The FIFA Weekly Issue #32

ISSUE 32/2015, 14 AUGUST 2015

ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

How football became football

SHOW OF STRENGTH

CHINA PR FOUR-WAY BATTLE FOR THE LEAGUE SEPP BLATTER PROTECT HOMEGROWN PLAYERS SONS OF BEN A PIONEERING U.S. SUPPORTERS CLUB

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THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

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“Enthusiasm, excitement and hard work” After 27 years with Ignacio Quereda at the helm, Spain’s women’s team have a new coach. In an interview, Jorge Vilda reflects on his new role.

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S epp Blatter Discussing the foreign player rule in his weekly column, the FIFA President makes his position clear: “At the start of every league match, there should be at least six players per side on the pitch who are also eligible to play for the home association’s national team.”

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Isabell Herlovsen Norway’s star striker explains how her father, a former Bundesliga professional, has influenced her career in football.

Show of strength Students at Eton College contest the Wall Game near Windsor, Berkshire, England.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

South America 10 members www.conmebol.com

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Sons of Ben Philadelphia Union owe their existence to a group of football fans in pursuit of a dream.

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Copa Libertadores River Plate announced their return to the summit of South American football by winning the continent’s most prestigious club competition.

Pictured: Javier Saviola

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FIFA U-17 World Cup 17 October – 8 November 2015, Chile

Amilcar Orfali / LatinContent / Getty Images, Bill Streicher / Icon SMI / Corbis

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North and Central America 35 members www.concacaf.com

Journey back in time As the whistle sounds, the match begins.

Although the forms of football played at English boarding schools Eton, Winchester and Harrow bear absolutely no resemblance to their modern-day counterpart, students continue to uphold tradition with pride and enthusiasm.

Hanspeter Kuenzler reports on these old-fashioned sports.

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

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China PR Although Luiz Felipe Scolari (pictured) remains on course to lead Guangzhou Evergrande to a title defence, their closest rivals are pushing them every step of the way.

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FIFA, China Foto Press / imago

Live Your Goals This campaign is one of FIFA’s most important women’s football initiatives.

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Tough and wild I

t often takes time for great things to come to fruition, and that is certainly true of football. It is impossible to say how many kicks, tackles and goals were needed to transform the beautiful game from the unrefined forms that emerged in England during the 19th century to the modern sport now played by the same set of rules in every corner of the globe.

Nevertheless, it is still possible to compare the game as we now recognise it with early manifestations still practised to this day. This is not a reference to American or Gaelic football - to name just two variants in which the ball can be handled – but to the Field Game and Wall Game, which have also made the leap into the 21st century.

Starting on page six, Hanspeter Kuenzler reports from England on the wild, fiercely competitive versions of early football that live on at the prestigious boarding schools of Eton, Winchester and Harrow. Å

Mario Wagner / 2Agenten

Perikles Monioudis

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Wall Game This traditional sport, with its 120-metre wall and a tree and a gate serving as goals at each end, is still played at Eton.

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Crawling and throwing in at the scrum Eddie Keogh / Reuters

How did football become football? Early versions of the beautiful game are alive and kicking at elite boarding schools Eton, Winchester and Harrow, as Hanspeter Kunzler reports from England.

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Getty Images (2), Charles Humphries (2)

The Field Game Intense jostling is part and parcel of this historic sport, as demonstrated at Eton in 1924 (above right) and 1953 (below left). Today, students at Winchester still play their own brand of football in striped shirts (colour images).

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s you arrive at Eton, just a halfhour drive from the centre of London, you can virtually smell the centuries of tradition. Gothic buildings with shadowy towers, heavy doors and small windows greet you at every turn. Suddenly a bell is rung to signify lesson’s end, sending young men streaming from every doorway. Lunchtime! Each of these scurrying teenagers is clad in short black tailcoats and white shirts with starched collars and small white bow ties. In stark contrast to their exquisite uniforms, many of the students sport dishevelled haircuts reminiscent of Pink Floyd in their early years. While the idea of these boys being dedicated to sporting activities might seem fairly unlikely, this exclusive English private school is one of the cradles of the world’s most popular ball game. In 1882, the Eton Old Boys, a team made up of former students, even defeated Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup final.

A hollering throng The school’s current crop of youngsters reveal their passion for sport just a couple of hours later, as a crowd of boys kitted out in peculiar, old-fashioned shorts and shirts and striped socks trot along after a ball, shouting and hollering as they go. Although the game can initially appear to be little more than an anarchic yet otherwise conventional football match, it becomes clear upon closer inspection that the rules applied here differ significantly to those found at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge. This is the home of the Field Game, in which two teams of ten boys each try to manoeuvre the ball into the opponent’s goal or over the line at the other end of the pitch with a series of kicks.

Passes are as forbidden as handling the ball, and every now and then the players throw themselves into a scrum similar to those found in the sport of rugby.

Angus Graham-Campbell, an English teacher and John Keats aficionado who oversees the various Field Game competitions held within Eton, maintains that while the rules may seem complicated to the outside observer, they are extremely easy to pick up in practice. Although T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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Tough enough?

Nobody wants to be a wimp. More than 150 years ago, this same desire to avoid cowardice sparked a lengthy dispute in England about how brutal football should really be.

Lord Arthur Kinnaird (1847–1923) Tough-tackling footballer and long-time president of the FA.

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Hacking and football JC T hr ing of Uppingham Sc hool, who had at tempted to draf t uni ver sal r ule s a year ear lier, had argued that f ootball’s innate rough ne s s ab sol ved it f r om any c harge of ef f eminac y. But he believed deliberate k ic k ing of shins to be “neither f air nor manly ; na y I do not he sitate to c all it thoroughly un - English and bar bar ous”.

But at the 1863 meeting Mr F W C ampbell of the Blac k heath C lub insis ted that hac k ing was “the tr ue f ootb all game” and tho se w ho oppo sed it were a bunc h of sof tie s who ’liked their pipe s and grog or sc hnap s more than the manly game of f ootball.’ He f ulminated: ’If you do awa y w ith [hac k ing] you w ill do awa y w ith all the c our age and pluc k of the game, and I w ill b e b ound to br ing over a lot of Fr enc hmen w ho would b eat you w ith a we ek ’s pr ac tic e.’ (P lent y of upp er c las s Br i t s a t t he t ime like d to t hink of t he Fr enc h as sexuall y susp e c t we ak lings).

In the event, C ampb ell lo s t a vote to b an b oth hac k ing and c ar r y ing the b all, so Blac k he ath lef t the FA and r ugby b e c ame a sep ar a t e sp or t , s o on c r e a t ing i t s ow n in s t i tu t ion s . Ir onic all y, t he r ugby author itie s later outlawed hac k ing too. But the c or e idea of “manline s s” p er sis ted in b oth c o de s. T his was def ine d in 1901 by one E . A . C . T homson. Wr iting in T he Boys’ C hampion Stor y Paper, one of many imp er ialis t, militar is tic , sp or t s - or iente d magazine s f or b oy s, he dec lar e d: “ T her e is no mor e manl y sp or t than f o otb all. It is s o p e c uliar l y and t y pic all y Br i t ish, demanding pluc k , c o olne s s and endur anc e, w hile t he spic e of danger app e als a t onc e to a Br itish youth who is not of the namby - pamby per suasion.

He love s t he game f or t he sp or t ’s s ake and t hr i ve s up on i t . A sound mind in a sound bod y is pr oduc ed by healthf ul exer c ise and ef f eminate habit s ar e e sc hewe d. He glor ie s in the exc itement of a hard - f ought matc h, disdains to take notic e of a lit tle br uise, and delight s to b e in a v igor ous c har ge, gi v ing k no c k f or k no c k .”

Lord Ar thur Kinnaird’s influence Even to da y, e sp e c iall y in the lower le ague s and among amateur pla yer s, English f o otb all r e tains muc h of this spir it . A nd no - one emb o die d it b e t ter than tough - tac k ling L or d A r thur K innair d, the single mo s t inf lue nt ial indi v idual in t he f ir s t f if t y ye ar s of t he game. No t onl y was he c onsider e d t he f ine s t pla yer of his da y (app e ar ing f or O ld E tonians or T he Wander er s in nine FA C up F i nals), he went on to b e the FA’s pr e sident f or thir t y - thr ee ye ar s, d y ing in 1923, the ye ar Wembley Stadium op ene d. He also hap p ened to b e one of Br itain’s r ic he s t men and was a pugnac ious c hampion of ’muscular C hr is tian’ c ause s inc luding c amp aigns to b an supp o se dl y ’ob sc ene and lewd ’ Fr enc h novels by w r iter s like Emile Z ola and Gu y de Maup as sant .

But p er hap s L or d A r thur K innair d ’s gr eate s t le gac y was his un c ompr omising s t y le on the f ield w her e he was as f amous f or his exub er ant f er o c it y as his long r e d b e ar d.He was c er tainl y not a man to pic k a f ight with. In the apoc r y phal s tor y about his play ing da y s K innair d ’s w if e c onf ide s to a f r iend that she is wor r ie d A r thur will one day c ome home with a broken leg. ’Fear not, madam,’ c ome s the r epl y. ’ T he leg w ill not b e his ow n.’

David Winner

imago

By toda y ’s s tandar ds the var ious s t y le s of f ootball pla yed in Br it ain’s eli te pr i va te s c ho ols in t he e ar l y nine te ent h c entur y wer e f er oc ious. W hile r ule s var ied f r om sc hool to sc hool the game was ever y wher e used to pr omote “manline s s” and make boys f it to r un the Br itish Empir e and ser ve in it s ar my and na v y. T her e wasn’t muc h philo sophic al dif f erenc e be t ween the “pr oto - soc c er ” of E ton or Har row and the handling, r unning game played at Rugby School.

S o w hen af ic ionado s me t in L ondon in 1863 to “r e gula te t he game of f o o t b all ” and c r e a te t he F o o t b all A s s o c ia t ion t hey all ex p ec te d to end up w ith a unif ie d se t of r ule s they ’ d b e happy to pla y by. Ins te ad the me e ting pr o duc e d a bit ter split w hic h le d to the c r e ation of the t wo r i val c o de s of ’r ugby ’ and ’soc c er ’.

T he mo s t imp or tant ar gument was not, as you might think , over the use of hands. S o c c er ’s f ir s t se t of r ule s ac tuall y allowe d pla y er s to c atc h the b all, though they c ouldn’t r un w ith it . (Handling was b anne d onl y thr e e ye ar s later). Rather, the key dispute was over what it meant to be a man. A nd this was under s tood in ter ms of w illingne s s to endur e p ain. Deb ate c entr e d on ’hac k ing’ – the deliberate k ic k ing of the shins whic h was allowed in Rugby ’s game – and b oth side s made their c ase in ter ms of r e d - blo o de d V ic tor i an masculinit y.

Christopher Furlong, Getty Images (2) / Leo Mason / Corbis / Dukas / Bob Thomas / Getty Images

Developing their fighting spirit The Wall Game in Eton gets straight down to business on its narrow playing field as uniformed students look on from the wall above.

the sport is only contested within the school’s walls simply because it is not played anywhere else in the world, Graham-Campbell does not believe that its survival at Eton is born solely from this historic institution’s wish to distinguish itself from other schools. “Naturally we’re quite proud to play a game that nobody else knows, but that’s not why the Field Game has survived,” he said. “The reason is simply because it’s incredibly good fun. Anybody can join in, whether they’re tall and skinny or big and muscular.” But while many sports are becoming increasingly professional, Graham-Campbell explains: “You won’t find any of that in the Field Game. The players turn up at 2.30, the whistle sounds and the game begins – without any lengthy training sessions.”

Consigned to obscurity Although there would probably be a global culture of football today even without the influence of Britain’s boarding schools, there is no doubt that the history of the sport would look very different without them; after all, the inhabitants of these isles have long been known for being fanatical about sport, competition and football in particular. Descriptions of popular pastimes in which a ball was ushered through fields, across meadows and down streets were first recorded here some 700 years ago. This chaotic spectacle displeased thenmonarch Edward II to such an extent that he prohibited it under threat of imprisonment.

Henry IV enforced a similar ban in 1409 after matches between married and unattached men

at weddings became a popular custom. Over the centuries that followed, various rulers issued around two dozen edicts aimed at finally stamping out the game in an age when sports were only considered acceptable if they were of some use to the country as a whole. While archery, fencing, boxing and hunting all found favour with the powers that be, football matches were viewed as barbaric, fundamentally unchristian, dangerous gatherings of subjects that could all too easily end in uproar and rebellion.

Only with the advent of the Industrial Revolution did this situation finally begin to change. Although public spaces for games were dwindling and people working in the new factories were too exhausted to pursue energetic hobbies in their spare time, life in Britain’s T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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Boarding at Harrow Field Game participants require the ability to withstand a certain amount of suffering. The black-and-white image of page 12 was taken in 1946.

boarding schools was quite different. As flourishing international trade and the Industrial Revolution combined to create a vast number of wealthy entrepreneurs keen, together with the landed gentry, to give their children an education befitting their social status, a booming culture of boarding schools emerged. As early as 1519, the rector of Eton College, founded in 1440, spoke of the importance of offering students a well-balanced programme of intellectual and physical training – and football formed a key part of this regime.

“Our students play the game with real enthusiasm and not just for the sake of tradition.”

Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

Poet and mathematician Nick MacKinnon

First Field Game rules recorded in 1815 As private schools had the resources necessary to purchase land purely for sporting purposes, practically every school had developed a form of football tailored to the characteristics of their grounds by the time Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837. Although the desire for competition between schools only arose during the Victorian era, this was impossible as long as each institution had its own set of regulations.

In 1815 Eton once again took on the role of pioneer by committing the rules of the Field Game to paper for the first time, with Rugby School students following suit thirty years later. From this moment on, two distinct forms of football existed: one in which the ball could be played with the hands and a second in which this action was forbidden. In 1863 the devotees of this second discipline established the Football Association, the term “soccer” being a distortion of the word “association”. Eton and its Field Game had been consigned to obscurity.

Whether out of pride, a sense of tradition or simply for fun, three prestigious schools –

Eton, Harrow and Winchester – continue to cling valiantly to age-old rulebooks. Harrow play a form of the game designed to suit its loamy, uneven ground, resulting in a hybrid that uses a heavy cylindrical ball and in which the hands can also be used under certain circumstances.

A narrow rectangular pitch A quirkier yet more entertaining variant is Winchester College Football or WCF, in which teams consist of six, ten or 15 players. The sport is played on a narrow rectangular pitch measuring 80 metres by 15 metres flanked on either side by nets. The aim of the game is to kick the ball over the line at the opposition’s end of the pitch; as in tennis, players can only touch the ball once at a time. WCF enjoys the same status at Winchester as cricket and soccer, and is overseen by poet and mathematician Nick MacKinnon. “Our students play the game with real enthusiasm and not just for the sake of tradition,” he says, suggesting that the sport could have a broader appeal were it not for the specific equipment required to play it. “Most importantly it’s a real game for students, one that everyone can take part in and that cannot be transformed by professionalisation.”

The Field Game is not the only sport to have survived at Eton. Although the origins of the Wall Game are shrouded in mystery, Angus Graham-Campbell has a theory as to how it developed. As only the school’s strongest athletes would have been selected to play the Field Game in days gone by, he believes other students, preferring any activity to sitting around idly, began kicking balls around near the pitch instead. Ever since, teams of ten players have romped about on a strip of grass around 12 metres wide between the edge of the Field Game pitch and a wall that runs alongside it. At one end of this 120-metre-long field is a tree, at the other a doorway, and these two landmarks serve as goals. The narrowness of the playing area means dribbling is practically impossible; instead, participants attempt to move the ball by getting down on their hands and knees and pushing it along the wall in a crawl-like movement. Although a team succeeds in liberating the ball from this melee every now and again – at which point the objective is to hurl it as far as possible in the direction of goal – a game rarely resembles much more than a tangle of arms and legs, and only one or two goals are scored each year. “It’s quite possible,” sighs the teacher, “that our Wall Game is the most boring spectator sport anywhere in the world.” Å

T he P r emier L e ague r e t ur ns W ill C helsea onc e again s tor m to the title this season? T heir r ivals Manc he s ter C it y, Manc he s ter United and L i ver p ool ha ve br ought in major r einf or c ement s dur ing the summer br eak , w hile A r senal appear to ha ve f ound the mis sing piec e of their puz zle by enlis ting the help of goalkeeper Pe tr C ec h.

O f all the potential title c hallenger s, onl y Manc he s ter C it y deliver ed a c onv inc ing p er f or manc e on t he f ir s t we ekend of ma tc he s, ins tant l y c limbing to t he top of t he table w ith a 3 - 0 w in over We s t Br om. Manc he s ter United and L iver pool r ec orded nar r ow v ic tor ie s agains t Tot tenham Hot spur and Stoke C it y r e spec tively, while C helsea c ould onl y manage a 2-2 home draw w ith Swansea. Meanw hile the Gunner s f ell well shor t of ex pec tations. A ner v y displa y at home to We s t Ham meant A r sene Wenger ’s side ultimately lo s t their opener 2- 0. bra

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TALK ING POIN T S

T H E

France: Ligue 1

El Loco stuns Ma rseil le Sarah Steiner is a staff writer on The FIFA Weekly.

The situation in Marseille looks bleak after just one round of matches in France’s new Ligue 1 season, after coach Marcelo Bielsa announced his resignation just minutes following his side's 1-0 opening day defeat by Caen. “My work here is over; I will return to my country,” the 60-year-old declared to the surprise of journalists, dismay of fans and horror of club officials.

In the not-too-distant past, the relationship between Bielsa and Olympique Marseille appeared to be rock solid. The former Argentina and Chile coach reignited a spark at the Velodrome, inspiring his team to a run of eight consecutive victories at the start of their last campaign and steering them to the top of the table after ten rounds of matches – seven points

I N S I D E

ahead of arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain. As Bielsa crafted a side capable of playing high-tempo football, one with a tremendous willingness to chase down the ball and press the opposition, fans began to dream of welcoming the league trophy back to their corner of southern France.

Alas, it was not to be. Despite the disappointment of ending the season in fourth place and missing out on a Champions League spot, El Loco – a nickname for Bielsa that translates as “The Crazy One” – kept his job. Now, just a few weeks later, he has stepped down.

Marseille have been left bewildered by the news. “This resignation is a real blow for us,” said club president Vincent Labrune. “I am, like all of our supporters, dumbfounded by this shock, which leaves us in a difficult position.”

Bielsa, however, seemed to have little sympathy for Labrune’s plight. Citing contract extension difficulties as the reason for his departure, he revealed: “I’m frustrated and can no longer accept the unstable situation at this club.”

So what now lies ahead for OM, and what will become of players such as Karim Rekik, Javier Manquillo, Lucas Ocampos, Bouna Sarr and Nicolas Nkoudou, who were brought into

the team by Bielsa and who joined the ninetime French champions to play for him? How do fans feel about losing their new hero? And most importantly, who will be named as the Argentinian’s successor?

The managerial merry-go-round is already in full swing, with Eric Gerets, Michael Laudrup, Guus Hiddink, Walter Mazzarri, Zinedine Zidane and Jurgen Klopp among the many illustrious names linked with the job. Although a poll in leading French sports newspaper L'Equipe suggests that the fans’ preferred candidate is the former Borussia Dortmund coach, the German’s representatives have already released a statement saying: “It is correct that Jurgen has rejected Marseille. OM were really interested in signing him, but the time is not yet right for him to return to coaching.”

In sharp contrast to the turbulence on France’s southern shores, it is business as usual further north. After signing from Manchester United for €60 million, PSG’s latest addition Angel Di Maria watched from the stands as the reigning champions beat Lille 1-0 away from home, while Monaco also made a solid start to the season by defeating Nice 2-1. Å

Hotseat vacated Marcelo Bielsa resigned from his post as OM coach just one game into the new season.

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AFP / Bertrand Langlois

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China PR: Super League

T it l e r a c e e nte r s h o m e s t r a i g ht Annette Braun is a staff writer on The FIFA Weekly

China is no stranger to major sporting events.

Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the capital city recently earned the right to host the Winter Olympics in 2022. The same goes for football. The first FIFA Women’s World Cup™ took place in China in 1991, and the competition was held there again in 2007.

The Chinese are enthusiastic about the beautiful game, so it comes as no surprise that the Spanish league recently agreed a deal to broadcast its matches in 300 Chinese cities. China represents a growing football market that is not only being stimulated by the showing of foreign matches on TV and visits from famous European clubs, but also by an exciting league of its own.

The current Super League season is entering its final phase and after 22 games, four teams are battling it out for the title. Only a few points separate Guangzhou Evergrande FC, Shanghai SIPG, Beijing Guo’an and Shandong Luneng at the top of the table.

imago

In recent years, Guangzhou Evergrande have dominated the Super League, winning four titles in a row. The club invests heavily in coaching staff and players, and its dominance has made it the benchmark for Chinese football.

Italians have played a big part in Evergrande’s success story. In 2012, FIFA World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi took over as head coach and led Guangzhou to three league titles as well as the 2013 AFC Champions League. When Lippi quit in 2014, the club decided to replace him with another Italian, and another FIFA World Cup winner, in Fabio Cannavaro. His cameo in Guangzhou only lasted six months, though. Despite momentarily occupying top spot in the table and reaching the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, he was replaced this summer by Brazilian legend Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was given the task of writing the next chapter in the club’s success story.

Guangzhou’s latest addition Robinho (centre) made his debut in a 1-0 win over Hangzhou Greentown.

Scolari is being ably assisted by a few of his countrymen. Top players Paulinho, Ricardo Goulart and two-time Super League top goalscorer Elkeson are spreading their South American love of the game. July saw a 7-0 drubbing of Chongqing Lifan as well as the arrival of Robinho on a six-month contract.

Despite all that, though, Guangzhou’s title defence is not guaranteed.

In Sven-Goran Eriksson, Shanghai SIPG also have an experienced coach who last year led Evergrande’s city rivals Guangzhou R&F to an unexpected third place finish in the Super League and qualification for the AFC Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. So is it time for a changing of the guard in Chinese football? At the moment Shanghai are in second place, and a 3-0 friendly defeat to Atletico Madrid will not deter the club from the target it set out when it was founded 10 years ago: winning the Super League.

Scolari and Eriksson are familiar foes. Who can forget the quarter-final encounters of UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ when Scolari’s Portugal beat Eriksson’s England on penalties? When Shanghai host Evergrande on 12 September there can be no penalty shoot-out, but the result should give an indication of who will triumph in the title race. If the 1-1 draw between the two sides earlier in the season is anything to go by, fans can expect a close match. Å

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FOOTBALL FOR HOPE

Football for Hope is our global commitment to building a better future through football. To date, we have supported over 550 socially-responsible community projects that use football as a tool for social development, improving the lives and prospects of young people and their surrounding communities

To ďŹ nd out more, visit the Sustainability section on FIFA.com.

SIEGER RIV ER PL AT E SHOULD BE RIV ER PL AT E C H AMPIONS

Like a phoenix from the flames After years of obscurity, River Plate have put themselves back on the map by winning the Copa Libertadores for a third time.

A AFP / Juan Mabromata

t first, sheer horror engulfed over the Estadio Monumental. Then, the gut-wrenching disappointment gave way to rage.

While the players shed bitter tears on the pitch, riots began on the streets of Buenos Aires. Without a doubt, 26 June 2011 was the darkest day in the history of Club Atletico River Plate, one that has forever been etched into the minds of every River fan for all the wrong reasons. On that day, after 80 years of competing in the top flight, the great powerhouse of Argentine football was relegated to the Nacional B league.

Glorious comeback Another seminal date for all River supporters is 5 August 2015, and this for altogether more positive reasons. This was the day that River once again reached the pinnacle of South American club football. Four years after their disastrous demotion, the club with the diagonal red stripe on its crest defeated Mexican club Tigres 3-0 to lift the Copa Libertadores.

Following a 0-0 away draw in the final’s first leg, River won the continent’s equivalent of the Champions League for a third time, following successes in 1986 and 1996.

Club icon Marcelo Gallardo played a major part in the triumph. As a player, Gallardo made 262 appearances for the club, before taking the reins as coach in 2014 as the successor to Ramon Diaz. He was able to carry on the good work of his predecessor, ensuring a Hollywood-style

Back at the top Gabriel Mercado (l.) and Gonzalo Martinez show their delight after winning the Copa Libertadores.

happy ending for both of them – and, of course, for Argentina’s most successful club.

River Plate’s story began on 25 May 1901, when the club was founded in the area of Buenos Aires known as La Boca, precisely the location where their greatest rivals, Boca Juniors, have their roots. Since the 1930s, River have been referred to by the nickname ‘Los Millionarios’ – the millionaires – on account of their practice of signing players such as Bernabre Ferreyra and Carlos Peucelle for comparatively large sums of money, as well as for progressively moving further away from their origins, the poorer neighbourhoods of La Boca.

One city, two great rivals Whereas Boca Juniors call the city’s port district home to this day, River relocated to the more affluent district of Núñez. What has since developed is a footballing rivalry fiercer and more intense than any other on the planet. The clubs’ meetings have become known as El Superclasico and are a staple of Argentine sporting culture. In 2004, the English weekly newspaper The Observer ranked the derby top of its list of 50 sporting things to do before you die.

The latest episode of El Superclasico occurred recently, with River meeting Boca on the way to sealing Copa Libertadores title number three. Emotions boiled over in the quarter-final, so much so that the game had to be interrupted at half-time after the home fans at Boca’s La Bombonera stadium sprayed chemicals in the

direction of the River players. The derby was already an event not intended for the faint-hearted, but with River’s return to the top of the footballing tree, it has become even more extreme.

After gaining promotion back to the top tier in 2012, the club from Núñez won their 36th national title in 2014, before going on to lift the Copa Sudamericana in December that year. Now la Banda Roja have a third Copa Libertadores title to celebrate. In former times it was players such as Alfredo Di Stefano or Hernan Crespo who wrote River into the history books; now it is a new generation, spearheaded by the likes of Javier Saviola and Fernando Cavenaghi. If their coach is to be believed this could be just the beginning of a new era: “We want more,” says a determined Gallardo. Å Annette Braun

FIFA Club World Cup 2015 A f ter r eac hing the C opa L iber tadore s f i nal, R iver P late booked their plac e at the FIFA C lub Wor ld C up 2015 ™, w her e the be s t teams f r om eac h c onf ederation w ill v ie to b e c ome wor ld c hampions . A long side River Plate, Barc elona, C lub A mer ic a and Auc k land C it y ha ve so f ar qualif ied f or the tour nament, whic h w ill take plac e f r om 10 -20 Dec ember in Japan.

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Name Jorge Vilda Date and place of birth 7 July 1981, Spain Clubs played for Barcelona (youth team) Real Madrid (youth team) Clubs coached

Jean Paul Thomas / Icon Sport

2010-2014 Spain U-17 (women) 2014-2015 Spain U-19 (women) since 2015 Spain (women)

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THE INTERVIEW

“I’ll bring my own ideas to the Spain job” Spain’s women’s team has a new boss. After 27 years in the post, Ignacio Quereda has stepped aside to be replaced by the country’s former U-19 women’s team coach Jorge Vilda.

So, the time has come for a change. What will you bring to the national team?

Jorge Vilda: Enthusiasm, excitement and hard work more than anything else, all with the aim of qualifying for the Women’s EURO 2017 finals in the Netherlands. We’ll take the methods we used with the youth teams and apply them to the senior side and we’ll pursue the same style, though I’ll be bringing in my own ideas.

What is your approach to the game?

We’ve always had the same footballing philosophy at the Spanish FA at all levels, which makes the step up from one age group to another easier. Every coach has their own style, though. We’ll be making some changes with the senior team, though we’re still at the stage where we’re planning and mapping things out. It’s too early to be any more specific than that.

What’s your work schedule in the lead-up to your debut match?

We’ve got FIFA matchdays in September and I’m planning to get the players together then for an intensive training camp, where we’ll be doing the ground work for the match in Finland in October.

Are you worried that the situation the players have been through has had a negative effect on them? Do you think you’ll also need to work on motivation and the mental side of things?

Not at all. They’re very professional and I know that when we start training enough time will have gone by for all those emotions to have dissipated. I’m sure that they’ll turn up in the best possible shape so they can make a fresh start, leave the past behind and put all their energies into making the future a bright one.

Have you spoken to the players yet?

Yes. They’ve given me a lot of support and encouragement. They’ve shown that they’re ready and willing to focus on training hard so that we can compete to the best of our ability.

What’s the most special message you’ve received these last few days?

reached finals competitions and World Cups at youth level can continue their development, grow in maturity and form a more competitive side with more international experience at senior level.

You watched the World Cup from back home in Spain. Did it attract a lot of attention?

Yes, people really followed it, which even I was surprised by. I knew people would be watching but I didn’t expect them to follow it so closely. A lot of people who aren’t involved in women’s football started to watch the games, despite the big time difference. The sport got into people’s homes and into the media. I hope it’s not a short-lived thing and that we can build on it and give the sport the place it deserves in the media and society. Å Jorge Vilda was speaking to Tamara Castro

Well, when the announcement was made, and before I started looking at all the messages I was getting, I made a call to my father.

Who else? He’s always been my teacher and I owe everything I am as a person and as a coach to him. He was the first person I called and he was very happy.

Did he give you any advice?

What did your predecessor say to you?

He wished me luck and said he’d be there if I needed anything.

La Roja’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debut at Canada 2015 ended in a disappointing exit in the group phase, which caused a lot of tension between the players and the coach, with the team asking for a change in direction. Do you think that whole situation has put more pressure on you and created more expectations?

I put more pressure on myself than anyone on the outside can. It’s the worst kind of pressure too. I know that, but that’s the way my head works and there’s nothing I can do about it. At the same time, I think it sort of protects me and stops external pressure from affecting me.

He’s not one for doing that. If I have any doubts, he’s always there for a chat. He doesn’t give any advice though. He’s great at being able to look ahead and see the big picture and his support is a huge help for me.

Why do you think that the success enjoyed by Spain’s women’s youth teams has not been replicated at senior level?

At national team level there’s a still big gap with the leading countries. Having a more competitive league would be a big step forward, though things are happening in that respect. We’ve benefitted a lot from players leaving to go and play in Europe’s top leagues.

That’s something we’re going to notice in time. We still have to be patient, though, and wait a while so that the players who’ve T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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First Love Place: Mogadishu, Somalia Date: 24 March 2015 Time: 6.08 p.m.

Photog rapher: Carl de Souza

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AFP

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GRASSROOTS

FIFA inspiring girls and boys to play football FIFA’s Grassroots programme is the core foundation of our development mission, aimed at encouraging girls and boys around the world to play and enjoy football without restrictions. Grassroots focuses on the enjoyment of the game through small-sided team games, and teaching basic football technique, exercise and fair play.

For more information visit FIFA.com

F I F A U -17 W O M E N ’ S W O R L D C U P

PRESIDENTIAL NOTE

Jordan 2016 official match schedule announced

Protect domestic players

“H Pure joy A Jordanian football fan at King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman.

Khalil Mazraawi / AFP

F

IFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) are pleased to announce the match schedule for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which is now available on FIFA.com, following the approval of FIFA’s Executive Committee. Over the course of 22 days, 16 teams will play a total of 32 matches across four stadiums. The Amman International Stadium will provide the setting for the opening match, as well as the final match on 21 October 2016.

The match schedule was created following a thorough analysis of various aspects related to the tournament including the stadiums, teams and audiences, as well as matters pertaining to marketing, media, ticketing and timing, among others.

While in the process of devising the match schedule, the LOC took several points into consideration, which included ensuring that the national team plays in all host cities – Amman, Irbid and Zarqa – thereby providing fans across the three governorates and their surrounding areas with the chance to attend and support their national team. The LOC also made sure that the opening ceremony, opening match, closing ceremony and final match will take place on Fridays, which will encourage audiences of all age groups to participate.

Furthermore, the match schedule was designed in a manner that would allow Jordanian audiences to attend various games featuring different teams. As such, the participating teams will move for each game of the group stage between the designated stadiums, namely the Amman International Stadium in Amman, King Abdullah II ­International Stadium also in Amman, Al-Hassan Stadium in Irbid and Prince Mohammad Stadium in Al Zarqa. The LOC has also ­ensured that the match schedule will be divided in a way that is suitable for local media entities, thereby helping to ensure comprehensive media coverage.

“We were keen to feature the national team in the opening match in Amman, the second game in Irbid and the third in Al Zarqa, in line with our efforts to provide local audiences with the opportunity to watch the games live and cheer for their home team,” commented LOC Chairman Salah Sabra. Å tfw

onour local talent”. A principle that used to have great importance in football is now being increasingly sidelined. Using the leading five teams in the top European leagues as a gauge, foreign players accounted for 77.1 per cent of all the minutes played in England last season. In Spain the figure was 57.1 per cent, in Italy 54.8 per cent, in Germany 53.1 per cent and in France 38.5 per cent.

At the same time, the number of players who make the breakthrough at the club whose academy they came through (and continue to play there) is steadily decreasing. Of all the minutes played in the top leagues, only 14.3 per cent of the total was played by footballers who graduated from the respective club’s academy. France had the best record in this regard with 19.3 per cent, while England had the worst with 10.2 per cent.

This brings me back to an idea I put forward in 1999: the 6+5 rule.

At the start of every league match, there should be at least six players per side on the pitch who are also eligible to play for the home association’s national team.

Unfortunately this modification contravened the European principle of people’s freedom of movement. Nevertheless, it would have been possible to implement the change in Europe with the support of the wider football community. In England in particular the issue is still a topic of much discussion, as in order for their national team to be able to compete at the highest level again, a certain “conservation” of domestic players is indispensable. That is something the Russian Football Association has now realised. As of this season in the Russian Premier League, there must always be five players per team eligible to play for Russia on the pitch. The idea behind this is to help the Sbornaya get back on track in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ on home soil.

In my opinion this scenario remains open to western Europe too.

The principle of freedom of movement could still be upheld, because there are only 11 players on the pitch, whereas squads contain up to 30 players. It is one thing to have a contract, but quite another to be on the field of play. With a little good will, we could again take up the idea of quotas for foreign players and seriously consider ­implementing it.

Best wishes, Sepp Blatter T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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SONS OF BEN

EXEMPLARY SONS

What started out in a bar in Philadelphia has become a movement that has gripped an entire city and led to the founding of a Major League Soccer (MLS) team. Sarah Steiner reports on the singular history of the Sons of Ben.

At home on the Delaware River Philadelphia Union have played at the PPL Park in Chester since 2010.

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SONS OF BEN

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James Dimmock / AUGUST

hiladelphia is a city steeped in history. Often dubbed the ‘birthplace of the USA’, it is here that America’s modern democracy has its roots. The first continental congress met here, the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were drawn up here and, for a brief period, Philadelphia even became the nation’s capital. Nowadays it is the USA’s fifth-largest city, and Independence Hall and Liberty Bell stand as reminders of its glorious past.

On the banks of the Delaware River lies the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It houses the Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team; the Lincoln Financial Field, where the Philadelphia Eagles play American football; and the Wells Fargo Center, home to NHL side the Philadelphia Flyers and basketball team the Philadelphia 76ers.

In the USA hardly anything attracts as much attention as the Big Four: the four most popular sports in the country that have the biggest fan bases. Bryan James is no exception. “I grew up as a fan of baseball and American football,” he said. “But I was also fascinated by football.”

When the 1994 FIFA World Cup™ was staged in the USA, that fascination became a passion. Although the euphoria that had gripped the nation later subsided, with football falling under the radar for a while in Philadelphia, James was hooked. “It just didn’t let go of me,” he recalled. He soon started to dream of the city having its own football team.

Yet James had to be patient and more than a decade passed before kindred spirits with the same enthusiasm for the game arrived. The turning point came towards the end of 2006, when he finally found like-minded people who were equally convinced that Philadelphia needed a franchise. “There’s something you need to know about Philadelphians,” James explained. “We love our city! So we believed that if we could find a way to persuade people that our idea was a good one, then politicians, investors and the league should pay attention to us too.” On 17 January 2007 the fan club ‘Sons of Ben’ was founded, with James as its president. The name was chosen in honour of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the USA and a cult figure in Philadelphia.

It was a fan club without a team, but with a big dream.

1,500 members in its first year It was a passion for football that united the SOBs, as members call themselves, and despite not having a team of their own they were unwilling to give up on their sport. They went to other teams’ games and supported their own imaginary side. “The media response was enormous,” James said. In June 2007 the club travelled to New York to watch the match between MetroStars/Red Bulls and Kansas City. Renowned sports magazine Sports Illustrated heard about them and wrote on article on the group. “That generated even more impetus,” James explained.

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SONS OF BEN

Yellow-blue wall The Sons of Ben support their club unconditionally.

Founding father It is thanks to Bryan James that Philadelphia has an MLS franchise.

The SOBs started out with the objective of adding 100 new members in their first year. That target was easily surpassed, as within the first 12 months the group already numbered over 1,500. “We’d dreamed about it, yes, but we also invested a lot in it,” James said. The fan club’s core arranged weekly meetings that lasted at least two hours in order to plan, organise, discuss and, if possible, inspire people to take an interest in football.

No time to celebrate The Sons of Ben founders had achieved what they set out to do. Investors heard about the fan club and approached them for discussions.

The breakthrough came in 2008 with the founding of the Philadelphia Union franchise. “I could hardly believe it, I was over the moon,” recalled James. However, he had little time to celebrate. “As we were involved in the whole process, we needed to get to work straight away.”

He and his friends had just three weeks to design scarves, have t-shirts printed and to make sure Philadelphia Union would be a success.

On 28 February 2008, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced that Philadelphia’s application for a new franchise had been approved.

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Yet it was another two years before fans were able to see their team in action in the MLS. “There’s an unbelievable amount of planning that goes into it,” James said. Financial partners needed to be found, a brand formulated, a team put together and warm-up games played. On 11 May 2009 the club’s official name, colours and crest were unveiled. The idea behind the word ‘Union’ was to recall the 13 colonies, of which Philadelphia was the capital, while yellow and blue hailed back to colours of the uniforms worn by the continental army during the American Revolutionary War. Included in the crest, alongside the 13 stars, the snake – which stands as a reference to a political caricature of Benjamin Franklin – and the shield from the Philadelphia city coat of arms, is a light blue colour in tribute to the Sons of Ben. Giving back Union’s new home was in Chester, an area located 30 kilometres south of Philadelphia. It was there that the club’s new stadium, PPL Park, was built. “Of course it would have been nice to have had a stadium in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex,” admitted James. “But Chester was

Martin Hunter / Getty Images, Jared Castaldi, Jeff Zelevansky / Getty Images

American enthusiasm The Sons of Ben have managed to inspire people to take an interest in football.

SONS OF BEN

chosen and we’re happy there.” The suburb had previously made headlines for drugs and criminality, but that did not dissuade the Sons of Ben from establishing their new home there. What is more, they were even driven to give something back to the local community.

After the ground-breaking ceremony at the start of construction on the stadium in 2008, James and Co. founded the ‘Help Kick Hunger’ campaign. Working alongside the Bernardine Center, which provides those in need with food, the fan club began helping the local community. They also worked alongside the Starfinder Foundation of Philadelphia, an organisation that uses football to support children’s development and health through free time activities and education. Sons of Ben organise charity events too, aimed at combatting poverty in Chester. “We want to give something back to the city of Chester and its inhabitants,” said another of the SOB’s founders. “We want to help support the football movement and we want to have an impact on things we consider to be important for us and our members.” James explained further: “We dedicate ourselves to this commitment throughout the year because we’re just as passionate about supporting our team as we are about supporting the people in Chester.”

James Dimmock / AUGUST, Brian Garfinkel / Getty Images

Banking on the Open Cup Philadelphia Union have played in the MLS Eastern Conference for five years. In 2011 the team had their best season to date by finishing third and therefore qualifying for the play-offs, only to lose to Houston Dynamo in the quarter-finals. Union have not reached the play-offs again since. However, in the U.S. Open Cup they have had some joy: in 2012 they went as far as the quarter-finals and even made the final in 2014.

This year too, the fans’ only hopes for success are in the cup, as in the Eastern Conference Philadelphia Union currently sit second from bottom in the standings with 24 of the 34 rounds of matches played. On 12 August, however, Union beat Chicago Fire 1-0 in the Open Cup semi-final and will face Sporting Kansas City in the final at the end of September. Victory there would hand them a place in the 2015/16 CONCACAF Champions League.

James will be watching on, although he is no longer the Sons of Ben president, having handed the reins to Kenny Hanson four years ago.

“My mission had been fulfilled,” he said by way of explanation. However, his love for the club remains as strong as ever, as does his fascination with the game itself. Indeed, it was that fascination that led to Philadelphia Union being founded in the first place. Å

SONS OF BEN - THE MOVIE Filmmaker Jeffrey C. Bell is a multi-awardwinning director from the Delaware Valley. Working in multiple genres including music, film and comics, Bell has directed television appearances by artists including Jeff Bridges, Lady Gaga, Lenny Kravitz and Weezer. In 2011 he was nominated for a Webby Award for his short documentary about Stan Lee, the creator of SpiderMan, the Avengers and many other Mar vel superheroes, and began shooting a film about Philadelphia Union’s supporters group Sons of Ben the same year. This featurelength documentary made its US premiere in Philadelphia on 10 June 2015, having previously been screened at the 11mm Football Film Festival in Berlin in March.

Sons of Ben – The Movie.

Jeffrey Bell.

Documentary film, 75 minutes.

Rothbury Road Productions.

Loyal fans Union supporters drum up an atmosphere during their side’s 3-1 defeat to Sporting Kansas in the MLS. Youthful exuberance A young fan celebrates a 2-1 victory over Montreal Impact.

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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Inspiring girls around the world The Live Your Goals campaign is one of FIFA’s most important women’s football ­initiatives, enabling girls and women in more than 50 member associations to benefit from s­ pecialised training, Q&A sessions and targeted development programmes.

Fostering a sense of community Girls are encouraged to fulfil their sporting dreams through teamwork and fair play.

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ing dreams with a blend of persistence, fair play and teamwork. Since being launched to coincide with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 in Germany, the Live Your Goals programme has become one of FIFA’s leading initiatives for supporting women’s football. The campaign’s first phase began in Costa Rica, Japan, Azerbaijan and Republic of Ireland in 2012; today events are held in more than 50 countries worldwide, enabling countless women and girls to benefit from it. Some 225 projects have already been implemented including 125 planned for 2015.

To ensure that more girls continue joining football, FIFA provides support to member associations implementing the Live Your Goals by helping with branding, communications,

concept development – as well as providing financial assistance over a period of four years.

Catching up with the stars Live Your Goals has also left its mark in Tanzania, as the country held its first LYG festival at the Nyankumbu Girls Secondary School in Geita in early July. Women’s football is enjoying ever greater popularity in this East African nation, in no small part thanks to the fact that the women’s national team have qualified for the first time for the All-Africa Games taking place in Brazzaville, Congo, from 3 to 18 September. Excitement reached fever pitch as girls arriving at the event were welcomed by internationals Sophia Mwasikili, Fatuma Omary and Esther Chabruma, who shared all kinds of

Simon Bruty / FIFA

M

ore than a month after the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™, the impact of this hugely successful tournament is still being felt around the footballing world. The crowning of USA as world champions as well as the impressive performances from a number of the other 23 participating nations has inspired many young girls to start playing the sport in the hope of one day emulating their new heroes.

FIFA’s Live Your Goals campaign supports these dreams by encouraging girls and young women to not only give football a try but also stick with it in the long term. This global initiative is aimed at inspiring girls and women to play the beautiful game and fulfil their sport-

WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

footballing tips and tricks with these promising youngsters. More than 250 girls of all ages attended the event, kicking a ball around and competing against each other on small pitches.

Pedro Rocha, FIFA (2)

Specialised training Three years ago, a few months before the start of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2012 in Azerbaijan, the women’s game entered a new era in the ­country where Western Asia meets Eastern Europe, as the Live Your Goals initiative and Legacy programme were launched in Baku. FIFA recently organised another festival as part of the latter programme, which provides specific steps for getting young girls and women involved in the game and offers training and seminars for coaches and referees.

The event picked up where previous activities left off, as six coaches – including Azerbaijan’s U-19 and U-21 international ­Aysun Aliyeva – gave the young participants a grounding in shooting accuracy, coordination and much more. Meanwhile, any visitors not taking part in events on the pitch put their knowledge to the test with a football quiz and received small gifts from the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) at the end of the day. Looking ahead, hosts of the next FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup – Jordan – will also be implementing a Legacy programme.

Football festivals in Scotland The LYG campaign was celebrated with three separate festivals in Scotland as several hundred eager young footballers met in Aberdeen, Paisley and Glasgow to improve their ball skills. In Paisley alone, 314 girls took part in technical exercises and small-pitch games, while girls from 12 different secondary schools gave their all in seven-a-side games in Aberdeen, many of them trying out the sport for the very first time. Meanwhile in Glasgow, ten sportswomen fielded questions from students at St. Ninian’s High School and explained how they managed to reach the pinnacle of their respective disciplines. “This day showed the girls everything that the world of sport has to offer,” said Josef Fuchs, a sports teacher at the school.

FIFA is once again enhancing its commitment to women’s football for the period from 2015 to 2018, with more than $22 million being invested in specific programmes. Together with the 15% of the Financial ­A ssistance Programme funding that FIFA requires its member associations to allocate to women’s football, it amounts to almost USD 70 million for investment. “We’re aiming to increase the number of girls and women playing football by 2019 and Live Your Goals is a key programme to achieve this”, said FIFA’s Senior Women’s Football Development Manager Mayrilian Cruz Blanco. Å tfw

Improving coordination Girls learn to improve their playing skills at LYG festivals.

Celebrating success Playing together, winning together.

Getting guidance Participants listen intently as the pros share their tips and tricks.

During the FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFA ran a social media campaign to help increase women’s participation in football, gathering more than 30,000 pledges of support for the Live Your Goals campaign. Further information on FIFA’s Live Your Goals campaign can be found by visiting http://lyg.fifa.com T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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FIFA PARTNER

FREE KICK

SPOTLIGHT ON

GENER AL INFORMATION Country: Aruba FIFA Trigramme: ARU Confederation: CONCACAF Continent: South America Capital: Oranjestad

European foibles

GEOGR APHIC INFORMATION Surface area: 178.91 km²

Perikles Monioudis

Mario Wagner / 2Agenten

A

lthough it may not be obvious at first glance, football and American football have several things in common. Both sports are blessed with the advantage of bringing together different body types in the same team. No matter whether a player is relatively diminutive like former world-class French playmaker Alain Giresse or tall like English striker and heading specialist Peter Crouch, weighs 60 kilograms like the average wide receiver or tips the scales at more than 110 kilos like a strong safety, they will find a role in any amateur team. The same cannot be said for sports such as basketball, where a very specific physical predisposition offers a clear advantage.

What’s more, football and American football share a playing position – no, not wide receiver or quarterback, who, despite their ability to handle the ball, are in no way equivalent to a goalkeeper. The position in question is known in American football as the kicker, tasked with scoring a field goal by firing the ball between the posts.

For many fans of this beloved US sport, the kicker is not a “real” playing position as he is only occasionally required on the field. It is no wonder, then, that it is the kicker who brings the most recognisable element of soccer into the sport. Hungarian-born Pete Gogolak was among the first, if not the first, to begin approaching the ball from the side rather than head-on, as was conventional at the time. He also opted to strike the ball with the inside of

Highest point: Jamanota 188 m

his foot rather than the toe, taking two steps away from the ball and three to the side before running in to kick it.

Although American football aficionados in this era regarded this move as nothing more than a European foible, Gogolak was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1964 and later played for the New York Giants.

Twenty years later the overwhelming majority of professional kickers were striking the ball like the man from Budapest once did, simply because it was more effective. Since then, the success rate for field goal attempts has risen from 60 per cent to a current figure of more than 80 per cent.

Who knows, perhaps the conversion rate for penalties could be improved by importing a new method from American football – foible or no foible! Å

Neighbouring seas and oceans: Caribbean Sea

MEN’S FOOTBALL FIFA Ranking: 137th World Cup: No appearances

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL FIFA Ranking: 140th World Cup: No appearances

L ATES T RESULTS Men’s: Barbados - Aruba 0:3 14 June 2015 Women’s: US Virgin Islands - Aruba 1:0 27 May 2014

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1910

Bob Thomas / Pooerfoto / Getty Images

A Notts County player and his coach during pre-season training.

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Frank Fife / AFP

USA international Shannon Box with her daughter Zoe after the World Cup final.

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THE ART OF FOOTBALL

An ancestor of Andrea Pirlo?

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“My girlfriend likes the beard.

Now and again it’s good to please her.

Plus it makes me feel mature – people believe I’m older now!”

Brazil’s Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.

Ronald Düker

Getty Images

M

aster detective Sherlock Holmes may have practiced bartitsu, a British art of self-defence with Japanese influences, but Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous character is not known for his physical assets, much less any athletic ability.

Holmes was actually what one might nowadays call a couch potato. He would sit brooding in his London apartment at 221B Baker Street, and if anything untoward occurred, then it was his razor-sharp intellect that kept his mind focused on the job, even if that intellect constantly worried the life out of his room-mate and assistant Dr. Watson when the two were not busy cracking a case.

So if Holmes was lazy, can he be compared with football’s ‘lazy’ protagonists?

Was he a precursor of the footballing geniuses who would occupy the centre circle, socks round their ankles, using their innate ability to read the game to invariably create a goal with one pin-point pass? Was he the literary equivalent of those players who were defined not by their physicality but by their speed of thought? Indeed, could Holmes somehow be an ancestor of Andrea Pirlo or Carlos Valderrama?

As it happens, Holmes’ creator Doyle was himself an enthusiastic amateur footballer for Portsmouth Association Football Club, but his active association to sport ends there. Only in the short story ‘The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter’ is sport a theme for Doyle. In the story, the captain of the Cambridge University rugby team visits Holmes after his team’s best player – Godfrey Staunton – goes missing

the day before a decisive match against fierce rivals Oxford.

“Whether it’s passing, or tackling, or dribbling, there’s no one to touch him. And then he’s got the head and can hold us all together”, says the skipper of his irreplaceable star name.

Holmes has never heard of this sportsman of supposedly nationwide fame. “You live in a different world to me, a sweeter and healthier one. My ramifications stretch out into many sectors of society, but never, I am happy to say, into amateur sport, which is the best and soundest thing in England.” On this occasion, however, the great man is mistaken, as the principle of fair play which informed his opinion of sport has been brazenly violated.

In the end – as you would expect – Holmes solves the case with the minimum of fuss, but the way in which he does so, the way he assembles seemingly trivial and minor details to form a picture of the entire story and then, in the blink of an eye, find the solution is remarkable. Is there no parallel to be made here with the countless times Lionel Messi has conjured a pass from out of the blue right into his striker’s path? The same genius, the same elegance?

Not necessarily. Ascertaining which current footballer is the beautiful game’s Sherlock Holmes is a question that likely cannot be answered. The one man that comes close, according to one supporter, is the only player that can leave opponents chasing his shadow just by watching them, and then play the decisive, killer pass: Andres Iniesta. Not everyone, it seems, is of the same view. Å

“I always try to be honest, and sometimes this hinders me. But I had a problem with drink. It showed in the tests I did. I had to stop drinking.

I liked drinking like the majority do, but sometimes you end up going over the top. I understood the message clearly.

A while later I did another biopsy.

Everyone was shocked, because the black spots that had appeared when I was drinking were no longer there. But everyone still calls me a drunk (laughs)!”

Chilean footballer Jorge Luis Valdivia Toro.

"I'm sorry it did not work out as I would have wished in this amazing, huge club. I want to give special thanks to all the directors and management of Manchester United as well as to every member of the staff and colleagues as they gave me all their support. Also a special mention to all the fans who always trusted me and showed me their respect and love. Now it's time to move to PSG but the glorious Manchester United will be forever in my memory!”

Angel Di Maria in a letter to Manchester United supporters

“Now I won’t have to play with my back to goal anymore.”

Marek Hamsik on what he thinks about Rafa Benitez leaving his post as Napoli coach T H E F I FA W E E K LY

35

TURNING POINT

“My father’s advice was crucial” Norway’s Isabell Herlovsen is one of her country’s all-time top goalscorers, thanks in part to her father’s almost daily presence with her on the training pitch during childhood.

Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

T

he enormous wealth of experience my father Kai-Erik has still means a great deal to me today. He played in Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach for seven years and earned 34 international caps, so he’s passed on a lot of the know­ledge he gained to me. He was also my very first coach and trained me for eight years at my club in Begby, which is a small village close to Frederikstad. That’s where I grew up.

Begby was my first club and I joined them when I was six. We used to live just a few minutes away from a playing field, so every day I’d go down there with my dad and we’d practice playing football. I always did so voluntarily because the better I’ve become the more I’ve enjoyed playing. When I was 14 I had to leave the boys’ team and my first women’s side was Kolbotn IL. My father was a defender and although he’s still a role model for me, I became the exact opposite: a striker. Incidentally, my current international goals tally is 43, which is more than the number of appearances he made for Norway. I don’t view it as a contrast but rather as a systematic development. I started out playing in midfield and later became a striker.

When I was a girl I used to practice passing a lot with my dad, and we’d always work on shooting too. That was what I enjoyed most.

That early period was a defining time for me. In the team in Begby it didn’t take long before I was moved from midfield to attack because I was quick and very dangerous in front of goal – all thanks to my father. He always had a few useful tips on how I could improve, and still does today. We frequently have intensive discussions about my games and the advice my father gives me is still extremely valuable to me. I wouldn’t want to go without

those conversations. As a defender it was always his job to nullify his opponents, so he knows exactly how strikers behave and what defenders can do to combat them.

Those chats are a huge help when it comes to continuing to develop the way I play and perfecting my skills. Sometimes my father’s advice suddenly comes to me in a specific situation the middle of a game, and he ghosts into my head with a proposed solution. At times like that it’s crazy how close he is to me; it’s almost as if he were a part of me. My dad and I have always had a close relationship and I’m proud of that.

I believe the intensive conversations with my father and the frequent training during my childhood were crucial for me to be able to reach the level I’m at today. They’ve also had, and will continue to have, a huge influence on my career. Without my father’s input, who knows if I’d have become the youngest ever goalscorer at a European Championship at the age of 16, or whether I’d have finished as top scorer in the Norwegian league three years ago. Å Isabell Herlovsen was speaking to Rainer Hennies

Name Isabell Herlovsen Date and place of birth 23 June 1988, Monchengladbach, Germany Position Striker Clubs 2004–2008 Kolbotn IL 2009–2011 Olympique Lyon Since 2011 Lillestrom SK Kvinne Major honours Norwegian championship 2005, 2006 Norwegian cup winner 2007 French championship 2010 National team Norway 103 caps, 43 goals

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

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

37

MEN’S WORLD R ANKING

Argentina (unchanged) Chile (10th, up 1) Netherlands (12th, down 7) 29 Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, USA (6 matches each) Albania (up 166 points) Jamaica (up 21 ranks) Germany (down 185 points) Serbia (down 23 ranks)

Leader Moves into top ten Moves out of top ten Matches played in total Most matches played Biggest move by points Biggest move by ranks Biggest drop by points Biggest drop by ranks Rank Team

+/- Points

Rank Team

1 Argentina

0 1425

55 Jamaica

2 Belgium

1 1244

3 Germany

+/- Points

Rank Team

Last updated: 6 August 2015 +/- Points

Rank Team

+/- Points

21

596

108 Guatemala

-3

299

163 Timor-Leste

2

56 Trinidad and Tobago

8

595

110 El Salvador

-22

289

164 Bhutan

2

128

-1 1226

56 Japan

-6

595

111 Namibia

3

284

165 Suriname

-2

124 124

130

4 Colombia

0 1218

58 Paraguay

-2

588

112 Bahrain

1

282

165 Indonesia

-1

5 Brazil

1 1186

59 Congo DR

1

555

113 Mauritania

15

273

167 New Caledonia

0

118

6 Portugal

1 1177

60 Guinea

-2

552

114 Benin

-18

269

168 Malaysia

0

116

7 Romania

1 1166

61 Australia

-2

551

115 St Vincent and the Grenadines

0

268

169 Central African Republic

1

111

8 England

1 1157

62 Equatorial Guinea

1

546

116 Kenya

0

266

170 Bangladesh

-1

102

9 Wales

1 1155

63 Mali

-2

545

117 Syria

0

259

171 Pakistan

1

101

1 1124

64 Gabon

1

544

118 Palestine

1

255

172 Chad

1

100

10 Chile 11 Spain

1 1110

65 Panama

-3

528

119 St Kitts and Nevis

12 Netherlands

-7 1032

66 Serbia

-23

523

119 Cuba

1

254

173 Dominica

1

98

-15

254

174 Yemen

-3

96 90

13 Croatia

1 1023

67 Bolivia

-1

515

121 Botswana

-1

253

175 Maldives

1

14 Slovakia

1 1016

68 Norway

-1

495

122 Madagascar

0

251

176 US Virgin Islands

-1

88

14 Austria

1 1016

69 Bulgaria

-1

489

123 Belize

-5

242

177 Laos

0

86

16 Italy

1 1001

70 United Arab Emirates

-1

484

124 Korea DPR

5

240

178 Montserrat

0

74

17 Switzerland

1

997

71 Burkina Faso

1

482

125 Philippines

-1

239

179 Chinese Taipei

0

72

18 Uruguay

-5

988

72 South Africa

-2

478

126 Kuwait

-3

237

180 Cambodia

1

66

19 Algeria

0

941

73 Zambia

-2

465

127 Moldova

-3

236

181 Mauritius

-1

63

20 Czech Republic

0

933

74 Uganda

-1

463

128 Lesotho

3

229

182 Sri Lanka

1

62

21 Côte d’Ivoire

0

912

75 Faroe Islands

-1

456

129 Dominican Republic

-3

224

183 Brunei Darussalam

1

61

14

888

76 Uzbekistan

-1

452

130 Lebanon

0

223

184 Nepal

1

57

23 France

-1

882

77 Montenegro

4

423

131 St Lucia

-4

220

185 Seychelles

1

56

24 Iceland

-1

877

78 Estonia

4

420

132 Swaziland

6

218

186 Comoros

1

50 50

22 Albania

25 Denmark

-1

876

79 China PR

-2

416

132 Burundi

-1

218

186 Tahiti

2

26 Mexico

14

838

80 Togo

3

415

134 Afghanistan

0

212

188 Macau

-7

49

27 Ghana

-2

827

81 Honduras

-1

409

135 Bermuda

1

209

189 São Tomé e Príncipe

0

48

28 Bosnia and Herzegovina

-2

819

82 Cyprus

3

391

135 New Zealand

1

209

189 Cayman Islands

0

48

29 USA

5

816

82 Morocco

2

391

137 Aruba

-2

201

191 Solomon Islands

0

47

30 Ukraine

-3

791

84 Haiti

-5

387

138 Barbados

3

198

192 San Marino

0

40 33

31 Russia

-3

782

85 Iraq

1

386

139 Thailand

1

197

193 Turks and Caicos Islands

0

32 Scotland

-3

774

86 Latvia

1

377

140 Tanzania

-1

194

194 British Virgin Islands

0

27

33 Poland

-3

769

87 Sudan

3

375

141 Kazakhstan

1

193

195 South Sudan

0

22 20

34 Tunisia

-2

768

88 Armenia

1

373

142 Gambia

1

191

196 Vanuatu

1

35 Hungary

-4

763

89 Angola

3

371

142 Guinea-Bissau

-9

191

197 Samoa

-1

19

36 Ecuador

-1

758

89 Finland

1

371

144 Nicaragua

-1

188

198 Fiji

1

17

37 Sweden

-4

752

91 Rwanda

-13

369

145 Luxembourg

1

187

198 Tonga

-1

17

38 Costa Rica

3

728

92 Jordan

0

357

146 Guam

8

185

200 American Samoa

1

12

39 Senegal

0

722

93 Saudi Arabia

-1

351

147 Liechtenstein

0

182

201 Papua New Guinea

1

9

40 Northern Ireland

-3

721

94 Libya

2

345

148 Curaçao

1

173

201 Andorra

1

9

41 Iran

-3

718

95 Qatar

1

344

149 Turkmenistan

3

172

203 Eritrea

1

8

42 Cameroon

0

667

96 Belarus

4

341

150 Puerto Rico

0

169

204 Mongolia

1

6

43 Congo

4

666

97 Mozambique

-2

339

151 Hong Kong

3

168

204 Somalia

1

6

44 Greece

0

661

98 Malawi

10

335

152 Guyana

7

167

206 Djibouti

1

4

45 Turkey

3

627

99 Ethiopia

2

330

153 Vietnam

-10

166

206 Cook Islands

1

4

46 Slovenia

3

626

99 Oman

3

330

154 Georgia

-1

165

208 Anguilla

1

0

47 Israel

4

620

101 Canada

2

323

155 Singapore

-5

162

208 Bahamas

-8

0

48 Venezuela

-3

617

102 Niger

-6

312

156 Kyrgyzstan

1

160

0

160

-10

159

49 Peru

-3

612

103 FYR Macedonia

2

311

156 India

50 Cape Verde Islands

2

608

104 Sierra Leone

7

304

158 Tajikistan

50 Republic of Ireland

2

608

105 Antigua and Barbuda

2

303

159 Malta

-1

157

52 Egypt

3

606

106 Azerbaijan

2

302

160 Grenada

0

153

53 Nigeria

4

601

107 Lithuania

3

301

161 Liberia

0

150

54 Korea Republic

-2

599

108 Zimbabwe

4

299

162 Myanmar

0

142

38

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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

President Joseph S. Blatter

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Any views expressed in The FIFA Weekly do not necessarily reflect those of FIFA.

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Internet www.fifa.com/theweekly

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Translation www.sportstranslations.com

2

MEDIUM

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Project Management Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub

9

2

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1

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8

2

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T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Puzzles courtesy: opensky.ca/sudoku

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