The FIFA Weekly Issue #7

ISSUE 7, 7 DECEMBER 2013

ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

The Final Draw analysed

PATHS TO GLORY RAYMOND DOMENECH: FRENCH EXPECTATIONS

USA: THE GAME GAINS GROUND

MONTSERRAT: PLENTY OF PROMISE W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY

CONTENTS

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M ajor League Soccer There’s a new kid on the block, challenging the all-American sports of baseball, American football, basketball and hockey.

Football could promote greater societal cohesion and inclusiveness in the USA.

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Turkish Süper Lig These are turbulent times at Istanbul giants Galatasaray, where Didier Drogba’s improvised team talk unleashed a fierce debate. Is coach Roberto Mancini a subordinate to his most famous player?

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“ French expectations are running high” Raymond Domenech spent years fending off fierce criticism as France coach, but he is not the type to look back in anger. He discusses his successor, the 2014 World Cup and the Guardiola method.

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South America 10 members 5.5 World Cup places www.conmebol.com

Peter Vermes Going places with Sporting Kansas City

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North and Central America 35 members 3.5 World Cup places www.concacaf.com

Spotlight on the groups The 32 teams have been assigned to eight groups for the 2014 World Cup. The FIFA Weekly chief editor Thomas Renggli reports from the spectacular draw in Brazil. We check out the stats and ask, who did fortune favour, and who was out of luck?

Julius Andrew Montserrat stalwart

M ontserrat They will not be competing at the World Cup and they are a team with no stars, but there’s plenty of footballing passion on Montserrat, where the training ground boasts one of the finest views in the world. A Caribbean snapshot.

T he greatest World Cup of all?

England 1966 was stirring, Italia 90 a spectacle. But Brazil 2014 has the potential to be the greatest World Cup of them all. The key ingredients are quality, drama and memorable anecdotes.

Sepp Blatter Great memories of Brazil

S epp Blatter The FIFA President declares his love for Brazil, fondly recalling watching “A Seleção” in bars and cinemas as a lad: “Pele, Zagallo and Garrincha were my heroes.”

G uantanamera!

Unforgettable, simple, and charming: “Guantanamera” is arguably the most enduring football anthem in history. We examine the song’s meaning and why it is such a relaxing listen.

Turning point Bora Milutinovic has coached on four continents and led teams to the World Cup five times. In the midst of a nomadic career spanning decades, the Serb found personal happiness in Mexico.

Groups A-C Group A

Group B

Group C

Brazil

Spain

Colombia

Croatia

Netherlands

Greece

Mexico

Chile

Côte d’Ivoire

Cameroon

Australia

Japan

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

Europe 53 members 13 World Cup places www.uefa.com

Africa 54 members 5 World Cup places www.cafonline.com

Asia 46 members 4.5 World Cup places www.the-afc.com

Oceania 11 members 0.5 World Cup places www.oceaniafootball.com

Raymond Domenech The interview

ISSUE 7, 7 DECEMBER 2013

ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

The Final Draw analysed

PATHS TO GLORY RAYMOND DOMENECH: FRENCH EXPECTATIONS

USA: THE GAME GAINS GROUND

MONTSERRAT: PLENTY OF PROMISE W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY

Paths to glory Cafu, a 1994 and 2002 World Cup winner with Brazil, adorns our cover. Following the draw for the eight groups at next summer’s tournament, the 32 teams have an initial idea of what to expect in the first stage.

Didier Drogba Sparking a debate at Galatasaray

Cover: Buda Mendes/Getty Images Inhalt: Getty Images, AFP

Bora Milutinovic The coaching legend’s turning point

Groups D-H 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

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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UNCOVERED

Warm handshake between friends: Nelson Mandela (right) welcomes FIFA President Blatter to Johannesburg in 2008.

Mandela’s example Thomas Renggli, Costa do Sauipe

Chris Ricco/Backpagepix

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he Brazilian resort of Costa do Sauipe is in many respects a closed community.

The hotel complex, golf course, tennis courts, bike hire facility, swimming pools and white sandy beaches stretch as far as the eye can see. This microcosm changed very little even in the course of last week, when the hustle and bustle in the build-up to the group stage draw reached its climax. The customers were different, of course: instead of golf instructors and bar staff, people wanted to talk to national team coaches about the World Cup, and the bookings were done not by travel agencies but by FIFA and the Brazil 2014 Local Organising Committee.

And then on Thursday this sunny selfcontained world was caught off balance by an item of headline news, the death of South African Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela. At a stroke, debates about which team goes in which pot and pre-draw guessing games suddenly became irrelevant. Globo TV’s on-thespot reporter simply put down her microphone.

The legendary Pele paid a spontaneous tribute:

“Mandela was my hero,” he said. Hardly any individual has had such a lasting and peaceful impact on world events in the last century as the freedom fighter and towering statesman, who emerged from 27 years’ imprisonment with his ideals and beliefs intact, and went on to free South Africa from the grotesque injustice of apartheid.

FIFA President Blatter was very close to Mandela and reacted with grief to the news of his passing: “It is in deep mourning that I pay my respects to an extraordinary person, probably one of the greatest humanists of our time and a dear friend of mine.” Blatter ordered the flags of all 209 member associations flying at the Home of FIFA in Zurich to be lowered to half-mast. The next round of international matches will open with a minute’s silence.

Blatter frequently experienced Mandela’s charisma and personal strength at first hand: “When he was honoured and cheered by the crowd at Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium on 11 July 2010, it was as a man of the people, a man of their hearts. It was one of the most moving moments I have ever experienced”, the FIFA President recalled.

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The story of apartheid is also the story of South African football, always the sport of the black population in stark contrast to rugby or cricket. The “black” and “white” associations were only reunited in 1994. Hosting the 2010 World Cup finals sent out a powerful sporting and political message.

“Nelson Mandela and I shared an unwavering belief in the extraordinary power of football to unite people in peace and friendship, and to teach basic social and educational values as a school of life,” Blatter said as he continued his tribute from Brazil.

Mandela personified the 2010 World Cup. It would be true to the great man and his convictions if the World Cup in Brazil next year was a festival for the world. Å

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Mandela, Samba and Pele Viva Brazil! The World Cup draw show in Costa do Sauipe was a celebration of the hosts’ country and culture, and the perfect appetiser to a colourful festival of football.

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Shaun Botterill

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Protagonists in the drama. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff with FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, World Cup winning coach Vicente del Bosque with the trophy, Margareth Menezes and Olodum, FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke and presenter Fernanda Lima during the draw, the 32 national team coaches, the legendary Pele (clockwise from top left).

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Thomas Renggli, Costa do Sauípe

or the World Cup Final Draw, the Brazilian hosts staged the kind of fast-paced, rhythmic and creative extravaganza the nation expects from A Seleção six months from now. Prior to that though, the early minutes of the event were dedicated to the man who decisively contributed to the 2010 World Cup taking place in Africa, the great Nelson Mandela.

Together with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, FIFA President Blatter called for a minute of silence to open proceedings.

Then, he ushered in a joyful occasion: “Let us always pay tribute to humanity and peace. But now it would be entirely faithful to the memory of Nelson Mandela to give ourselves up to the joy of living. Enjoy life, and enjoy football.

The 2014 World Cup will be the best of all time,”

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Blatter promised. Rouseff assuranced the FIFA President that would indeed be the case: “There’s nowhere else where football is such a huge part of the lifestyle as it is here.”

Eight legends with fate in their hands Some 27 weeks prior to the big kick-off in Brazil, the teams’ fate now lay in the hands of eight former players representing all previous World Cup winners. Cafu of Brazil, Fernando Hierro of Spain, Zinedine Zidane of France, Fabio Cannavaro of Italy, Lothar Matthaus of Germany,

Alcides Ghiggia of Uruguay, Geoff Hurst of England and Mario Kempes of Argentina were tasked with pulling the balls from the pots.

One of the eight even made a decisive intervention in the procedure for the draw presided over by FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.

During the dress rehearsal, former Germany captain Matthaus noted that in assigning a European team from pot 4 to the same group as one of the four South American teams in pot 1, three balls would remain unopened at the end.

“And I’m absolutely certain someone would

“It is faithful to the memory of Nelson Mandela that we now give ourselves up to the joy of living.” FIFA President Blatter T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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Getty Images

have claimed not all the teams were assigned to the four balls.,” Matthaus remarked.

FIFA immediately acted on the ex-player’s observation and repeated the dress rehearsal on the morning prior to the draw itself: “I’m proud it was me of all people who happened to notice,” Germany’s most-capped player beamed.

Virtuosity as a right There was no mistaking the star quality of the line-up from the Brazilian side, spanning generations, genders and even species: Ronaldo, Bebeto, Marta and official mascot Fuleco took centre stage in front of the 3,200 invited guests and media representatives. However, even they had to share second spot on the bill behind Pele, the ultimate figurehead for an entire country and, arguably alongside Muhammad Ali, the most famous sportsman of all time: “When Brazil failed to win the World Cup against Uruguay at home in 1950, I witnessed my father crying. I don’t want my children to

“There’s nowhere else where football is such a huge part of the lifestyle as it is here.”

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

see me crying next July. Brazil is ready,” said the only man to win the World Cup three times as a player.

Once upon a time, success for the national team provided a joyous escape from a multitude of problems in Brazil, but those days are over, as last summer’s Confederations Cup made clear. Nevertheless, the 2014 World Cup still has the potential to become one of the greatest events in sporting history. After a 64year absence, the world’s most important single sporting event returns to the place where footballing aesthetics and virtuosity are one of the rights of man.

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Asked about the physical dominance of most European teams, Pele had an answer to hand: “Fortunately football isn’t only about physique. It ultimately comes down to technique.” Pele the footballer was the living embodiment of that creed, and his fellow countrymen are clearly listening to their idol in their approach to the World Cup. Over the last few days in sunny and summery Costa do Sauipe they have provided a foretaste of what we can expect in Brazil six months from now: hospitality, passion, and warmth. It will be carnival time in June and July, a huge festival in the land of unlimited footballing potential. Å 9

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Spain v Netherlands: The Final in 2010, a group clash in 2014. Spain’s Andres Iniesta evades Rafael van der Vaart (right) to score the only goal in Johannesburg.

Battle of the Boatengs. Half-brothers Jerome (left, Germany) and Kevin-Prince (Ghana) at the 2010 finals.

In Brazil, Ghana will seek to avenge their 1-0 defeat.

Another brotherly duel awaits Perikles Monioudis

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ext year’s global showpiece is finally taking shape. The 2014 World Cup group draw in Costa do Sauipe has given the strongest teams the best chance of lifting the trophy by placing one seeded team in each group before allocating each of the remaining teams from each confederation. But enough of the theory, how did the draw actually pan out?

Hosts Brazil face a relatively comfortable task to progress to the knockout stages. They play the Opening Match against Croatia in Sao Paolo on 12 June ahead of games against Mexico and Cameroon. Meanwhile, defending champions Spain face a repeat of the 2010 World Cup Final against the Nether10

lands, a match La Roja won 1-0 after extra time, before meeting smaller opponents Chile and Australia.

Group D: the “Group of Death” Group D features the strongest line-up. Uruguay, currently ranked sixth in the world, are due to meet England and Italy, who will contest their opening game in the Amazon rainforest, as well as Costa Rica. The composition of the group means that one of La Celeste, the Three Lions or Gli Azzurri will be forced to exit the tournament after the group stage.

The second strongest group contains Germany, Portugal, Ghana and USA and will play host to two noteworthy duels. Half-brothers Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng will compete against one another on the international T H E F I FA W E E K LY

stage once more when Germany meet Ghana, after Jerome prevailed over his older half-brother in Die Mannschaft's 1-0 win in the 2010 World Cup group stage.

Another enticing prospect awaits in Group G, where Germany coach Jogi Low will be reunited with former coaching partner and current USA boss Jurgen Klinsmann. The pair masterminded Germany’s “summer fairy tale” at the 2006 World Cup, and Low now has a chance to step out of his former mentor's shadow. Although it is difficult to compare the two teams, three-time world champions Germany are likely to overcome the Americans. Klinsmann, of all people, scored against the USA as recently as the 1998 World Cup. The presence of in-form midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo will provide additional excitement in Group G. Although his team only qualified for the finals by beating Sweden in the play-offs, the Portuguese superstar could go far on the game’s biggest stage if his team performs well enough.

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The boss and his apprentice. Germany national coach Jurgen Klinsmann (right) and assistant Joachim Low at the 2005 Confederations Cup.

Keystone, Getty Images, Imago

“England and Italy will contest their opening game in the Amazon rainforest” How the remaining groups shaped up Much like Brazil, four-time World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi and his Argentinian team-mates face opponents that are unlikely to pose too much trouble in Group F: newcomers Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria. In contrast, uncertainty awaits in Group H, where surprise package Belgium have been joined by Algeria, Russia and South Korea, giving them a realistic chance of meeting Germany in the Round of 16.

There is also the possibility of a sensational encounter between Brazil and the Netherlands early on in the knockout stages. The Italians might then await the hosts in the quarter-finals, while defending champions Spain could face Uruguay in the same round.

Only then will the relative pedigree of the seeded teams shine through, in keeping with the belief that the tournament only truly gets going after the group stage. Å

Roy Hodgson: “We have a chance” Joachim Low (Germany coach): “We have to accept the group as it is. It's certainly something special to have the USA and Jurgen Klinsmann in our group.”

Jurgen Klinsmann (USA): “It's one of those crazy stories football writes. From a USA point of view it’s a tough group and couldn't have been harder, but we’ve built up our self-confidence over the last two-and-a-half years and we believe we can go through.”

Paulo Bento (Portugal): “It's a tight group with a favourite, Germany. But our ambition doesn’t depend on the group. We want to be in the Round of 16 and that’s what we’ll fight for.”

Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil): “We open against a European team, which was my preference T H E F I FA W E E K LY

because they’ll have to get used to the weather and other factors first.”

Roy Hodgson (England): “It's a tough group, no doubt about that. We’ve almost got two top seeds in our group with Uruguay and Italy. Provided we’re well prepared we have a chance.”

Didier Deschamps (France): “The important thing will be winning our first match against Honduras. Not playing Switzerland first is an advantage.”

Fabio Capello (Russia): “It's not such a bad draw for us. We’re playing in the centre of Brazil. I’m happy.”

Vicente del Bosque (Spain): “It's good we play the Netherlands first. It demands we start at our highest level and it’s good for our mentality.” Å 11

With Visa you are always welcome in the country of football.

© 2013 Visa. All Rights Reserved. © 2013 Getty Images.

TALK ING POIN T S

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USA: Major League Soccer

The essence of identity

I N S I D E

“Football could soon become as American as baseball.”

David Winner is a London-based author and journalist. His books on football include “Brilliant Orange” and “Dennis Bergkamp: Stillness and Speed”.

Real Salt Lake City and Sporting Kansas City may not bring much big city glamour to today’s MLS Cup final – the climax of the American domestic soccer season - but they exemplify the rapid change sweeping American sport.

Other football countries have tended to look down on North America. One British journalist once quipped that MLS stood for “Much Lousy Soccer” but as another, Simon Kuper, observes: “contrary to foreign belief, the US is now a proper soccer nation”.

Saturday’s match staged in the purpose-built Sporting Park soccer stadium in Kansas City will be fast and technical on the field - and noisy in the stands. Like the teams of the Pacific northwest, Sporting have a fervent following, akin to that of medium-sized clubs in Europe or South America. With home advantage, the Kansas side assembled by charismatic coach Peter Vermes will be favourites.

Bethlehem Steel and Fall River Marksmen in the American Soccer League. But the league collapsed in 1933 and, after the Second World War, the NFL exploited the vacuum to make gridiron the country’s dominant winter sport.

Soccer was pushed to the margins as a game for immigrants and expats.

In the 1970s the game revived with the glitzy North American Soccer league (NASL) which attracted crowds and world stars like Pele and Franz Beckenbauer but folded in 1984. Meanwhile, however, a revolution was under way.

Ever-larger numbers of children began to play soccer at school, and new media (first ethnic TV channels, later the internet) brought the world game into American homes. During the last decade this globalising process seemed to reach a critical mass. Americans now watch top football from other lands on mainstream channels and are as knowledgeable about the world game as anyone.

While the formidable US women’s team won world cups and became a national phenomenon, the MLS strategy of working from the grass roots also paid dividends. Since 2000,

the average attendance at an MLS game has risen 35 per cent to 18,600. The US national team which once struggled to qualify for World Cups is becoming a power in the game.

A distinctive American fan culture has also developed. The game remains weak in the southern states but teams like Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders have impressive fan groups while the boisterous and colourful Sam’s Army supports the national team.

The surging popularity of soccer is often thought to threaten the nation’s other big sports. But Professor Peter Alegi, Italian-born historian and soccer specialist at Michigan State University suggests there is room for all to flourish. Moreover, he predicts that the game may soon be regarded as American as gridiron, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.

“Forty years ago people would have laughed at that notion, but soccer is such a wonderful way to bring people together across national, ethnic, race, class and gender lines and create a kind of common culture. In America that’s very important because the

Salt Lake, by contrast, symbolise demographic and cultural change. Reflecting the United States’ growing Hispanic population, the Utah side rejoices in Latin roots and playing style.

The team’s name derives in part from a formal link with Real Madrid. The colours – dark red and blue trimmed with gold – resemble those of Spain’s La Roja.

Chris Nicoll/Reuters

Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis, one of the country’s brightest, has recruited players from Central and South America and his California-born 20-year-old star Luis Gil turned down a chance to join Arsenal. A creative, technical playmaker more in the South American tradition than the athletic US style, Gil has been called “the future of American soccer”.

US football is often seen as an alien import, yet it has deep American roots. In the 1920s huge crowds of working class fans in north eastern cities flocked to watch teams like

MLS action in late November: Robbie Findley (left) and Chris Schuler of Real Salt Lake are beaten to the ball by Portland Timbers keeper Donovan Ricketts.

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population is so diverse that there are very few things that almost everyone can relate to. Soccer is starting to occupy some of that common ground. In 20 years’ time maybe we’ll be having a conversation about how soccer really captures the essence of American identity.”

TV comedians like Stephen Colbert once got easy laughs by mocking soccer as “boring”.

Not any more. Perhaps the most telling sign of the times is in politics. President Reagan began his public career as a radio baseball commentator. Later his image as all-American man was lent a heroic glow by having portrayed gridiron hero George “The Gipper” Gipp in a film.

The current occupant of the White House prefers to stress his different sporting pedigree. Three months ago TV cameras filmed President Obama as he enthusiastically joined a school soccer training session in New York.

“I was driving by,” he explained, “and I thought, you know, I need to kick around a ball a little bit.” Å

reason for wanting to relive it now that they have made sure of another World Cup appearance in Brazil. To celebrate their qualification, Uruguay’s kit supplier Puma launched a special commemorative video, in which a ghost wanders through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, causing fear among its inhabitants.

Shrouded in blankets and wearing the number 50 on his back, the ghost is seen playing football on the Copacabana, dancing in the Sambodrome, sauntering through a favela and walking around a virtual Maracana. At the end of the video, a legend appears: “The ghost of 1950 is stalking Brazil”.

While the ghost’s garb may be a little frayed and the heroes of the Maracanazo have faded in the collective memory, he embodies the dreams and hopes of a relatively small nation, one that has already won the World Cup twice and has designs on adding a third.

The national team’s outings are the only opportunity the fans have to see Uruguay’s best players – the likes of Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez, Martin Caceres, Christian Stuani, Diego Godin and Maxi Pereira – in action on the same pitch. Virtually all La

Uruguay: First Division

The Uruguayan Guardiola Jordí Punti is a novelist and the

Celeste’s first-choice players play their trade in Europe, while the Uruguayan league is more of a Montevideo-based event than a national championship. Of the 18 teams currently in the first division only four hail from outside the capital. The remaining 14 sides are scattered around its suburbs, giving rise to a series of urban rivalries that are the very essence of street football.

Fighting it out for supremacy in the west of the city are Fenix and Racing Club, while Wanderers, Bella Vista and River Plate enjoy a three-way rivalry in the Prado district and Cerrito and Rentistas are the protagonists of El Clásico del Cerrito.

The biggest fixture in Uruguayan football, however, is the superclásico between Penarol and Nacional. Together they have claimed the lion’s share of the country’s league titles, only failing to win the professional championship ten times in its 80-year history, though the current Torneo Apertura could well see them miss out for an 11th time. With two matchdays to go, Penarol are out of the running and Nacional, whose form has been unconvincing, lie second. In the latest staging of the superclásico in November Penarol won 3-2 away to Nacional, a match marred by serious fighting between rival fans, which caused the referee to halt play for ten minutes. Penarol’s victory was a point of pride for them, a means of saying: “If we can’t win the title, then neither can you.” Although Nacional are still in contention along with Danubio and Rentistas, the side best placed of all are River Plate.

author of many football features

Every country has its own reason for wanting to be at the World Cup in Brazil and Uruguay’s is a little bit out of the ordinary. After beating Jordan in the play-offs to make sure of their place, La Celeste have their sights set on nothing less than a repeat of the Maracanazo, which as you will no doubt remember was their 2-1 defeat of the host nation in the final and decisive match of the 1950 World Cup. Never has a game produced such a dramatic outcome or created as many heroes and villains. And never has a crowd shed as many tears as the 177,000 souls who packed into the Maracana that afternoon, a world-record attendance.

While that day proved to be the most tragic in the history of the Brazil team, it was filled with glory for Uruguay, who have every 14

Sought-after coach: Guillermo Almada of Club Atletico River Plate de Montevideo.

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Raul Arboleda/AFP

River have never won the title, coming closest to doing so when finishing runners-up in 1992. Hopes are nevertheless high this campaign, thanks largely to their coach Guillermo Almada, also known as The Uruguayan Guardiola, who was voted coach of the season last time out and has got his side playing some good football. The only problem is that Almada is currently mulling over a formal offer by Alianza of Lima, who want him to take over in January. River fans are hoping a championship win will convince him to stay, though the only thing we can be absolutely sure of at this moment in time is that the Uruguayan league trophy will be staying in the capital for yet another year. Å

in the Spanish media.

Tu r k i s h S ü p e r L i g

Drogba the motivator Sven Goldmann is a football expert at Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin.

The Turkish Super League played host to a thrilling top-of-the-table encounter between league leaders Fenerbahce and third-placed Besiktas last weekend. After six goals, eight yellow cards and two dismissals, the final score in one of Istanbul’s many derbies was 3-3.

Fenerbahce’s Raul Meireles was given his marching orders just 30 minutes into the match, before Necip Uysal of Besiktas followed him down the tunnel 20 minutes from time. Dirk Kuyt levelled the scores at 3-3 shortly before the final whistle to ensure the Yellow Canaries remain at the top of the table, but that is a small consolation for the club from Istanbul’s Asian side after UEFA excluded them from all European competitions for the next three years as a result of the 2011 match manipulation scandal. To make matters worse for the fans in the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, their biggest rivals Galatasaray are likely to remain Turkey’s sole representatives in the Champions League.

For decades now, bitter rivals Fenerbahce and Galatasaray have contested the “Kitalar Arasi Derbi”, Istanbul’s intercontinental derby. Gala are located in the European district of Beyoglu and visited neighbours Kasimpasaspor on Sunday in a match that ended 1-1 and neatly encapsulated Galatasaray’s performances so far this season. The club has an impressive squad packed with players such as Didier Drogba, Wesley Sneijder or Emmanuel Eboue, but their results have not been quite so impressive, and after 13 games, the Yellow and Reds are already nine points adrift of Fenerbahce.

A couple of weeks ago, the team’s modest results in the Süper Lig brought Fatih Terim’s second stint as Galatasaray coach to an end, although he remains interim manager of the Turkish national team. Terim’s successor, Roberto Mancini, had been coach for only three weeks when it began to appear as though one of his most prominent players held the balance of power when it came to coaching responsibilities.

Suspicions were aroused ahead of the Champions League match against Copenhagen on 23 October, when Didier Drogba held an improvised team huddle on the pitch a couple of minutes before kick-off. In front of the cameras, his wild hand gestures gave the impression that he was correcting the orders already given by the coach in the changing room. Mancini dismissed these rumours as madness, confirming that everything had been agreed with him in advance and that he had served in a similar leadership role whilst a player.

Drogba’s speech appeared to spur Galatasaray on and they went on to win 3-1 that day. To date, that remains the side’s only Champions League win so far this season, and means they can still progress to the last 16, despite an unremarkable haul of four points from five matches and having conceded 14 goals so far. Gala still sit in third place in Group B, two points behind Juventus, who travel to Istanbul for the final group match on Tuesday. A win will ensure the Turkish champions remain in the Champions League after New Year. It remains to be seen whether Didier Drogba will inspire his troops to victory once more. Å

France: Ligue 1

“Let’s dream bigger”

way since the club was founded in 1970, when numerous wealthy Parisian businessmen clubbed together to combine suburban second-division outfit Stade Saint-Germain and Paris FC, which only existed on paper at the time, into a single football club worthy of the city and capable of challenging for major honours.

Now that Paris Saint-Germain have reached the pinnacle of French football, the city finally has the club it has always dreamed of; one that embodies the characteristics of the French capital: luxury, elegance and wealth.

No player personifies all those attributes quite like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Last weekend, he and his prestigious team-mates demolished Lyon 4-0 at the Parc des Princes, an arena with a fitting name for the current squad.

Not everyone is impressed by PSG’s meteoric rise, however. As the team made its way to the stadium ahead of the match with Lyon, the windows of the Paris team bus were smashed, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the club slogan “Revons plus grand” (“Let’s dream bigger”).

Not that Laurent Blanc’s side will allow such trivial matters to stand in their way of living up to that slogan and attempting to win the Championship, League Cup, Coupe de France and Champions League this season.

As far as Zlatan and Co are concerned, their rivals can fight amongst themselves for second place. Å

Sarah Steiner is an editor at The FIFA Weekly.

At the turn of the millennium, French football was dominated by Olympique Lyon. OL won a record-breaking seven consecutive French titles between 2002 and 2008, but the balance of power has shifted in recent years. After a transitional period with four somewhat surprising champions, the new powerhouse in France, despite a first defeat of the season, 2-0 to Evian this week, appear to be PSG, largely thanks to the millions spent by their new Qatari owners.

That may be a source of irritation for some, but are PSG really following a new trend?

They may have flirted with relegation three years prior to Qatar Investment Authority’s takeover of the club in 2011, but being backed by rich sponsors has always been part of the club’s tradition. It has been that T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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THE INTERVIEW

“All of us in France expect our young lads to come good” Raymond Domenech spent years fending off fierce criticism as France coach, but never veered from his principles. “I won’t be giving advice to those in the job,” he told The FIFA Weekly. “They have different problems to the ones I faced.”

France have a lot of young players like Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane. Are they the ones who should be leading the team in Brazil?

The time has come for these players to show their quality. If by ’leading the team’ you mean that they need to show they are strong and are good enough, then yes, they should be totally committed to it. All of us in France expect our young lads to come good.

Ever since 1998, France fans have expected the national team to win games automatically.

It is true to say, though, that today’s players are not as talented as that generation was.

That happens with every team. With the exception of the Brazilians, who can win the World Cup every four years, every country is confronted with generational issues, with peaks and troughs. Some handle them better than others, like the Germans who still manage to reach the quarter-finals or the semis at major competitions even when they’re going through a lean spell.

But why have the French been unable to take a leaf out of Germany’s book, for example, and make a smooth transition?

That’s the difference between building on a long tradition and succeeding a one-off generation. The way I see it, we’ve had a generation of heirs who lived off the achievements of their predecessors but who didn’t bring their knowledge to bear in the rebuilding process.

Do you feel on a personal level that people will see your reign in a slightly more favourable light now that Didier Deschamps is finding things just as hard as both you and Laurent Blanc did before him?

My successors have faced different problems to the ones I was facing. I had plenty of people who had lots of advice to give to those of us in the job. That’s something I won’t be doing. Laurent did his bit and Didier is in the 16

process of doing his. I hope it works out because I’m still a big fan of the France team and I hope they can go as far as possible.

Do you think France can implement a truly cohesive national football project?

Our culture in France is all about diversity, which can be an asset but which can also make it hard to achieve coherence and impose a certain style. The essence of the job is to make sure that everything clicks in tactical, technical and psychological terms. It’s very hard to balance all that, though. It can all come tumbling down very quickly. Sometimes a puff of wind is all it takes.

You attach great importance to team play, which is a key virtue at Barcelona. What do you think of the people who say their style of play is boring?

They should change sport! Barça aren’t a team who move the ball around just out of principle. They do it to create openings and find solutions. They entice the opposition so they can set them up and catch them off guard. And if you look closely at the work they do to get the ball back, it really is an art form. It’s all to do with how they work as a team, whether they’re attacking or defending.

The essence of football is the relationship that you forge between players. The ball and the movements they make are the means for achieving that, and on top of that you have the magical qualities of the team.

system based on the team sticking together as one, and it works as long as everyone puts the effort in at the same time, in the same place and at the right time.

But he’s also enjoying success in Munich, which was a real challenge.

The fact that he’s managed to bring that culture to Bayern is very impressive, it has to be said. You can see them playing the ball short and hitting pass after pass, which wasn’t part of their make-up at the start. Then again, you can do things like that when you’re working with players as good as the ones he has in Munich. Guardiola has taken his tactical beliefs to a team that are the champions of Germany and Europe, and that’s a tough ask. It requires very strong convictions and an ability to make little changes here and there to the way they play.

You seem very passionate about the job of educating players.

It’s always interested me. If I got back into the game, that’s the area that would give me most pleasure: taking charge of a team of young players and having the time to prepare, shape and mould the team. It’s motivating because you really feel as if you’re doing something useful. Å Interview by Fabrice Deschamps

Are you an admirer of the work Pep Guardiola did at Barcelona?

Yes, but I remember that Barcelona were already playing the same way before Guardiola, namely in the Dutch style that the club brought in during the time of Johan Cruyff and then developed itself. Guardiola was brought up in that culture when he was a player, a holding midfielder at the heart of the action and the team’s movements. It’s a T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Read the full inter view here: www.Fifa.com

Name: Raymond Domenech Date and place of birth: 24 January 1952, Lyon Playing career: 1970-1977 Olympique Lyon 1977-1981 Racing Strasbourg 1981-1982 Paris SG 1982-1984 Girondins Bordeaux 1984-1986 FC Mulhouse Coaching career: 1984-1988 FC Mulhouse 1988-1993 Olympique Lyon 1993-2004 France U-21

Blatel/Dukas/Sipa

2004-2010 France

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

17

BL AT T ER IN T R ANSI T

Football’s global ambassador Football builds bridges, connects nations and resolves conflicts, and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter travels around the world to achieve these aims. Here are his travel highlights over the past 33 days.

→ 6 and 7 November, Tehran: Meeting with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani. → 3 November, Lausanne: Meeting with the International Olympic Committee.

→ 7 and 8 November, Abu Dhabi: U-17 World Cup final: Nigeria-Mexico.

→ 22 November, Vatican City: Private audience with Pope Francis.

→ 6 December, Costa do Sauipe: Final Draw for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Monika Fauler

→ 25 and 26 November, Kuala Lumpur: Annual Awards of the Asian Football Confederation.

→ 9 November, Doha: Meeting with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

18

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

EVERY GASP EVERY SCREAM EVERY ROAR EVERY DIVE EVERY BALL E V E RY PAS S EVERY CHANCE EVERY STRIKE E V E R Y B E AU T I F U L D E TA I L SHALL BE SEEN SHALL BE HEARD S H A L L B E FE LT

Feel the Beauty

BE MOVED

THE NEW 4K LED TV

“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

GROUP A

GROUP D

Brazil 1 12 June, 17:00, Sao Paulo

–

Croatia

:

Uruguay 7 14 June, 16:00, Fortaleza

–

Costa Rica

:

2 Mexico 13 June, 13:00, Natal

–

Cameroon

:

8 England 14 June, 21:00, Manaus

–

Italy

:

7 1 Brazil 17 June, 16:00, Fortaleza

–

Mexico

:

23 Uruguay 19 June, 16:00, Sao Paulo

–

England

:

8 1 Cameroon 18 June, 15:00, Manaus

–

Croatia

:

4 2 Italy 20 June, 13:00, Recife

–

Costa Rica

:

33 Cameroon 23 June, 17:00, Brasilia

–

Brazil

:

39 Italy 24 June, 13:00, Natal

–

Uruguay

:

4 3 Croatia 23 June, 17:00, Recife

–

Mexico

:

40 Costa Rica – 24 June, 13:00, Belo Horizonte

England

:

Team

Points

Goals

Team

Points

Goals

1.

1.

2.

2.

3.

3.

4.

4.

GROUP B

GROUP E

Spain 3 13 June, 16:00, Salvador

–

Netherlands

:

Switzerland 9 15 June, 13:00, Brasilia

–

Ecuador

:

4 Chile 13 June, 18:00, Cuiaba

–

Australia

:

0 1 France 15 June, 16:00, Porto Alegre

–

Honduras

:

9 1 Spain – 18 June, 19:00, Rio de Janeiro

Chile

:

25 Switzerland 20 June, 16:00, Salvador

–

France

:

20 Australia 18 June, 13:00, Porto Alegre

–

Netherlands

:

26 Honduras 20 June, 19:00, Curitiba

–

Ecuador

:

35 Australia 23 June, 13:00, Curitiba

–

Spain

:

1 4 Honduras 25 June, 16:00, Manaus

–

Switzerland

:

36 Netherlands 23 June, 13:00, Sao Paulo

–

Chile

:

42 Ecuador – 25 June, 17:00, Rio de Janeiro

France

:

Team

Points

Goals

Team

Points

Goals

1.

1.

2.

2.

3.

3.

4.

4.

GROUP C

GROUP F

Colombia – 5 14 June, 13:00, Belo Horizonte

Greece

:

Argentina – 11 15 June, 19:00, Rio de Janeiro

Bosnia-Herzegovina

:

6 Côte d’Ivoire 14 June, 19:00, Recife

–

Japan

:

2 1 Iran 16 June, 16:00, Curitiba

Nigeria

:

1 2 Colombia 19 June, 13:00, Brasilia

–

Côte d’Ivoire

:

7 2 Argentina – 21 June, 13:00, Belo Horizonte

Iran

:

22 Japan 19 June, 19:00, Natal

–

Greece

:

28 Nigeria 21 June, 18:00, Cuiaba

–

Bosnia-Herzegovina

:

7 3 Japan 24 June, 16:00, Cuiaba

–

Colombia

:

43 Nigeria 25 June, 13:00, Porto Alegre

–

Argentina

:

38 Greece 24 June, 17:00, Fortaleza

–

Côte d’Ivoire

:

44 Bosnia-Herzegovina – 25 June, 13:00, Salvador

Iran

:

Team

Points

Goals

–

Team

Points

Goals

1.

1.

2.

2.

3.

3.

4.

4.

GROUP G

QUARTER-FINAL S

Germany 3 1 16 June, 13:00, Salvador

–

Portugal

:

57 W49 4 July, 17:00, Fortaleza

– W50

:

4 1 Ghana 16 June, 19:00, Natal

–

USA

:

58 W53 4 July, 13:00, Rio de Janeiro

– W54

:

29 Germany 21 June, 16:00, Fortaleza

–

Ghana

:

59 W51 5 July, 17:00, Salvador

– W52

:

30 USA 22 June, 15:00, Manaus

–

Portugal

:

60 W55 5 July, 13:00, Brasilia

– W56

:

45 USA 26 June, 13:00, Recife

–

Germany

:

46 Portugal 26 June, 13:00, Brasilia

–

Ghana

:

Team

Points

Goals

1.

2.

3.

4.

GROUP H

61 W57 8 July, 17:00, Belo Horizonte

– W58

:

62 W59 9 July, 17:00, Sao Paulo

– W60

:

:

:

M AT CH FOR T HIRD PL ACE

Belgium – 5 1 17 June, 13:00, Belo Horizonte

Algeria

:

6 1 Russia 17 June, 18:00, Cuiaba

Korea Republic

:

1 3 Belgium – 22 June, 19:00, Rio de Janeiro

Russia

:

32 Korea Republic 22 June, 13:00, Porto Alegre

–

Algeria

:

7 4 Korea Republic 26 June, 17:00, Sao Paulo

–

Belgium

:

48 Algeria 26 June, 17:00, Curitiba

–

Russia

:

–

SEMI-FINALS

Team

Points

Goals

1.

2.

3.

4.

R O U N D O F 16 – 2B 49 1A 28 June, 13:00, Belo Horizonte

:

50 1C – 2D 28 June, 17:00, Rio de Janeiro

:

51 1B 29 June, 13:00, Fortaleza

– 2A

:

52 1D 29 June, 17:00, Recife

– 2C

:

53 1E 30 June, 13:00, Brasilia

– 2F

:

54 1G 30 June, 17:00, Porto Alegre

– 2H

:

55 1F 1 July, 13:00, Sao Paulo

– 2E

:

56 1H 1 July, 17:00, Salvador

– 2G

:

Note: Local kick-off times for Cuiaba and Manaus GMT -4, all other venues GMT -3.

63 L61 12 July, 17:00, Brasilia

– L62

FINAL – W62 64 W61 13 July, 16:00, Rio de Janeiro

Only eight countries have ever lifted the FIFA World Cup Trophy.

Yet over 200 have been winners with FIFA. As an organisation with 209 member associations, our responsibilities do not end with the FIFA World Cup™, but extend to safeguarding the Laws of the Game, developing football around the world and bringing hope to those less privileged.

Our Football for Hope Centres are one example of how we use the global power of football to build a better future. www.FIFA.com/aboutfifa

FREE KICK

W E E K LY T O P 11

The best football films

The Copacabana myth Thomas Renggli

T

he European winter is approaching in its usual relentless way. Across large swathes of the continent, if you fancy a game right now you'd better be prepared for two things, or more precisely four: wet feet and cold ears.

The Brazilian summer is an altogether more relaxed and relaxing proposition: partly cloudy with temperatures around 30°C. A gentle sea breeze ruffles the hair and a glass of coconut milk sits temptingly at your elbow. And the football here in the nation of the five-time world champions exists in a different dimension too.

This is the source of tricks, flicks and footballing wizardry. This is where the lifeguard has more feeling for the ball in his little toe than the entire Swiss national team in its 22 feet. This is where street kids become playmakers and shoeshine boys emerge as stars. Or so the story goes.

The scene: Rio de Janeiro. The sand is more brilliantly white than a Real Madrid replica shirt. The youths wear tangas. Breast enlargements are much in vogue as birthday gifts. But let us not be distracted. After all, we might discover the next Neymar, Pele or Ronaldinho going through a pre-match warm-up. The first game we come across is football tennis. The teams appear to have met by chance at a bus stop, but their skills on the ball are way better than the standard of public transportation in Brazil. The ball stays up for long minutes at a time, kept there with the foot, the head, off the shoulder and instep. They say that back in the 1970s Romario was the first to work on his technique in this way and nowadays a good proportion of the 200 million Brazilians seem to follow in his ball-juggling footsteps.

A few metres further up the beach we come across an altogether more serious affair. It’s a district championship match, 11-a-side, no boots, but plenty of robust challenges and a ca-

cophony of noise. The visitor from more northerly climes is confronted with many comforting and familiar factors. It’s reminiscent of when we played on the streets: the least talented guy is in goal, and the referee is everyone’s bogeyman.

The players are clad in replica shirts emulating their idols, in this case Corinthians of Sao Paulo and Flamengo from Rio. The illustrious colours cannot make up for the rough and occasionally crude style of play. Yes, they have clattering slide tackles in Brazil too. It takes ten minutes before the red mist descends, and with it the first red card. Just half an hour into the game Flamengo are down to eight men and the referee is in grave danger. There's no Pele or Ronaldo here. A lower league coach in northern Europe would now come out with some well-worn cliché: “Keep fighting lads! We can still win this!”

None of this matches our long-held preconceptions of Latin American football and to be honest the stereotypes need updating. We fondly imagine everyone in Brazil drinks Caipirinha on crushed ice, but they don’t. We want to think the shoeshine boys are plucked from obscurity and become stars, but it’s not true.

Quite apart from there being no shoes to shine in a world of sneakers and flip-flops, every little lad in Brazil with a morsel of real talent will have been spotted and signed up by an agent at an early age and in the normal way.

But the next interruption to the play reassures us there’s still plenty left of the fantasy world of o jogo bonito: a surfing instructor laden with boards ambles from one side of the pitch to the other as he heads for the breakers.

It whets the appetite for what they call the “third half” – the post-match socialising – and for the 2014 World Cup. Å

The weekly column by our staff writers T H E F I FA W E E K LY

1

“Looking for Eric”. Eric Cantona plays himself as a life coach to his namesake Eric, whose life has gone off the rails. Released in 2009.

2

“The Miracle of Bern”. The story of Germany’s unexpected success at the 1954 World Cup, directed by Sönke Wortmann.

Released in 2003.

3

“Bend it Like Beckham”. In this film, directed by Gurinder Chadha, Parminder Nagra plays a young British Indian with an all-consuming passion for football, much to the disappointment of her parents.

Released in 2002.

4

“The Damned United”. Tom Hooper’s British sporting drama about the 44 unhappy days Brian Clough, as portrayed by Michael Sheen, spent as Leeds United manager.

Released in 2009.

5

“Romeo and Juliet Get Married”.

A Brazilian love story in which the girl is a Palmeiras fan and the boy supports their rivals, Corinthians. Released in 2006.

6

“Fever Pitch”. Director David Evans tells the story of Arsenal fanatic Paul Ashworth, played by Colin Firth. Released in 1997.

7

“Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait”.

A documentary focusing on a single match in which 17 synchronised cameras follow Zinedine Zidane for 90 minutes. Released in 2005.

8

“Escape to Victory”. Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Pele are just some of the illustrious names in this film by US director John Huston. Released in 1981.

9

“Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos”. A documentary of an extraordinary team containing legends such as Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and Pele that took America by storm in the 1970s. Released in 2006.

10

“Montevideo: Taste of a Dream”. Serbian director and actor Dragan Bjelogrlic weaves a lyrical tale of the events leading up to the Yugoslavian national football team’s participation in the 1930 World Cup. Released in 2010.

11

“Shaolin Kickers”. Stephen Chow directs and stars in this Hong Kong action comedy that brings the worlds of football and kung fu together. Released in 2001.

23

MIRROR IMAGE

T

H

E

N

Berne, Switzerland

Miracle turf. Germany coach Sepp Herberger inspects the pitch at Wankdorf Stadium prior to the World Cup Final against Hungary on 4 July 1954. Heavy rain had brought up wild flowers and clover. Herberger, famous for such pearls of proverbial wisdom as “the ball is round” and “a game lasts 90 minutes” looks sceptical, but the day would end famously for him. Helmut Rahn’s 84th-minute winner earned Germany their first World Cup triumph, an event rapidly christened “The Miracle of Berne”.

24

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Keystone/Photopress

1954

MIRROR IMAGE

N

O

W

Astana, Kazakhstan

Fredrik von Erichsen/Keystone/DPA

2013 Synthetic turf. Herberger’s eighth successor Joachim Low examines the playing surface at the Astana Arena prior to a World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan. He finds the pitch to be perfectly level with every blade of “grass” exactly the same length. FIFA and the International Football Association Board approved the use of artificial turf for international matches as of 1 July 2004. The Germans beat Kazakhstan 3-0 in Astana last March.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

25

MON T SERR AT

Leaving the bad times behind

For several years now, Montserrat have been searching abroad for footballers with roots on the tiny Caribbean island. It isn't exactly a hard sell; after all, the island is home to the most picturesque training pitch in the world.

A

Alan Schweingruber and George Tsitsonis

nyone who has ever lingered for a while on Italy’s Amalfi coast spends the rest of their life wanting to return. The region south of Naples offers breathtaking views over the Mediterranean that are practically unrivalled.

Visitors are content to philosophise endlessly over a plate of spaghetti in one of the small villages on the Amalfitano slopes.

There’s no pasta on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, nor any romantic hamlets with violin players outside the restaurants. Nevertheless, this country of barely 5,000 inhabitants has one distinct advantage over the calcio-obsessed Italians. In addition to a view that is at least as good as the Bay of Naples, football on Montserrat is played on an immaculate pitch, under floodlights, against a backdrop of mountains and a turquoise blue sea, with pina coladas to hand after the final whistle. Who needs violin music when you can have all this?

26

The summer song “Hot Hot Hot” can often be heard blasting from the stadium’s loudspeakers. Arrow’s 1983 hit was recorded on the island and has been something of an unofficial Montserrat national anthem ever since, even being played ahead of official football matches.

The island’s residents are proud of Air Studios, where, in its Eighties heyday, everyone from Beatles producer George Martin to musical greats such as The Police, Dire Straits or Phil Collins escaped to record their albums.

Two thirds of the population has moved away Nowadays though, the people of Montserrat feel far from connected to the rest of the world, and just one look at the country’s recent history reveals that island life here has been far from idyllic. Located 350km east of Puerto Rico, this Caribbean nation has been ravaged by nature on multiple occasions. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo swept over Montserrat, destroying almost every habitation on the island and leaving 90% of the population homeless. Things got even worse six years later, when the T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Soufriere Hills volcano awoke from its slumber after 400 years, killing 19 people and devastating much of the country. Two thirds of the population emigrated in the wake of these natural disasters, and the former capital Plymouth, along with much of the southern half of the island, is still a restricted area today.

New stadium sparks a revival Needless to say, football came to a complete standstill after the catastrophe, and it seemed as though a ball would never be kicked again in Montserrat’s streets. Everything lay in ruins, and a string of footballing defeats had already dampened the island’s enthusiasm for football even before the eruption. Confirmation of Montserrat’s status as the bottom country in FIFA’s world rankings did little to lift the mood either, but the idea that the beautiful

MON T SERR AT

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

27

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MON T SERR AT

Montserrat Football Association Confederation: CONCACAF FIFA ranking: 186th (33 points) International record since joining FIFA: 22 matches: 2 wins, 1 draw and 19 defeats First international: St. Lucia 3-0 Montserrat Castries (St. Lucia), 10 May 1991 Highest-scoring victory: British Virgin Islands 0-7 Montserrat Fort-de-France (Martinique), 9 September 2012 Heaviest defeat: Bermuda 13-0 Montserrat Hamilton (Bermuda), 29 February 2004

Andy Johnstone/Panos · Frederic Dubray/AFP

Playing in front of empty stands: Belize versus Montserrat (in red and black) in 2011.

game might never be played again on the island was almost impossible for its 200 registered players to contemplate.

Montserrat steadily recovered. FIFA supported the island’s football association with a donation of £250,000 and financed the construction of a new stadium a couple of years later. The venue is named the Blakes Estate Stadium, evoking images of stadiums in London or Manchester.

The island has close links to Britain. It was the English who established the first colony on Montserrat in 1632, and the islanders made full use of their history once the Blakes Estate Stadium was complete. In 2004, former Newcastle and Tottenham player Ruel Fox became Montserrat’s national team coach and began to usher in a new era with one brilliant idea – to search abroad for talented footballers with

roots on the island. To assist him in this search, Fox appointed compatriot Kenny Dyer as technical director to make use of his exceptional contacts back in Great Britain. The results spoke for themselves: just six months after his appointment, Dyer had filled half of the Montserrat squad with players from England.

football association’s president, Vincent Cassell. Although Cassell shares his name with a celebrated French film actor, this tiny island is playing out its own story in the middle of the Caribbean and, as the song goes, Montserrat is “feeling hot hot hot.” Å

A historic 7-0 victory The high point of this new era and, indeed, the entire history of football in Montserrat, was the match against the British Virgin Islands on 9 September 2012. After almost 20 consecutive defeats since becoming FIFA members in 1996, Montserrat finally won their first match, 7-0.

The historic victory catapulted the team to 174th place in the world rankings. Today, they are 186th in the FIFA rankings with 22 nations below them – a source of great pride to their T H E F I FA W E E K LY

29

T HE DEBAT E

The greatest World Cup of all?

Born to party: the World Cup in Brazil has the potential to be one of the best ever.

Given the right blend of emotion, anecdotes and quality football, a World Cup can shape generations. There’s a good chance of it all coming together in Brazil.

Alan Schweingruber What makes a good World Cup? Superior football? Mazy dribbling, silky passing interchanges and overhead kicks? Certainly. South Africa 2010 would have never have been what it was without tiki-taka. The 1998 World Cup wouldn’t have amounted to much without the wizardry of a young Zinedine Zidane. And if you delve even further into the archives, the abiding memory of 1986 in Mexico is Diego Maradona’s irresistible solo run and goal against England. Quality is essential, as the bedrock for spectacular entertainment and the foundation for much more besides.

Yes, there is more to a World Cup. Take the overwhelming emotions for instance, when the body buzzes with endorphins and tears flow, as breathtaking and dramatic stories unfold before our very eyes. There’d probably be a permanent 30

memorial to Roberto Baggio next to the Spanish Steps in Rome had the last five seconds of the 1994 World Cup run according to the Italian script. The Divine Ponytail was outstanding at the showdown in the USA, spearheading the Azzurri’s charge to the final with five goals. But Baggio ended up a tragic hero: after 120 goalless minutes of play, he thumped the crucial penalty over the bar and Brazil won the World Cup. The tales that endure An equally memorable moment came in the final 12 years later when France captain Zinedine Zidane sent Italy’s Marco Materazzi sprawling with a head butt. The ensuing red card stopped the French in their tracks as they pursued their second global triumph. And it brought an abrupt end to international career of the three-time World Player of the Year.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

There are persuasive reasons why Brazil 2014 could be the greatest World Cup of them all.

First, Brazil is the ultimate footballing nation.

No enthusiast in the world voluntarily declines to watch A Seleção. Second, surging emotions are guaranteed, at stadiums, on the streets and at public viewing events. Thirdly, the footballing constellation is a propitious one because strong rivals are itching to take down the competition’s most successful team on their home patch. And fourthly, it’s potentially the last chance for the “Brasilia 1950” generation to take their memories out for some air. All that’s needed for the 2014 World Cup to take its place in the pantheon is good stories. Something like the anecdote from 2006 when Germany keeper Jens Lehmann consulted a crib sheet hidden behind his shin pad during a shootout against Argentina. Or the mind-blowing moment in 1994, when the entire Romanian team ran out onto the field with their hair bleached peroxide blonde. Å

The weekly debate.

Any thing you want to get off your chest? Which topics do you want to discus s? Send your sugges tions to: f eedbac k-T heWeek l y @ f i f a.or g.

T HE DEBAT E

“Absolutely!!! It’s going to be a fantastic World Cup in the country that plays the best football.”

Roro, FIFA.com user (Germany)

PRESIDENTIAL NOTE

very high. The money that’s been spent on the World Cup should have been invested in the people of Brazil many years ago.”

Reggina1952, FIFA.com user (USA)

“The World Cup in Brazil is going to be spectacular, a celebration of the biggest stars from the strongest and most attractive nations in the world. Brazil 2014 will be a melting pot of footballing cultures in a stunning and multifaceted South American nation, a huge country of great diversity, a thrilling history and hundreds of different ethnic groups.

In short, the World Cup in Brazil, if not the best ever, will definitely be the most eclectic and great to watch finals of all time!”

“Brazil breathes football! Twelve wonderful cities and stadiums are ready to host the 32 best teams in the world. It'll be hard to emulate South Africa 2010, but history has taught us that World Cups improve from one tournament to the next. Brazil will be fantastic, but it’s difficult to tell whether it’ll be the best World Cup of all time.”

Footballing perfection

GioGyan, FIFA.com user (Laos)

Fabio Lenzlinger, St. Gallen (Switzerland)

“After Ukraine’s defeat against France in the play-offs, I don’t believe it’s going to be the best World Cup of all time, but that assessment is always subjective. Besides, I feel the tournament has been robbed of the current best player in the world, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.”

Sergey Kolesnikov, Kiev (Ukraine)

“I’m not sure if it’s going to be the best World Cup of all time but it’ll certainly be one of the best. All the best teams in the world have qualified! The venue also speaks for itself.

Brazilians are crazy about football; they alone will ensure that the World Cup is a success.

The new stadiums are also very impressive.

Overall, I think we’re in for a magnificent World Cup!” Hadafalordun, FIFA.com user (Jordan)

“That will be decided by the teams on the pitch. Only they can determine whether or not the 2014 World Cup will live long in the memories of the fans. Spectacular games make for spectacular tournaments. Nobody really cares if the organisational arrangements are good or not.”

Johannes Weiss, Regensburg (Germany)

“There’s no doubt that Brazil is a wonderful country with great people, but its infrastructure is lacking. The train and bus networks are poor, the roads are a disaster and in most of the big cities, poverty and crime rates are

“Eclectic W and great to watch.”

“The World Cup has always been one of the world’s most important sporting events, both culturally and economically. It’s difficult to say how good or bad a tournament is. Every World Cup has its special moments and Brazil will too.”

Merygig, FIFA.com user (Iran)

“Brazil 2014 will be the best World Cup of all time. Brazil is a great country with friendly people and millions of football fans. If you were to ask people worldwide what they associate with Brazil, most of them would say football. I wish the World Cup could start today!”

CBaronL12, FIFA.com user (Colombia)

“Brazilians are crazy about football.”

hen anyone mentions Brazil, I think of elegance, effortlessness and enthusiasm.

I automatically associate Brazil with the heroes of my youth: Pele, Zagallo, Garrincha, Didi, Tostao.

The 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden marked a decisive shift in the global footballing hierarchy. The Brazilians, smarting from the debacle of 1950 at home to Uruguay and a quarter-final defeat to Hungary in 1954, finally secured the first of their five World Cup titles.

For the second time, matches from the tournament were broadcast live on TV. Almost no-one had a television set at home, but you could always watch the games in cafes, bars and cinemas.

A 17-year-old kid by the name of Pele was the standout player, entrancing the whole world of football. His goal to make the score 3-1 in the final against Sweden still rates as one of the most spectacular in the history of the game.

At the time, we in Europe weren’t yet familiar with the term ’jogo bonito’. But as we watched the Brazilians play, we saw the beautiful side of football acquire a face. Since then the yellow of their shirts has become synonymous with perfection and the aesthetics of the game.

Watching A Seleção play is always a very special pleasure for me personally. It’s true that athleticism and physique have also become important attributes in Brazil, but the priority for the most successful nation in World Cup history remains supple technical excellence. I’m delighted that next summer’s World Cup is finally returning to the country after a 64-year absence.

Every sport has its magical venue: tennis has Wimbledon, horseracing has Ascot, Formula 1 has Monte Carlo. And football has the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

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

31

emirates.com

Tomorrow brings us all closer To new people, new ideas and new states of mind.

Here’s to reaching all the places we’ve never been.

Fly Emirates to 6 continents.

FIFA WORLD R ANKING Rank Team

Change in ranking Points

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Spain Germany Argentina Colombia Portugal Uruguay Italy Switzerland Netherlands Brazil

0 0 0 0 9 0 1 -1 -1 1

1507 1318 1251 1200 1172 1132 1120 1113 1106 1102

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 39 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 54 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77

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

-6 3 -3 -1 -3 2 0 2 2 4 -5 -3 -1 -1 1 6 -2 -1 1 -2 0 -3 2 4 2 -3 -1 13 3 0 -7 -1 -3 -1 4 7 27 -4 -2 -4 8 -3 1 2 -7 -12 1 -6 -2 5 0 4 -2 -1 -1 2 -7 -13 2 0 0 -5 7 -1 2 0 -2

1098 1055 1041 1019 1014 971 918 907 893 892 886 870 852 849 831 800 793 766 762 752 738 734 717 716 711 710 705 699 698 698 688 684 677 668 650 648 641 638 632 624 612 600 594 577 577 574 571 569 564 557 554 548 544 539 536 534 528 526 519 511 508 505 495 493 490 486 480

Ranking Jun 2013

Jul 2013

Aug 2013

Sep 2013

Oct 2013

Nov 2013

1 -41 -83 -125 -167 -209 Top spot

78 79 80 81 82 83 84 84 86 87 88 89 90 91 91 93 93 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 106 106 109 109 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 124 126 127 127 129 130 130 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 142 144

Biggest climber

Poland Trinidad and Tobago Gabon Jamaica Belarus Congo DR FYR Macedonia Congo Uganda Oman Dominican Republic Angola Northern Ireland New Zealand El Salvador China PR Ethiopia Azerbaijan Estonia Moldova Botswana Saudi Arabia Benin Georgia Lithuania Qatar Niger Liberia Zimbabwe Central African Republic Kuwait Antigua and Barbuda Iraq Equatorial Guinea Burundi Korea DPR Canada Guatemala Tajikistan Kenya Bahrain Latvia Mozambique Malawi New Caledonia Lebanon Luxembourg Tanzania Namibia Cyprus Rwanda Afghanistan Grenada Sudan Kazakhstan Philippines Gambia Syria Malta Turkmenistan Lesotho Suriname Myanmar Tahiti Thailand Palestine Mauritania

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Biggest faller

-9 2 4 1 1 4 2 7 -1 5 -10 4 0 -12 -2 4 2 -7 3 -1 0 2 -6 -1 1 2 6 1 -4 1 3 3 -6 8 9 -6 -3 -3 0 1 5 -2 -5 3 4 -2 3 5 2 7 2 4 2 6 3 4 5 6 4 -12 3 -8 9 3 1 4 8

473 458 453 441 431 427 421 421 417 389 384 382 381 378 378 376 376 363 360 359 357 352 342 330 326 320 318 312 310 310 310 299 299 294 293 292 291 287 286 281 275 272 271 270 249 248 243 243 240 229 229 226 218 218 216 204 202 200 198 195 187 186 184 179 173 173 158

144 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 152 154 155 156 157 158 158 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 175 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 186 188 189 189 189 192 193 194 194 196 196 198 199 200 201 201 203 204 205 206 207 207 207

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

4 4 0 6 8 -36 -31 6 7 1 7 6 -12 2 -7 -7 -23 0 4 -8 0 0 1 5 2 5 0 -11 0 2 -5 -6 0 0 3 3 4 -4 -2 4 -2 -6 3 10 4 4 -3 -1 -3 -2 3 3 -10 2 -4 -4 3 3 -1 -3 -3 0 0 0 0

158 155 150 149 147 146 142 141 141 140 139 137 136 132 132 130 129 122 120 116 113 108 107 101 93 87 86 83 82 81 67 67 64 62 53 49 47 45 42 40 37 33 33 28 26 26 26 23 22 21 21 18 18 17 16 15 10 10 8 6 5 3 0 0 0

33

First Love

P l a c e : M a n d a l a y, B u r m a Ye a r : 2 0 1 0 Time: 4.20 pm

34

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Steve McCurry/Magnum Photos

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

35

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

THE OBJEC T

Perikles Monioudis

“Guantanamera” Hanspeter Kuenzler

Every set of football fans knows at least two versions: one for their own team and another for their opponents, with one used for celebrating and another for gloating. It is entirely possible for another two or three new versions to be made up within the course of a match.

The popularity of the song can be attributed to its incredibly catchy melody – one that is simple, impossible to forget and somehow charming. It can be used in any number of ways and either bellowed drunkenly or sung sweetly like a love song.

Improvisation is central to the song’s appeal; the easy swinging rhythm and percussive vowels of the title challenge the 36

singer to find their own words for the melody. Indeed, the ­origins of this popular song lie in improvisation. Shoemaker Joseito Fernandez, born in ­Havana, Cuba, in 1908, was a singer for the Raimundo Pia Orchestra in his spare time, and his speciality was using improvised songs to comment on all kinds of topical issues, for which he became well known all over Cuba. At some point around 1929, “Guantanamera” became one of those improvised songs. The song is said to be about a girl from Guantanamo who misinterpreted a compliment from the lyricist in his lunch break before the broadcast. However, the version made popular across the globe

by American folk and protest singer Pete Seeger on his 1963 album “We Shall Overcome” uses an arrangement by Cuban composer Julian Orbon that uses extracts from four poems by writer and national hero

Jose Marti. Since then, numerous artists have recorded their own versions of the song, including Celia Cruz, the Fugees, Pitbull, Joe Dassin, Los Lobos and Robert Wyatt, not to mention the countless renditions such as “There’s only one Rudi Voller”, “You only sing when you’re winning” or even “You’re getting sacked in the morning”.

The range of possibilities between glorification and derision is simply endless…Æ

Sion Ap Tomos

With the possible exception of “Happy Birthday”, it would be tough to find another song anywhere in the world for which there are more different versions than “Guantanamera”.

J. R. Witty, sometime English FA functionary and assiduous historian, described the Chinese characters illustrated above as follows: “To kick” (left) and “a leather ball, filled with something to make it kickable, for pleasure and when one has the time.” They combine to form the word meaning “football”.

Football in China has taken a great leap forward. The clubs are now in a position to win the Asian Champions League and set up their own youth academies, where scores of youngsters will be guided along the path to becoming full-time players. Nowadays, part of their coming of age includes having the best possible job done to their skin, emulating the likes of David Beckham or Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

In the world of the pro footballer, sporting tattoos has long been more than merely acceptable, it is now practically a must. It’s almost as though there’s strong peer group pressure at work here. The likes of Djibril Cissé, Raul Meireles and Marco Materazzi hardly have room for any more body art.

In ancient China tattoos were regarded as barbaric. Customary practice was to tattoo criminals, prisoners and enslaved bondsmen, on their faces, no less. You were meant to be able to spot these outlaws with a single glance.

So are Chinese players really keen to join the world footballing mainstream when it comes to their outward appearance? We’ll find out soon enough. If they do decide to copy so many of their counterparts from the West and have at least some of their missives inked in Chinese characters, they’ll at least be in the agreeable position of getting the spelling right.

Mr Beckham’s “Victoria” tattoo in Hindi unfortunately contains a mistake. Å

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

TURNING POINT

“I’m more Mexican than Serbian” Having coached at five World Cups and on four different continents, Bora Milutinovic is one of football’s great globetrotters. The Serbian tactician now works in Qatar, but it was in Mexico that the 69-year-old found true happiness.

Fadi al-assaad/Reuters

F

ootball was my life as a child. Together with my twin brothers Milos and Milorad, I spent every spare minute running after a ball. We played together for the Partizan Belgrade youth team and, later on, for the first team. Of the three of us, Milos was the best player. He was a striker and scored 16 goals in 33 international matches for Yugoslavia. He and Milorad went on to play for Yugoslavia at the 1958 World Cup, whereas I only made the squad for the 1964 Olympics.

For me, football was both a sport and an education in life. We lost both our parents at a young age. Our father fell in the Second World War, while our mother later died of tuberculosis. We grew up with our aunt, who was strict and set great store by discipline and academic achievement. My brothers and I were more interested in football though. When I moved to Belgrade with them, I hoped we’d have more time to play, but Milos set a rule I found difficult to comprehend at the time: no football before all our homework had been done.

I can’t remember my parents, but their deaths have had a profound effect on me to this day. I speak fluent Serbian, English, Spanish and French, but never wanted to learn German.

At 22, I received my first offer from abroad, from Swiss outfit FC Winterthur, which opened the door to my international career. I learned an enormous amount from coach Rene Hussy in particular, who helped me on the pitch as well as off it and had a big influence on my development. Winterthur turned out to be the springboard to six years in French football with Monaco, Nice and Rouen.

The major turning point in my life, however, was my move to UNAM Pumas in Mexico City

Name: Velibor “Bora” Milutinovic Date and place of birth: 7 September 1944 / Bajina Basta, Yugoslavia Achievements: Played at the 1964 Olympics with Yugoslavia.

Coached Mexico (1986), Costa Rica (1990), USA (1994), Nigeria (1998) and China (2002) at the World Cup finals.

in 1972. It was my first time on a foreign continent and the start of my world tour in football.

I also found happiness in my private life in Mexico: my wife Mari Carmen is Mexican and my daughter Darinka, who is named after my mother, was born there. In February, I will become a grandfather for the first time. I lived in Mexico for 19 years and can now say, hand on heart, that I am more Mexican than Serbian.

The Mexican national team was the first side I guided to the World Cup finals in 1986. I also coached Costa Rica in 1990, USA in 1994, Nigeria in 1998 and China in 2002 at later tournaments. As a football coach, you must always remain flexible and young at heart, because you never know what’s around the corner. I received the offer to coach Costa Rica 70 days before the start of the 1990 World Cup finals, but was contacted by Nigeria half a year before T H E F I FA W E E K LY

the 1998 tournament got underway. Nowadays, I work as a talent scout for the Aspire Academy in Qatar. I really enjoy working with young players. Even at 69, I share their aspirations and dreams. Will I be standing on the touchline in Brazil next summer? It seems unlikely at this moment in time but, like I said, everything could change tomorrow. For the presidents of the various football associations, I have only one piece of advice: if you are looking for good results, just give Bora a call! Å Interview by Thomas Renggli

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

37

FIFA QUIZ CUP

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

In this week’s quiz, a movie star hands the wrong team a place at the World Cup, and the best teams were spared a head-to-head clash. Test your knowledge!

It was the big shock at the dress rehearsal for the Final Draw: Who suddenly found they had qualified for the 2010 World Cup?

1

B Canada

President: Joseph S. Blatter

L Ireland

P Sweden

T Russia

Secretary General: Jérôme Valcke Director of Communications & Public Affairs: Walter De Gregorio

This is an excerpt from a well-known image.

What does the picture in its entirety represent?

2

Chief editor: Thomas Renggli

A Copa America 2011 I Costa do Sauipe

Art director: Markus Nowak

O Rio de Janeiro U Brazil 2014

Staff writers: Perikles Monioudis (Deputy Editor), Alan Schweingruber, Sarah Steiner Contributors: Jordi Punti, Barcelona; David Winner, London; Hanspeter Kuenzler, London; Roland Zorn, Frankfurt/M.; Sven Goldmann, Berlin; Sergio Xavier Filho, Sao Paulo; Luigi Garlando, Milan

3

S 2010 C 2002

Picture editor: Peggy Knotz Production: Hans-Peter Frei (head of section), Richie Kronert, Philipp Mahrer, Marianne Crittin, Mirijam Ziegler, Peter Utz, Olivier Honauer Proof reader: Nena Morf

31 teams qualified for the 2014 World Cup, with hosts Brazil taking the starting field up to 32. But for one previous World Cup, only 29 teams had to qualify. Which one?

4

R 2006 N 1998

This group stage format was a one-off: the two seeded teams in each group were not required to play each other. At which World Cup? E

Y

K

Contributors to this issue: Dominik Petermann, Fabrice Deschamps, George Tsitsonis O

Editorial assistant: Loraine Mcdouall Translation: Sportstranslations.com Project management: Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub

The answer to last week’s Quiz Cup was POLE (detailed answers on FIFA.com/theweekly).

Inspiration and implementation: cus

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, 2013”.

The editor and staff are not obliged to publish unsolicited manuscripts and photos. The FIFA logo is a registered trademark. Made and printed in Switzerland.

Please send your answers to feedback-TheWeekly@fifa.org by 11 December 2013. Correct submissions for all quizzes received by 31 December 2013 will go into the draw to win two tickets to the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013 on 13 January 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 en.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/the-fifa-weekly/rules.pdf.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

39

ASK FIFA!

T HIS WEEK’S POLL

Who is the world’s best goalkeeper?

“Has there ever been a footballer who has taken penalties with either foot?”

Remo Guntensperger, Theilingen

8

Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus), Iker Casillas (Spain, Real Madrid), Petr Cech (Czech Republic, Chelsea), Manuel Neuer (Germany, Bayern Munich) and Victor Valdes (Spain, FC Barcelona) are in the running to be named world’s best goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or Gala in Zurich on 13 January 2014.

L A S T W E E K’S P O L L R E S U LT S:

30+25+22158

Who will be the star of the World Cup?

8%

15%

22%

PE N A LT I E S G A L O R E

40

penalties were awarded on Matchday 14 in the Bundesliga. The last time that many spot-kicks were given in a single weekend was on Matchday 2 in the 1999/2000 season.

Robert Lewandowski (pictured) converted two penalties for

30%

 NEYMAR  CRISTIANO RONALDO  MESUT OZIL  LIONEL MESSI  ANOTHER PLAYER

THE NEW FOOTBALL MAGA ZINE The FIFA Weekly appears every week on Friday as a print edition and an online magazine (www.Fifa.com/TheWeekly).

We report on the biggest stars and the hottest topics, but we also focus on a dialogue with our readers. Why not join in the debate?

Send your opinions to feedback-theWeekly@fifa.org

25%

90 3 LUC K OF T HE DR AW

GOLDEN GOALS

per cent of

goals Gareth Bale (pictured)

seeded teams in World Cup group stage draws

scored in Real Madrid’s 4-0 win

The league record of

that have made it into the knockout rounds at

over FC Valladolid, taking the

12 penalties awarded

the tournament. Argentina are so far the only

Welshman’s tally to seven in

on a single matchday

unseeded team to have reached the final, in 1986,

nine league games. Given Bale’s

was set on 23 Octo­

when Diego Maradona (pictured) and Co went on

€100m transfer fee, that equates

ber 1971.

to win the trophy.

to €14.3m per strike.

Borussia Dortmund against Mainz.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Getty Images, Imago

Answer from Thomas Renggli, chief editor: Certainly. Take Germany’s Andreas Brehme for example. His versatility made him one of the best penalty takers in history. In the 1990 World Cup final against Argen­ tina he scored the decisive spot-kick with his right foot, five minutes from full-time. Four years earlier in Mexico, he scored from the spot against the hosts with his left foot. According to a statistical study by the theorist Ignacio Palacios-Huerta from Brown University in the USA, a penalty taker has a 95 per cent success rate if he aims for his or her “natural corner”. For a right-footer that means the goalkeeper’s left corner, and for a left-footer the opposite side.