in their hearts which rules regulations cannot do.

“The change must start with youth soccer.”

bassiishaan, India

The change must start with youth soccer. We experienced an incident in the US at a 14 year-old game this very weekend. Enforce positive message in marketing, but also start the consequences to players and teams at the youth level. And enforce the consequences. By the time these youths become adults the problem should be gone. If fans are the guilty party they should be escorted and banned for rest of season. Season ticket fans will not want to pay and forfeit a whole season. This

You can actually try to talk to the offenders and see where they are coming from, what happened for them to be feeling like this and why they hold this animosity towards blacks. From there you can map a way forward rather than just banning clubs and the fans, cause if you are going to ban the fan from a certain game he is just going to go to another match and do the same. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer they say. Lets practice that.

The work goes on

e’re all eagerly anticipating the big kickoff at the World Cup and the first appearance of hosts Brazil against Croatia. The 64th FIFA Congress takes place the previous day in Sao Paulo. It is a ground-breaking event – despite, or indeed because of the fact that neither hosting rights nor elections are on the agenda. This means we have the opportunity to continue pushing forward the proposals and implementing the resolutions issued to us by last year’s Congress in Mauritius. The reform process is our central focus, but also other topics that were and remain current: racism, match-fixing, and football-related security matters. The Congress offers the perfect platform. It unites all 209 member associations and forms football’s democratic basis. Every association has one vote, regardless of its size or geographical location. From A for Anguilla to Z for Zimbabwe each can put forward suggested solutions and perspectives but also raise problems. We all share a common goal: to represent the interests of football at every level and protect it from negative influences. In achieving this, the same tactics apply as out on the football pitch: teamwork, discipline, respect and fair play. The Congress on 11 June could also prove seminal in terms of FIFA’s future direction, and how it will be led in the future. But one thing is already certain: our work is by no means done.

tatekere, Zimbabwe

“A common anthem after every game .” Best wishes, Sepp Blatter T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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MIROSL AV K LOSE

His final mission Miroslav Klose needs two goals in Brazil to carve his name into the history books. He says goals come automatically, provided he does not think about it. Franco Nicolussi, Rom

Gary Engel

ou might imagine there would be only one topic of conversation when you meet the man travelling to Brazil with the most World Cup goals to his name. Surely the player who has struck 14 times at three tournaments and needs only one more to equal and two more to replace Ronaldo as the all-time top scorer at the finals will be thinking about this and this alone? But in reality Miroslav Klose is unworried. He has trained himself simply to wait calmly and without fear for the big moment. “I know that in a career as a striker you’re judged solely on goals, so it might appear from the outside as if the only thing that matters to me is scoring

and breaking a prestigious record such as Ronaldo’s. But in fact it’s more interesting to lovers of statistics.” Is the Germany striker deliberately underplaying the situation simply to lift a weight off his shoulders? Klose is very well informed about the psychological dimension, an aspect just as important as technique and skill when it comes to scoring goals: “I’ve learned not to focus all my thoughts on goals. Provided I don’t think about it, the goals look after themselves. All I have to do is be in the right place at the right time.” The player accepts it was different earlier in his career, when he reviewed his performances in meticulous detail: “I used to watch all my goals on video, but I can step back from it more nowadays. People are always ask-

ing which was my best ever goal. There have been plenty of good ones. but I can’t single out one in particular because there were different emotional backgrounds every time.” Apprenticeship before football It is intriguing to think of a star putting distance between himself and the main reason he is famous. In the case of Miroslav Klose it means downplaying the importance of the goals that have made him an enduring and exceptional talent. Klose has 68 goals in 131 appearances for Germany, and broke Gerd Müller’s long-standing all-time record last September. Klose was born in June 1978 in Opole in Poland, and plenty of factors spoke in favour of T H E F I FA W E E K LY

him going on to sporting prominence. His mother Barbara was a leading figure in the Polish handball national team, and his father Josef played up front for Auxerre in France. His parents were both goalscorers who also held down regular jobs alongside their sporting activities. They taught young Miroslav to get his priorities straight. “My parents only allowed me to pursue my dream of a career in football once I’d completed an apprenticeship,” the player explained. He initially trained as a carpenter and joiner, spending the potentially decisive years for a young player between the ages of 17 and 21 on building sites. Klose never played for a youth team. “As an apprentice I spent my days with people who earned their keep by hard work every day. That’s when I learned there’s 26

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more to life than scoring goals,” Klose remarked, “but I also recognised I enjoyed going for goal much more than my job. It was an unbelievably strong motivating factor, and I pushed myself to the limit in training with Homburg after that.” If Klose was a late developer in footballing terms his ascent was meteoric and rapid. He signed professional forms with Kaiserslautern in 1999, and in 2002 – three years after completing his apprenticeship as a joiner - he appeared in Germany colours at his first World Cup. Klose helped himself to a hat-trick on his debut against Saudi Arabia. “Those goals are really close to my heart,” he admitted. Rudi Voller, Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Low have been his coaches as Klose has grown into a globally renowned star.

Polish spoken here He is not your typical big name personality, however. Klose resides away from the glittering lights of central Rome with his wife Sylwia and nine-year-old twin boys Luan and Noah. The family speak Polish at home and spend their vacations angling. The boys idolise their famous dad and always watch him play on TV. “Luan is a striker and Noah a midfielder,” Klose explained. The player used to perform a ’salto’ forward airborne somersault to celebrate his goals but has given up the practice because of the kids. “I stopped after Noah saw me on TV, tried to imitate me and hurt himself. I learned I would have to stop setting them this example, because otherwise something even worse could have happened at home.”

Stephane Mantey / Presse Sports / freshfocus

MIROSL AV K LOSE

“You don’t think too hard. You act instinctively in situations like that.”

Date and place of birth 9 June 1978, Opole (Poland) Clubs SG Blaubach-Diedelkopf, FC Homburg II, FC Homburg, Kaiserslautern reserves, Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, Lazio And another one Miroslav Klose gets in behind the Argentina defence to score at the 2010 World Cup.

But what if he scores the goal to take him level with Ronaldo at this summer’s World Cup? Will Klose make an exception and perform his trademark front-flip? “You don’t think too hard. You act instinctively in situations like that,” said Klose with a smile. The player is quietly spoken. Even after three years in the Eternal City of Rome, he has not picked up any of the frantic gesturing of his Italian team-mates. His expression and voice betray little emotion, but there is no hiding his utter determination and unflinching will when it comes to hitting targets. At 36 Klose is now off to his fourth and last World Cup. For the first time in our long conversation, there is noisy animation in his voice when it comes to discussing his team’s pros-

Germany national team 131 appearances, 68 goals 2014 World Cup Group fixtures: Portugal (16 June), Ghana (21 June), USA (26 June)

pects: “Germany are capable of winning the title. We’re certainly among the top favourites and if possible we intend to win the trophy. And just thinking about the quality of young players like Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos we need have no worries about the future of German football.”

and our footballing tradition means we always go for the maximum possible return.” Provided Klose counts as a regular in Low’s team, the group stage fixtures could well provide him with the single goal he needs to draw level with Ronaldo. All he has to do is not think about it, because then the goals look a fter themselves. Å

Two goals to go You will never hear Klose saying he wants the all-time scoring record. But it is likely to be broken and Klose will probably go down in the annals as the all-time top scorer at the World Cup finals. Portugal, Ghana and USA hardly represent easy opposition for Germany, but they are surely beatable. Klose’s review of the situation is purely pragmatic: “We’re Germany T H E F I FA W E E K LY

A FIFA World Cup in Brazil is just like Visa: everyone is welcome.

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F I F A ’ S T O P 11

Landmark World Cup goals

1 st

Lucien Laurent, France Match: France - Mexico Goal: 1–0 (4–1) Date: 13 July 1930

100 th

A ngelo Schiavio, Italy Match: Italy - USA Goal: 5–1 (7–1) Date: 27 May 1934

Life with a 200 th football-mad father th Alan Schweingruber

oni was a nice lad: an only child of six years old with a good heart. He loved to eat bread with honey and was fond of boats. All kinds of boats, from big, fast ones carrying tanned holidaymakers around the bay and small ones in the bathtub to old boats on display in museums. According to his uncle, Toni was a real boat fan. Toni thought football was stupid, and that was never a problem when there was so much for a born “boat fan” to do outside of school. After all, Uncle Julian was always glad for help whenever the paint began to flake off his boat and needed a new coat. Toni also liked to stroll around the harbour, watching other boat lovers relaxing on their decks. There was just one problem: Toni’s father was no fan of boats. Instead, he was a passionate fan of a third-division football club whose matches were hardly ever shown on television. His father’s dogged determination to follow his team meant Toni had to tag along to the stadium every other week. The journey took forty minutes by car and his father generally liked to enjoy a beer or a snack after the match, meaning the trips took up whole afternoons that Toni would much rather have spent on Uncle Julian’s boat. You could eat bread with honey there too. On his seventh birthday, Toni found a light blue football shirt under his pillow. It was tradition: every year, his father gave him the light blue shirt of his beloved third-division club in the right size. Toni recognised the colours straight away. He feigned enthusiasm for the gift and pulled the shirt on in front of his delighted father. Three months later, the team in light blue were relegated from the third division, meaning Toni spent the follow-

ing season accompanying his father to fourth-division home games instead. But on one warm Sunday, Toni stayed at home in bed. He felt unwell, so his father travelled to the stadium alone – and to the match against his team’s biggest rivals, of all things. Toni’s father drank too much that afternoon and returned home jubilant. When he sat on his son’s bed to tell him all about the historic victory, he spotted salty tide marks on the boy’s arms. “You went down to the sea, didn’t you?” his father asked. Toni nodded hesitantly. “That’s okay, Toni. You should go to the boat more often at weekends.” Later, Toni’s mother and father were sat at the kitchen table when his father said: “I brought something back from the stadium for you.” She unwrapped the small gift and recognised the colours immediately. It was a pair of light blue baby socks. As she ran her hand over her stomach, he asked: “So when exactly is the due date?” Å

The weekly column by our staff writers

Harry Andersson, Sweden Match: Sweden - Cuba Goal: 8–0 (8–0) Date: 12 June 1938

500

Bobby Collins, Scotland Match: Paraguay - Scotland Goal: 3–2 (3–2) Date: 11 June 1958

1 000 th

Rob Rensenbrink, Netherlands Match: Scoland - Netherlands Goal to: 0–1 (3–2) Date: 11 June 1978

1 200 th

Jean-Pierre Papin, France Match: Canada - France Goal: 0–1 (0–1) Date: 1 June 1986

1 500 th

Claudio Caniggia, Argentinia Match: Argentinia - Nigeria Goal: 1–1 (2–1) Date: 25 June 1994

1 800 th

Beto, Portugal Match: USA - Portugal Goal: 3–1 (3–2) Date: 5 June 2002

2 000 th

Marcus Allback, Sweden Match: Sweden - England Goal: 1–1 (2–2) Date: 20 June 2006

2 200 th

A rjen Robben, Netherlands Match: Uruguay - Netherlands Goal: 2–3 (2–3) Date: 6 July 2010

2 208 th

A ndres Iniesta, Spain Match: Netherlands - Spain Goal: 0–1 (0–1 AET ) Date: 11 July 2010

Source: FIFA (FIFA World Cup, Milestones & Superlatives, Statistical Kit, 12.05.2014) T H E F I FA W E E K LY

THE EXPERT

Towards a doping free World Cup

Under observation FIFA will test un-announced all participating players prior to the World Cup in Brazil.

Prof. Jiri Dvorak

xperts from International Sports Federations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and laboratory specialists discussed the future strategy aiming for a doping free sport last November in Zurich. There was a clear consensus, that the fight against doping must be coordinated and conducted in partnership with sports physicians, laboratory experts, scientists and the athlete’s themselves. The results were published in the May issue of the well-respected 30

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“British Journal of Sports Medicine” titled “New Anti-Doping Strategy”. The history of doping Drug testing of footballers (athletes in general) was introduced during the 1966 World Cup England and later during the Olympic Games 1968 in Mexico City. The tests were instigated by athletes who died during the Rome Olympic Games of 1960 and the Tour de France in 1967 and at the same time were linked to the abuse of stimulants such as amphetamine. Since then doping controls are performed at most major sporting competitions.

In the 1990’s, nutritional supplements gained immense popularity amongst athletes. An extensive examination of more than 600 nutritional supplements proved that as much as 15% of them contained prohibited anabolic steroids. Following this alarming publication, FIFA launched an educational campaign warning footballers to avoid nutritional supplements that were not approved by the relevant national regulatory bodies and strongly discouraged the indiscriminate use of nutritional supplements. Also during the 1990’s blood doping became known using the EPO (Erythropoietin)

Nacho Doce / Reuters

As of 1 January 2015, the revised World Anti-Doping Code will be operational. Following the unanimous approval of the code last year, a meeting on Anti-Doping in Sport was held at the Home of FIFA. The aim was to create a r oad-map for the implementation of the new regulations.

THE EXPERT

and/or blood transfusions. FIFA as the first International Federation, consequently introduced blood sample procedures during the World Cup in Korea/Japan. The results did not indicate any suspicion of blood manipulation by the players. US $3 million to catch one cheater FIFA has a very stringent system in doping controls at all competitions, from U-17 to the World Cup. Two players per team, per match are randomly selected, under-going a doping control immediately after the match and the number of players being controlled can be increased should there be a suspicion of doping. Out-of-competition controls are also routinely performed and similar procedures are organised by the Confederations, member associations and national anti-doping organisations. Since 2005 the WADA annual reports on global doping controls, describes the total number of adverse analytical findings. The number of positive cases in football representing the abuse of anabolic steroids and hormones remains on average at 0.03% compared to 0.4% of the overall WADA statistics. This means that compared to other sports, anabolic steroids are abused ten times less in football. On the other side, large financial resources are required to implement the current anti- doping policy. The cost of a single doping test is estimated at approximately US $1000 on average. As a result, given the number of tests conducted each year in football globally (around 30 000), the total cost amounts to approximately US $30 million annually. Based on the statistics it costs around US $3 million to catch one cheater in football for anabolic steroids. This simple calculation expresses the need for a possible change in the longterm strategy. Prevention through Education FIFA and all confederations established a complex educational process particularly geared towards young footballers explaining that there is no single medication which improves the complex footballing performance which requires both skills and cleverness, speed running and endurance, the coordination and mental readiness and finally to also score that lucky goal. On the other side using any prohibited substance is related to a high risk of being caught and sanctioned which sometimes can lead to the end of a career. The World A nti-D oping Code 2015 has increased the

s anctions from two to four years for the first violations of the doping control regulations. All players will be tested It is well established in medicine that healthy normal values can be obtained through the analysis of blood, urine or other body tissues such as hair. While examining patients during daily routines, these parameters are regularly controlled and doctors watch for any deviation which could indicate a possible disease. The same principle is applied for the biological passport. Any deviation from the “genetic blueprint” in athletes may indicate a potential abuse of performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids or hormones and/or the manipulation of blood.

There is no single medication which improves the skills to score that lucky goal. On the other-hand, a deviation in the longitudinal observation may also indicate a possible disease which would require a further investigation. A worthy impressive example is the detection of the human choriogonadotropin hormone in men. This is a substance which can be abused to boost performance, however it may also result in the production of testicular cancer in the young male population. Early detection of such cancer must be treated without delay. The FIFA Anti-Doping Unit discovered such a case through routine controls and immediately informed the footballer to initiate an appropriate medical investigation and treatment. Establishing the biological profile (or passport as commonly known) requires several samples of blood and urine so that laboratory experts and doctors can make comparisons. FIFA in collaboration with the confederations and in future with the national leagues, are currently establishing a

atabase in order to monitor footballers durd ing their professional career. Laboratory findings from different in and out of competitions controls are stored in a central data base for comparison. FIFA began this process by testing players during the Club World Cup 2011, 2012 and 2013, and for the Confederations Cup 2013, all players were tested. The World Cup in Brazil will serve as a bench-mark in the development of the future strategy. All participating players undergo un-announced controls prior to the competition by giving blood and urine samples. The values will then be compared to the values obtained during routine testing following each match. For some players who participated in previous competitions, more samples will be available to draw comparisons. The data base is also enhanced by the sampling procedures obtained from UEFA during the Champions League 2013, 2014 and the Euro 2012. The first results of this more deterrent, possibly efficient and cost effective strategy are promising. And FIFA is experiencing a positive attitude from all teams demonstrating the general support of the football community to keep our sport free of doping. Å

Doping cases in Football 2005

2010

2013

Total samples analysed

23 478

30 398

tbc

Positive cases total

76 (0.32%)

105 (0.35%)

47 (tbc)

Statistics of true positive cases in football worldwide. Total number of samples taken from footballers based upon WADA statistical report (2013 not published yet).

Prof. Jiri Dvorak is the FIFA Chief M edical Officer. T H E F I FA W E E K LY

MIRROR IMAGE

White Hart Lane, London, England

Players photograph players: Tottenham Hotspur duo Jimmy Greaves (left) and Mel Hopkins turn the lens on their team-mates.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Keystone / Getty Images

1962

MIRROR IMAGE

Turf Moor, Burnley, England

2014

Imago

Players photograph themselves: Burnley team-mates snap a selfie after securing promotion to the Premier League.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

ÂŠ 2014 adidas AG. adidas, the 3-Bars logo and the 3-Stripes mark are registered trademarks of the adidas Group.

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FIFA WORLD R ANKING

→ http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/index.html

Rank Team

Change in ranking Points

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Spain Germany Portugal Brazil Colombia Uruguay Argentina Switzerland Italy Greece

0 0 0 2 -1 -1 -1 0 0 0

1460 1340 1245 1210 1186 1181 1178 1161 1115 1082

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 25 25 28 29 30 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 42 44 45 46 47 47 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 55 55 58 59 59 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77

England Belgium Chile USA Netherlands France Ukraine Russia Mexico Croatia Côte d’Ivoire Scotland Denmark Egypt Bosnia-Herzegovina Sweden Algeria Ecuador Slovenia Serbia Honduras Romania Armenia Costa Rica Panama Czech Republic Iran Ghana Turkey Austria Venezuela Peru Cape Verde Islands Nigeria Hungary Slovakia Japan Wales Tunisia Cameroon Guinea Finland Uzbekistan Montenegro Korea Republic Norway Paraguay Iceland Mali Australia Burkina Faso Libya Senegal Jordan South Africa Republic of Ireland United Arab Emirates Bolivia El Salvador Albania Sierra Leone Poland Bulgaria Trinidad and Tobago Saudi Arabia Morocco Haiti

0 0 1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2

1043 1039 1037 1015 967 935 913 903 877 871 830 825 819 798 795 795 795 794 787 759 759 756 750 748 739 731 715 713 711 673 666 665 665 631 623 616 613 613 597 583 580 578 577 555 551 551 551 546 545 545 528 522 511 510 507 504 499 497 488 486 484 479 460 457 455 454 452

Ranking 12 / 2013

01 / 2014

02 / 2014

03 / 2014

04 / 2014

05 / 2014

1 -41 -83 -125 -167 -209

78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 106 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 114 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 122 124 125 126 126 128 128 130 131 131 133 134 134 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144

Top spot

Biggest climber

Israel Zambia FYR Macedonia Jamaica Oman Belarus Northern Ireland Azerbaijan Uganda Gabon Congo DR Togo Cuba Botswana Congo Estonia Angola Qatar China PR Benin Zimbabwe Moldova Iraq Ethiopia Niger Georgia Lithuania Bahrain Kenya Central African Republic Kuwait Latvia Canada New Zealand Luxembourg Equatorial Guinea Mozambique Lebanon Vietnam Sudan Kazakhstan Liberia Namibia Tajikistan Malawi Tanzania Guatemala Burundi Dominican Republic St Vincent and the Grenadines Malta Afghanistan Cyprus Suriname Rwanda St Lucia Gambia Syria Grenada Korea DPR New Caledonia Mauritania Philippines Lesotho Antigua and Barbuda Thailand Belize

Biggest faller

0 -5 0 1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 -1 0 0 0 0 9 -1 -6 -2 -2 -2 8 -3 -3 -2 0 -2 13 3 -3 -3 -3 -1

450 448 443 420 418 404 400 398 395 386 380 374 371 369 367 366 347 338 333 332 327 325 321 319 315 303 293 289 284 284 283 273 272 271 266 261 251 251 242 241 235 234 233 229 227 227 223 215 212 212 204 204 201 197 197 191 190 190 188 175 174 165 161 159 158 156 152

145 146 147 147 149 150 151 152 153 153 155 156 157 158 159 159 161 162 163 164 165 165 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 173 173 176 177 178 179 180 180 182 183 184 184 186 187 188 189 190 191 191 191 194 195 195 197 197 199 200 201 202 202 204 205 206 207 207 207

Malaysia Kyrgyzstan Singapore India Puerto Rico Liechtenstein Guyana Indonesia Maldives St Kitts and Nevis Aruba Turkmenistan Tahiti Hong Kong Pakistan Nepal Barbados Bangladesh Dominica Faroe Islands Chad Palestine São Tomé e Príncipe Nicaragua Bermuda Chinese Taipei Guam Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Laos Myanmar Seychelles Curaçao Swaziland Yemen Mauritius Vanuatu Fiji Samoa Comoros Guinea-Bissau Bahamas Mongolia Montserrat Madagascar Cambodia Brunei Darussalam Timor-Leste Tonga US Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Papua New Guinea British Virgin Islands American Samoa Andorra Eritrea South Sudan Somalia Macau Djibouti Cook Islands Anguilla Bhutan San Marino Turks and Caicos Islands

-3 1 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 -3 0 4 -1 -1 -1 -1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 -4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

149 148 144 144 143 139 137 135 124 124 122 119 116 111 102 102 101 98 93 91 88 88 86 84 83 78 77 75 73 73 73 66 65 64 63 55 55 47 45 43 43 40 35 33 32 28 26 26 26 23 21 21 18 18 16 11 10 8 8 6 5 3 0 0 0

TURNING POINT

“At first I thought it was a joke” On 24 May 2007 Leroy Rosenior was appointed manager of Torquay United, only to lose his job just ten minutes later. The former striker explains what happened.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Name Leroy Rosenior Date and place of birth 24 August 1964, London (England) Clubs Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, West Ham United, Charlton Athletic, Bristol City, Fleet Town, Gloucester City Clubs coached Gloucester City, Merthyr Tydfil, Torquay United, Brentford

it was a joke. That wouldn’t have been out of character for Mike as we often have a laugh together. I went to see him and over a cup of tea he told me he’d sold his 51 per cent stake in the club. Cris Boyce was the new owner and, as I discovered, Paul Buckle was to be the new manager. I thought to myself: ‘you lasted ten minutes in the job, that has to be some sort of record.’ Mike apologised but he didn’t need to. We both laughed about the absurdity of the situation and the press soon got wind of my whirlwind dismissal. I told the BBC that I had done “an excellent job in my ten minutes here.” You’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself a bit. I would do it all over again because it was all about trying to help out a friend. We hadn’t even signed a contract as it all happened so quickly. I still get asked about the episode a lot

but I don’t mind. I’m not bothered by the way things turned out, quite the opposite in fact: I can laugh about it and am at peace with myself. I just wish Torquay could have a bit more to cheer about. It hurt me to see them relegated to the Conference Premier last season. Å As told to Nicola Berger

In Turning Point, personalities reflect on a decisive moment in their lives.

Stu Forster / Getty Images

was sitting at home in Bristol and although it was spring the weather wasn’t great. My last job as manager had ended a few months earlier when I was dismissed by Brentford. At the time I was trying to establish myself as a journalist and I was working on some articles. In the afternoon I got a call from Mike Bateson, the owner of Torquay United. I’ve known him a long time as we’d worked together in the past. He told me he was looking to sell up after 17 years in charge of the club and that he needed someone reliable to help out in the meantime. Even though the club had just been relegated to the Conference, the fifth tier, I said yes straight away. I’d managed the Gulls between 2002 and 2006 and I grew fond of the club during my time there. I was happy to do Mike a favour and it was good to go back to Torquay as I have some friends in the city. In my first spell at Torquay we won promotion to League One despite having a small budget of just £900,000. I wondered whether we might be able to achieve similar success this time but I was also aware that the adventure would be over as soon as Mike found a buyer. The next day I drove from Bristol to Torquay as I’d agreed with Mike to go down there two or three times per week. The season had just finished and there were no training sessions to take charge of. I didn't bother booking a hotel as it was only 100 miles away. A press conference had been called that afternoon and the journalists asked me what my aims were. I said things like improving the side, playing attacking football, getting promoted and so on. At around 4:40, ten minutes after the press conference had ended, Mike called me again and told me he’d sold the club. At first I thought

NET ZER KNOWS!

THE OBJEC T

Which group game do I simply have to watch?

Question from Melvin Olsson, Gothenburg Perikles Monioudis

Playmaker Gunter Netzer, pictured here as a 26-year-old, was a wizard with the ball at his feet.

Hostmüller / SZ-Photo

here are several group matches that are definitely worth watching. The opening game between Brazil and Croatia is one of them, not only because it’s the first match of the tournament, but because those 90 minutes signal the start of a wonderful month. The atmosphere on the first day of the World Cup is always breathtaking and an entertaining opening game obviously contributes to the excitement. I presume you’ll be watching the opening game anyway, Mr. Olsson, so let me recommend another one to be on the safe side. As a European, it’ll rob you of a few hours’ sleep, but it’ll be worth it. On the night of 15 June, Italy play England at midnight (CET). The game is being played deep in the Brazilian jungle, in Manaus. That fact alone makes this one an extremely intriguing contest. Watching all those stars will be a real treat. It’s the first game of a long tournament and a good start could make all the difference. Both teams will want to test each other out, but they mustn’t sit back too much. It’s a strong group and if Uruguay, the third former World Cup winners in the group,

beat Costa Rica a few hours earlier, both teams will be under pressure. The Italians are strong tactically and they’re a force to be reckoned with. The English are all about tradition and fighting spirit. It’s possible they’ll play with an air of freedom as nobody is expecting them to do well. I’m expecting a thrilling match on the night of 15 June. Å

Differentiating roles in the world of work is an age-old practice and certainly dates back much further than even the ideas of Henry Ford, whose assembly lines ushered in a new era of industrial production in the 1910s – and not just for cars. In today’s football, an assistant coach, team doctor and other members of the support staff sit on the bench, ready to intervene at the right moment, led by a coach who issues instructions and makes substitutions. In earlier days, when football had not yet begun to allocate all these roles, the coach was also responsible for treating injured players. For example, if a player was knocked unconscious after going up for a header in the penalty area and falling awkwardly onto the hard, trampled sand below, the coach would go out onto the pitch with a bottle of smelling salts to bring him round and let him sniff them until he was able to rejoin the game. There is no longer any place for smelling salts in modern sport, and the coach has long since delegated medical tasks to others. The bottles and leather bags containing these salts, such as this one embossed with the words “Ramsgate F.C., 3” from the FIFA Collection, are no longer seen on football pitches either, although the leather bag could now be sold on as a stylish vintage piece. A leather bag like the one shown above would not look out of place with fashionable coaches such as Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola. However, Guardiola does not seek to integrate his players in any kind of goal production line with clearly differentiated roles. Instead, he demands that his players do everything equally well, or even perfectly. Although an immaculate bag would fit well with this ethos, don’t you agree that it would perhaps be better suited not to the Spaniard, but to the modern game’s most perfect player, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo? Å

What have you always wanted to know about football? Ask Gunter Netzer: feedback-theweekly@fifa.org T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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The FIFA Weekly Published weekly by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

FIFA QUIZ CUP

Who gets the most World Cup tickets, who played at the Maracana and who will not lift the trophy this summer?

Internet: www.fifa.com/theweekly Publisher: FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, PO box, CH-8044 Zurich Tel. +41-(0)43-222 7777 Fax +41-(0)43-222 7878

Which animal is visible on this 2014 World Cup shirt?

President: Joseph S. Blatter Secretary General: Jérôme Valcke Director of Communications and Public Affairs: Walter De Gregorio Chief Editor: Perikles Monioudis Staff Writers: Thomas Renggli (Author), Alan Schweingruber, Sarah Steiner

Art Direction: Catharina Clajus Picture Editor: Peggy Knotz

A Colombia O Portugal

Production: Hans-Peter Frei Layout: Richie Krönert (Lead), Marianne Bolliger-Crittin, Cornelia Kälin, Mirijam Ziegler

In a football tournament contested by over a dozen national teams from all over the world, hosts Brazil played in the final at the Maracana Stadium against…

I France R Ghana

The majority of the tickets for the 2014 World Cup have gone to Brazil, but which country has purchased the second-highest number?

Proof Reader: Nena Morf, Kristina Rotach Contributors: Sérgio Xavier Filho, Luigi Garlando, Sven Goldmann, Hanspeter Kuenzler, Jordi Punti, David Winner, Roland Zorn Contributors to this Issue: Nicola Berger, Lucia Clement (Picture) Prof. Jiri Dvorak, Franco Nicolussi, Markus Nowak, Dominik Petermann, Alissa Rosskopf, Ricardo Manuel Santos, Andreas Wilhelm (Picture) Editorial Assistant: Honey Thaljieh

Unfortunately for the two players in the picture on the far right, no Ballon d’Or winner or runnerup has been able to follow up that success by triumphing at the next World Cup. Only a few thirdplaced finishers in the vote have managed to do so. Who does not belong in that category? D

Project Management: Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub Translation: Sportstranslations Limited www.sportstranslations.com Printer: Zofinger Tagblatt AG www.ztonline.ch Contact: feedback-theweekly@fifa.org Reproduction of photos or articles in whole or in part is only permitted with prior editorial approval and if attributed “The FIFA Weekly, © FIFA 2014”. The editor and staff are not obliged to publish unsolicited manuscripts and photos. FIFA and the FIFA logo are registered trademarks of FIFA. Made and printed in Switzerland. Any views expressed in The FIFA Weekly do not necessarily reflect those of FIFA.

The answer to last week’s Quiz Cup was Game (detailed answers on www.fifa.com/theweekly). Inspiration and implementation: cus

Send your answer by 4 June 2014 to feedback-theweekly@fifa.org. Correct submissions for all quizzes received by 11 June 2014 will go into a draw to win two tickets to the FIFA World Cup Final on 13 July 2014. Before sending in your answers, all participants must read and accept the competition terms and conditions and the rules, which can be found at http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/af-magazine/fifaweekly/02/20/51/99/en_rules_20140417_neutral.pdf T H E F I FA W E E K LY

A S K T H E W E E K LY

T HIS WEEK’S POLL

Which team can spring a surprise at this summer’s World Cup?

Which club will have the most representatives at the World Cup? Horst Dreher, Berlin, Germany In the provisional 30-man squads, German double winners Bayern Munich are most strongly represented with 17 players. A total of 102 players from the Bundesliga are likely to feature in South America this summer, but the biggest league contingent is the 131 players from England’s Premier League. 101 professionals from Italy’s Serie A have been named, with a further 80 from the Primera Division in Spain. In contrast, only 16 players based in host nation Brazil have been provisionally selected for the World Cup. Football associations must announce their final 23-man squads on 2 June. (thr)

Will it be Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Japan, Nigeria, Switzerland or another country? Who can challenge the favourites? Email your views to: feedback-theweekly@fifa.org

L A S T W E E K’S P O L L R E S U LT S How will defending champions Spain fare at the World Cup?

10% Eliminated in Round of 16

20% Beaten finalists

15% Eliminated in semi-finals

5+10+401520

5% Eliminated at group stage

10% World Cup winners

40% Eliminated in quarter-finals

WEEK IN NUMBERS

league titles was the milestone reached by Crvena Zvezda (pictured

136

successive Ghanaian league titles won by

Dragan Mrdja) this

regular season goals

Asante Kotoko (pictured

season, re-establishing

was the new Major

Osei Kofi) after they

them as Serbia’s record

League Soccer record

champions. The Bel-

set by Landon Donovan.

grade giants, popularly

The 32-year-old LA

known as Red Star,

Galaxy star struck twice

made sure of this latest

in Sunday’s 4-1 win over

championship with a

Philadelphia Union to

game to spare and in

move beyond the mark

doing so ended a

he had shared with Jeff

six-year streak of

Cunningham, this in his

success for their bitter

first game since being

city rivals Partizan

dropped from USA’s

Belgrade.

World Cup pool.

clinched their latest crown with two games to spare last Wednesday. It was the Porcupine Warriors’ 24th championship overall, strengthening their hold on the national record, with old rivals Hearts of Oak five behind on the all-time list.

Getty Images (3), imago, zvg