The FIFA Weekly Issue #60

ISSUE 60, 12 DECEMBER 2014

ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

Football in the snow

THE WHITE GAME CANADA 2015 GROUP STAGE PREVIEW

MALAWI BIG BULLETS END DROUGHT

GIANLUIGI BUFFON ITALY MUST CATCH UP W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

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North and Central America 35 members www.concacaf.com

The white game When snow covers the pitch, the game of football fundamentally changes. Once kicked, the ball finds its own way through the uneven white blanket while the players battle against the cold and poor visibility. Perikles Monioudis observes the way in which snowfall turns the pitch into a giant screen where beautiful stories and anecdotes play out.

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S epp Blatter “An intercontinental test of strength at club level has a particularly special appeal,” says the FIFA President of the Club World Cup, which kicked off in Morocco this Wednesday.

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A rsene Wenger With Arsenal fans divided, David Winner examines the continuing protests against the Gunners’ manager in London.

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Mircea Rednic The championship-winning Romanian coach recalls the five happiest, and saddest, minutes of his career.

South America 10 members www.conmebol.com

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Alfredo Di Stefano The Argentinian’s arrival in 1953 heralded the start of a glorious era for Real Madrid.

The white game This week’s cover image was captured on 16 January 1926 at Highbury Stadium, as home side Arsenal prepared to take on Manchester United.

H.F. Davis / Getty Images

Group A The FIFA Weekly Magazine App The FIFA Weekly, FIFA’s magazine, is available in four languages as an e-Magazine and on your tablet every Friday.

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Group B

Canada

Germany

China PR

Côte d’Ivoire

New Zealand

Norway

Netherlands

Thailand

Getty Images (2), imgao, Presse Sports

Women’s World Cup · Groups A + B

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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Women’s World Cup World champions Japan will face newcomers Switzerland in Group C.

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Gianluigi Buffon The Italian goalkeeper discusses the importance of the Ballon d’Or.

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Malawi Big Bullets have sealed their eleventh league title.

Women’s World Cup · Groups C – F Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Japan

USA

Brazil

France

Switzerland

Australia

Korea Republic

England

Cameroon

Sweden

Spain

Colombia

Ecuador

Nigeria

Costa Rica

Mexico

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

instinct takes over

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UNCOVERED

Playing on snow Ipswich Town versus Leicester City.

Out of the ordinary

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here is something fascinating about snow, the way it transforms landscapes and the atmosphere it creates. Children run to the window to see the first flakes of winter falling from the sky. Although players everywhere strive to play skilful, quick football out on the pitch, the challenges posed by the weather are part and parcel of the sport. For the title of our main report, we took our inspiration from tennis, which is sometimes referred to as “The White Game.”

Starting on page 6, Perikles Monioudis reflects upon the serenity of snow, the appearance of luminous footballs and the phenomenon of the “snow allergy”.

T Andrew Couldridge / Action Images

he 11th Club World Cup kicked off on more familiar terrain in Morocco on Wednesday, with Real Madrid seeking to win the only trophy that still eludes them. Discover more of the club’s history from page 30 onwards. “This tournament is the final highlight of a memorable footballing year,” FIFA President Blatter says in his weekly column on page 23. “Real Madrid face stiff competition from teams from Africa, Argentina, Mexico and New Zealand.”

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ddressing the question of whether it is generally more difficult for goalkeepers to win the Ballon d’Or, on page 18 Italy ’keeper Gianluigi Buffon says: “There are historical situations and moments that end up deciding these awards. For a goalkeeper to win the award today, something truly exceptional has to happen.” Å Alan Schweingruber

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LET IT SNOW

EVERYTHING WAS THE OPPOSITE

Thanks for coming!

Belgium players applaud the crowd after a March 2006 friendly in Luxembourg was abandoned due to a blizzard.

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LET IT SNOW

The pitch morphs into an outsize, cinema-style screen when it is covered in snow. The dramas we witness in this special setting are fiercely contested, idiosyncratic contests.

Christophe Karaba/Keystone

Perikles Monioudis

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LET IT SNOW

World Cup qualifying in Colorado USA beat Costa Rica 1-0 in March 2013 in a match played in near-unprecedented conditions at almost 1600 metres above sea level.

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LET IT SNOW

I Dustin Bradford/Getty Images(3)

t’s winter, and it has started to snow. It has been coming down half the morning in fact and is falling steadily at midday.

The snow showers become heavier and the flakes bigger. Visibility is reduced, and at times you can barely make out objects even at close hand. It’s almost as if the flakes are settling on your eyelids as your surroundings disappear in an all-enveloping blanket of white.

That’s it for the football today then.

But what’s this: the snowfall eases slightly, and the expectant players sense their hopes rising again. Perhaps the game will be on after all, as we’ve made it to the ground now and it basically looks playable or could at least be made so with some vigorous shovelling, a snow-blower, and a fan heater for the lines. But however great the desire to play given the meticulous pre-match preparations, the teams begin to accept that the game may have to be called off after all. The players, coaches, support staff and match officials shoot questioning glances at each other as they loiter at the side of the field, still in leisure clothing. The uncertainty is only lifted when the referee trudges to the centre-circle and realises he cannot see the goal at the far end of the field. He beckons from the centre-circle, although he is extremely hard to see by now. He reaches down into the snow and picks something up. As he approaches, the players realise the item is a ball. It didn’t bounce when he dropped it from waist height, he explains, and unfortunately it means there’ll be no game today. It’s off. The pitch just sits there in the muffled silence. Whiter than white, a blank sheet of paper for everyone involved to mentally jot down their thwarted plans for the day.

Bring on the fluorescent balls “It’s snowing today, wet, yellow and dull,” wrote Dostoyevsky. “I think it is because of the wet snow that I remembered the incident which gives me no rest now,” continues his protagonist in “Notes from Underground” in St. Petersburg. In “Smilla’s Sense of Snow” Peter Høeg also defines his lead character with the help of snow. As the daughter of an Inuk and a Danish doctor she can read the blanket of white, recognising a person’s covert activities from the tracks he or she has left in the powder.

This notion of snow as a projector screen also applies to football. Games in the snow promise something exceptional, unpredictable, even mystical. It is because that most essential element in football, the uncertain outcome, is even more applicable in snow.

“You couldn’t predict that it was gonna roll out of bounds because it would stop. You couldn’t predict it would stop because it would roll out of bounds,” said Abby Wambach, World Player of Year and a candidate to retain her title in 2014, after a legendary clash in the snow between the US and Mexico in Sandy, Utah, in late March 2010.

“Everything was the opposite.”

Coach Pia Sundhage, Women’s World Coach of the Year in 2012 and also a finalist for this year’s accolade, has not forgotten that game either: “Usually we have a game plan, but we took the game plan and said, you know what, we need to rethink and play everything forward and put pressure behind their back line.” It was a good idea: Wambach scored the only goal of the game and she and her team-mates launched into a pre-planned celebration. “We were walking out before the game started, and I said, ’If anybody scores, snow angels for sure’,” Wambach revealed.

Snow angels indeed: decades before Smilla discovered her “Sense of Snow”, Don Revie, long-serving Leeds United boss and England

manager from 1974 to 1977, came up with a diametrically opposed theory. Revie said of his agile and fleet-footed winger at Leeds, Eddie Gray: “When he plays on snow he doesn’t leave any footprints.”

The imponderable dimension to a match on the all-white surface, this “everything is opposite,” is symbolised externally by the most important prerequisite for football in the snow, the orange ball. When the orange ball makes its appearance, the previously unthinkable becomes a possibility. The colour of the ball warns all involved to be permanently on guard. It glows, and that makes it something special. Just like a player, the orange ball can come on as a sub in the event it begins to snow heavily. This winter-only ball seems to have a life of its own. It occasionally appears in red or yellow, and has recently become pink, in the German Bundes­l iga for example. Whatever the hue, it is a complete contrast to the snow covered turf – and although the pitch may be deadened by the snow, it is alive with the possibility of history in the making. The

Yellow peril?

A brightly-coloured ball is a must in snowy conditions.

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LET IT SNOW

snow-blanketed pitch is more like a movie screen, a huge, larger-than-life screen showing entertainment of the highest order.

And… action!

The luck of the draw and a snow allergy Variable and at times rapidly changing weather are of course part and parcel of football, at least when played outdoors in the chill. The approaching weather is the main factor in whether a match in the snow is set in motion, postponed before kick-off, or even started, abandoned and postponed after all, with the referee leading the players off due to the sudden onset of blizzard conditions.

Fundamentally, you need a little luck with the kick-off time. Depending on his mood that day, Jack Frost causes frequent postponements in the Russian Premier League, while the alpine winter sometimes wipes out large swathes of the west European match schedule. World Cup qualifiers have been affected, in North America for example, when a raging blizzard swept into Denver, Colorado on 23 March 2013 when the USA were 10

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playing Costa Rica. There was also the meeting between Northern Ireland and Russia at Windsor Park in Belfast in 2013, 48 hours after the meteorological first day of spring and fully three weeks into the season of new beginnings according to the calendar. The

Coloured balls The orange ball to aid visibility on snow-covered pitches was first introduced in the 1950s. It has been joined nowadays by yellow, red and pink variations on the theme. For the first few decades of organised football, the natural shade of the leather almost invariably dictated the colour of the balls but the introduction of floodlighting from the 1950s onwards led to the production of the first white balls, followed by white-and-black designs. The concept of a white ball in fact dates back to 1892, when the leather was simply dipped a couple of times in white paint.

match was postponed from Friday evening to Saturday, then until Monday, and then again until Wednesday, until it was finally re-arranged for a date months into the future. It was August by the time Capello’s team fell 1-0 to the Northern Irish in normal playing conditions. Apropos the World Cup: the inaugural 1930 edition in Uruguay kicked off on 13 July. It was winter in South America and sleet fell on the teams in their opening matches. After weeks of forecasts predicting rain, the actual temperatures hovered around freezing.

Nowadays, undersoil heating is compulsory in the Bundesliga and most major leagues, but a mere handful of grounds boasted the technology back in the 70s; undersoil heating was installed at Munich’s Olympic Stadium in 1972. Germany’s “catastrophic winter” of 1979 saw many matches played in exceptionally harsh conditions, with bone-chilling cold, gusty winds and snow-covered pitches, and a raft of postponements followed. The Toto betting system of the time remained in operation, re-

Patrick Smith

Snow angels in Utah USA players mark the opening goal against Mexico in a March 2010 friendly with an unconventional celebration routine.

LET IT SNOW

quiring a full set of results on completion of every round of matches. Lots were drawn to determine the outcome of postponed matches, which is why a Toto player from Mannheim who chanced a few risky predictions, such as a victory for relegation-threatened Werder Bremen away to contemporary powerhouse and eventual champions Hamburg, finished with 11 correct results and netted a princely sum in excess of DM 350,000.

Snow falls frequently in Germany, causing a few acclimatisation problems for players imported from warmer climes, including the need to accept the idea of playing on snow in the first place. “I woke up, looked out of the window and saw the snow. To me, it was clear we wouldn’t be training that day.

But then the coach showed up and said we were going outside,” centre-back Boubacar Diarra from Mali recalled with bewilderment, although he went on to spend a decade with Freiburg. The man legitimately labelled the Bundesliga’s first Brazilian, striker Jose Gilson Rodriguez or Zeze for short, arrived in Cologne for DM 150,000 in 1964. He only

“You couldn’t predict it was gonna roll out of bounds because it would stop.”

Abby Wambach

made five Bundesliga appearances and soon left the Rhineland metropolis with a single goal to his name. A doctor from southern Europe diagnosed Zeze with a “snow allergy,” the first and only known case of the condition in German footballing history.

Juventus and the mountains Nowadays, the German FA (DFB) recommends the incorporation of “comprehensive warm-up phases” prior to training on snow.

“Hold stretching exercises in the dressing room before the session itself. Ensure appropriate kit for training: head-covering, gloves, boots,” the guidelines say. Furthermore, the pitch should be examined for “frozen patches” prior to the workout. Similar rules apply to actual matches, both in Germany and of course elsewhere. A year ago, play in the Champions League meeting between Gala­ tasaray and Juventus in Istanbul was suspended after a goalless first half-hour due to increasingly heavy snowfall. Volunteers struggled to clear the pitch with shovels but the odds were stacked against them and after a 25-minute interruption, during which the players, coaches, officials and spectators looked on helplessly as nature took its course, the match was abandoned. Juve, with their traditional black-and-white striped shirts and ominously snow-white shorts and whose long-term home ground until its demT H E F I FA W E E K LY

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LET IT SNOW

Abandoning games due to snow, rain or frost is not uncommon in sport. Even thick fog can make playing difficult, especially for those sports in which the key players are distinguished by their speed. However, in American football – not a sport for the faint-hearted – the abandonment of games is frowned upon. The National Football League (NFL) is known for its detailed rulebook, but when it comes to the weather there are few guidelines. The basic rule is that the game pretty much always goes ahead.

-51°C wind chill Bearing that in mind makes planning easier.

American Football games which are subject to very high or low temperatures still get played, as was the case on January 10, 1982 in the AFC Conference game in Ohio. A harsh wind of 70 km/h was sweeping across the city and the temperature was down to -22°C but the game, labelled the “Freezer Bowl”, went ahead all the same. It was contested between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers and had a wind-chill factor of -51°C, still the coldest NFL game of all time.

The temperature dramatically affected the game. Everyone was fast on their feet alright, but frozen fingers reduced the quality of play. Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts

chose not to wear gloves. Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson – a towering man at 6’4" and with large hands – still managed to threw two touchdowns.

With Vaseline and bin bags The half-time show on January 10, 1982 did not take place for obvious reasons and for once, the excessively expensive black market tickets were available at a knock-down price.

It may have been 33 years ago, but the game was still being broadcast in colour so there was no need to freeze in the stands.

Referee Fred Silva did have to handle the weather conditions though, and two of his assistants even tried to warm up by standing near an open oven during timeouts. Later on, they rubbed Vaseline into their skin and wore bin bags in an attempt to protect themselves against the cold.

The game ended 27–7 in Cincinnati’s favour.

Having beaten the Miami Dolphins in sunny 30-degree temperautres the week before, San Diego probably suffered from the drop in temperature. After all, “The Epic in Miami” was one of the hottest play-off games in NFL history. Remember, the game always goes ahead.

Alan Schweingruber

The coldest American football game on record in Cincinnati in January 1982

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A doctor from southern Europe diagnosed Zeze with a “snow allergy”. far more easily cleared of snow than any other accepted playing surface, and also remain playable when the thaw sets in and natural turf becomes sodden from slush. However, there is no need to go to the lengths – or more precisely, the heights – attained by a handful of current and former pros every year at the unofficial snow football World Cup in the Swiss resort of Arosa. The tournament takes place on a shortened artificial turf pitch at 1800 metres above sea level. The Dutch team has previously featured the likes of Arjen Robben, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit.

And speaking of Gullit, one might reasonably have assumed he would avoid snow like the plague in the wake of the infamous events of 1997 and Chelsea’s legendary European tie away to Tromso inside the Arctic Circle. In the midst of a swirling Norwegian blizzard, the Dutch player-manager and his troops fell to a shock 3-2 defeat. “That wasn’t a game,” Gullit raged afterwards, “that was a farce.” It was as if the flakes were settling on your eyelids as the surroundings disappeared in an all-enveloping blanket of white. Whiter than white, a blank sheet of paper for some of those involved to mentally jot down their thwarted plans for the day. Or as Abby Wambach would say: “Everything was the opposite.” Å

imago, Bob Thomas / Getty Images

American football at -22°C

olition in 2009 was the Stadio delle Alpi in the mountains overlooking Turin, contested a Europa League match in the snow four years ago. The Italians, in an all-white strip on this occasion, were away to Lech Poznan in Poland and initially fell behind. However, with the snow becoming heavier and heavier in the arctic cold, the orange ball entered the fray and Juve found an equaliser.

We should note at this point the considerable advantage of artificial turf compared to conventional grass pitches, not to mention grass pitches without undersoil heating, especially in winter. Artificial turf pitches are

LET IT SNOW

Wrap up well A big freeze in January 1981 played havoc with the German Bundesliga schedule.

England 1979 Everton’s Andy King recovers possession on a bone-hard pitch, with Wolverhampton’s Steve Daley to his left.

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TALK ING POIN T S

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Uruguayan Primera Division

A wa l k in the pa rk Sven Goldmann is a leading football correspondent at Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin.

Although the Primera Division Profesional de Uruguay has certainly seen more exciting times, the league's lack of suspense is an issue Club Atletico Nacional can live with. The Tricolores have been Apertura champions for weeks already, and have strolled through the season with a dominance rarely seen before. Nacional have won 14 of their 15 matches, including a recent 12-game winning streak, while their only loss came against El Tanque Sisley in the third matchday of the campaign.

The White, Blue and Reds took their foot off the gas as the Apertura drew to a close, defeating bottom-of-the-table Tacuarembo 1-0 in their final game. Fittingly, it was

I N S I D E

35-year-old veteran Ivan Alonso who decided the result by netting his 14th goal in 15 games. That impressive record means the striker has a similarly comfortable advantage atop the goalscorers’ list as his team have over their 15 rivals in the league table. Nacional completed the Apertura with a tenpoint lead over second place, a position secured by local contenders Racing rather than arch-rivals Penarol.

Only once in the past eight years has the title gone to anyone other than Nacional or Penarol, and that was last season, when Danubio beat Montevideo Wanderers in an unexpected final match-up. Nacional have now taken revenge in impressive fashion in the Apertura – but what has happened to their old adversaries?

Uruguay’s record-breaking champions still lead the all-time championship standings, with 38 titles to Nacional’s 33. The Uruguayan Clasico is the oldest derby outside of England, with only the Argentinian Supercla-

sico between River Plate and Boca Juniors able to rival its explosive atmosphere. Despite all this, Penarol could only manage third place in the most recent campaign – fully 17 points behind their usual rivals and seven adrift of Racing.

Indeed, Racing enjoyed a magnificent season topped off by a 3-2 win over Penarol in the venerable Estadio Centenario, where Uruguay won the inaugural World Cup back in 1930. It was a fascinating encounter in which Penarol took a 2-0 half-time lead through strikes from Damien Macaluso and Jonathan Rodriguez, before Racing enjoyed a remarkable 13 minutes at the start of the second half as a brace from Carlos Daniel Acosta drew La Escuelita level. Gabriel Fernandez then scored the winner for Racing just two minutes after being brought on as a substitute. Penarol must now win the upcoming Clausura to reach the final against Nacional and have any hope of lifting their 39th championship trophy. Å

14 goals in 15 games Nacional's 35-year-old striker Ivan Alonso.

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Miguel Rojo / AFP

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Malawi Super League

Bu l lets find their t a r ge t Peter Kanjere is a sports writer in Malawi.

After missing out on the country’s coveted league trophy for nine consecutive seasons, Malawi’s most decorated elite club Big Bullets finally laid their hands on the 2014 TNM Super League title, in the process claiming a record 11th championship win. The Bullets ended the season with a nine-point cushion over closest pursuers Moyale Barracks.

The Bullets thrashed relegated Blantyre United 3-0 at the Kamuzu Stadium in the commercial capital Blantyre on December 6, 2014 to complete a double of honours, having lifted the Carlsberg Cup earlier in the season.

The champions sealed the title with an unassailable total of 62 points from 28 games in the 15-team league.

Big Bullets

In the end, Moyale failed to become the first Malawi Army team to win the championship after paying the price for minimal spending on quality players, poor squad fluidity and a disappointing home record that was evidenced by a 2-1 loss to the Bullets in the league’s first round of matches. For the newly crowned Bullets, it was reward for their wise purchase of some top talent, including Mussa Manyenje, who was signed from Epac for a domestic record fee of $4,888 (MK2.2 million). Providing support to coach Eliah Kananji in the form of guest South Africa-based Burundian coach Nsanzuwrimo Ramadhan also paid dividends.

Ironically, the Bullets’ chairperson Kondie Msungama, who made a name as a scout, was vice-treasurer when the team last won the league in 2005. Four survivors from that squad; Jimmy Zakazaka, James Chilapondwa, Chiku Kanyenda and more importantly Fischer Kondowe, all played a big role in this successful season in which the team lost just twice. While all is good at the Bullets, the same cannot be said about their cross-town rivals Mighty Wanderers, who despite firing coaches Stuart Mbolembole and Gerald Phiri and managing the second best defensive record of 22 goals conceded, still finished the season in ninth, their lowest position in ten years.

Big Bullets The players celebrate winning the club’s 11th Super League title.

In Lilongwe, Silver, who had won the championship three consecutive times, finished in a respectable fifth place on 45 points to preserve some football pride for the capital city whose Super League sides all avoided relegation.

The same could not be said of Southern Region and Northern Region teams, who for a fifth consecutive season dropped down to the second tier. This year it was the turn of Chikwawa United and Blantyre United, both from the Southern Region, and Karonga United from the Northern Region to suffer the ignominy of relegation. As a result, the Southern Region’s Super League representation fell to just four clubs, with Moyale being the only Northern Region survivors.

In contrast, Nicholas Mhango-coached Moyale enjoyed some consolation for nailing a second-place finish in back-to-back seasons by again producing the Super League Golden Boot winner in striker Gastin Simkonda, who scored 17 goals to match the previous season’s tally by Ishmael Thindwa.

Overall, this was a successful season with attendances on the increase and violence on the decline. Apart from ugly scenes of a bloodied Silver player Tony Chitsulo being a casualty of violence in a game between Epac and Big Bullets, the season was relatively peaceful on club and national team level.

The previous season there had been four ugly scenes, including the last on December 28, 2013 when Wanderers fan Lemiyasi Josita lost his life at the Balaka Stadium. However, chaotic gate management remains a challenge due to lack of electronic gadgets and deeply entrenched gate fraud.

The Super League of Malawi (Sulom) and their sponsors TNM who launched the Shasha anti-violence mascot campaign can afford to pat themselves on the back. Sulom General Secretary Williams Banda and TNM Public Relations and Sponsorship manager Limbani Nsapato are obviously elated. Å

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IN BRIEF

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ormer England international Paul Scholes has still got it, as he proved in Thailand last Sunday during a benefit match alongside such legends as Andriy Shevchenko, Patrick Kluivert and Michael Owen. Although the 40-year-old midfielder officially hung up his boots 18 months ago after making 718 appearances for Manchester United, he has lost none of his exceptional feel for the ball and scored twice in his team’s 8-5 win over an ensemble led by Luis Figo. Scholes’ first goal was a particular feast for the eyes. From 19 metres out, he lifted the ball over former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann from the right-hand side of goal and watched as it nestled in the left corner. The former Arsenal keeper could do little but look on in amazement before picking the ball out of the net. Å Andres de Kartzow

AFP

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he clock was ticking down on Stuttgarter Kickers’ match with SV Wehen Wiesbaden when Daniel Engelbrecht picked up the ball and lashed it into the back of the net to give the hosts a last-gasp 2-1 win. The goal sparked wild scenes of jubilation amongst players and coaching staff, while Engelbrecht struggled to hold back the tears as he ripped his shirt off in celebration.

“This is the best day I’ve had in the last one and a half years,” he said after the game, his voice breaking with emotion. Engelbrecht’s goal can only be described as a minor miracle. Sixteen months ago, he suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed in the middle of the pitch during a league game. Since then, the 24-year-old has undergone four operations, been fitted with a defibrillator and is forced to play with a chest guard that protects his heart from heavy impact. Nothing is impossible – the message that was displayed on Engelbrecht’s t-shirt during his goal celebration – has become his new motto, and the fans aren’t the only ones singing his praises. “He deserved it so much,” said Kickers’ head coach Horst Steffen. “He’s worked so hard for this.” Å Sarah Steiner

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he challenge of remaining in the Premier League is proving to be a difficult one for Gary Lineker’s former club Leicester City.

Having only been promoted last summer, the Foxes have taken just two points from their last nine matches and sit at the bottom of the table after 15 games, behind Burnley and Hull City. Remarkably, all 20 clubs in England’s top flight still have the same managers with which they started the campaign, something that has not been the case come mid-December for 18 years. But back to Leicester. The team from one of England’s oldest cities has already been through the full spectrum of emotions in recent years, having been relegated to the third tier in 2008 before slowly and surely working their way back towards the Premier League, but now they also have to accommodate the special travelling habits of their chairman. A private helicopter lands on the pitch to whisk the Thai billionaire away from the ground after the final whistle blows. To be fair, it may be complicated to order a taxi on his behalf – after all, the passenger’s name is Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Å Alan Schweingruber

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Name Gianluigi Buffon Date and place of birth 28 January 1978, Carrara Position Clubs played for Parma, Juventus Italian national team 146 caps Major honours World champion 2006 Five-time Italian champion UEFA Cup winner 1998/99 Italian Cup winner 1998/99 Four-time IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper

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Shaun Botterill / FIFA via Getty Images

Goalkeeper

THE INTERVIEW

“The Ballon d’Or is extremely important” Gianluigi Buffon has been a stalwart in goal for Italy since 1997 and has a multitude of trophies to his name, but this has not been enough for him to be recognised as Europe or the world’s best player. “Something extraordinary has to happen for a goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or.” Gianluigi Buffon, when you think of the FIFA Ballon d’Or, what goes through your mind?

Gianluigi Buffon: It’s a very important award for a player because it’s the greatest and most symbolic recognition of our work.

It is the ultimate goal you can achieve in the game, because global recognition is something that makes you proud, and tells you that you will be in the football history books forever.

In 2006 you came second behind Fabio Cannavaro in the voting for France Football’s Ballon d’Or, which in those days was awarded to the best player in Europe. How important was that to you?

Well, no one remembers second place, especially in sport. Of course I was proud, because coming second was the result of great sacrifices and victories as a team. But in the end, if you don’t win, second place is not really important. Fabio won because he deserved it more.

The only time a goalkeeper won the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in Europe was in 1963, when Lev Yashin claimed the prize.

Why is it so difficult for a goalkeeper to win?

It’s not just that it’s difficult, but there are also historical situations and moments that end up deciding these awards. Yashin was certainly exceptional, one of the greats, but I think the fact that he came from a country about which people knew little helped. At that time, there were players people had heard a lot about, but had only seen play a few times.

I think this mystery added to the legend that surrounded them. Although, of course, to win the Ballon d’Or, you have to have something special in comparison with the rest.

So do you think a goalkeeper’s chances are poor?

For a goalkeeper to win the award today something truly exceptional has to happen.

Often the prize doesn’t go to the best player,

but to the player who has won more games, and who was most decisive in those victories. So perhaps a goalkeeper will win the Ballon d’Or when he helps his team become world champions by winning four games in a row on penalties and saving every spot-kick (laughs). That way no one can overlook him!

But something really remarkable needs to happen.

If you were to choose the FIFA Ballon D’Or award winner in 2014, what criteria would you use?

For me the best player - unless something very surprising happens, like someone has a really wonderful individual season – should make an important contribution to his own history and trajectory, to the level of performance that he has always produced. If he was considered a phenomenon when he was younger, for example, he has to fulfil and maintain that expectation. That will lead to a deserved winner.

And in your opinion, who will win?

Probably [Cristiano] Ronaldo. Even if he hadn’t won the UEFA Champions League, the player who is the best at a particular moment should be rewarded. Ronaldo – in addition to having a splendid career and maintaining a high level of performance over a long period – has done something exceptional over the last two years, and deserves the recognition.

That said, I still think that [Lionel] Messi is still the best overall, because when he is 100 per cent he is simply sublime to watch. But there is not much difference between the two: they are playing at such a high level that if one drops just a little, the other will overtake him. And what Ronaldo did this year was beautiful to behold: incredibly decisive and professional. You realise that he has the right mind-set, and is working towards goals that he sets himself. In the end, people who stand out so deservedly, thanks to their hard work and sacrifice, should be rewarded.

Cannavaro was the last Italian to be voted player of the year in 2006. What current Italian player has the potential to repeat this achievement?

I don’t know if we have a young, talented player coming through who can aspire to win this sort of award in the future. There is no Italian among the candidates for this year’s award because we are coming off a very disappointing World Cup and our clubs haven’t challenged for the highest honours for quite a few years. Either we improve the national team or our football will remain ordinary, and it will be impossible to stand out.

As captain of the national team, does it upset you that there are no Italian players among the nominees?

The fact that no Italian has been nominated forces us to understand the situation our football is currently in, and confirms that the technical and individual quality of our players has declined. But it is also true that, as in any area of life, sport goes in cycles. This is perhaps a low point for Italy, but the country’s history carries a lot of weight, and Italian football has always managed to combine technique with tactical discipline. By putting an emphasis on these qualities, I think we will soon start to grow again. Å As told to FIFA.com

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First Love Pl a c e : G l a s g o w, S c o t l a n d Date: 1 Januar y 2005 Time: 3.08 p.m.

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T HE DEBAT E

PRESIDENTIAL NOTE

“It’s important to make the most of this opportunity” The focus of the football world falls on Morocco between 10 and 20 December this year as some of the biggest stars of the global game parade their talents in the FIFA Club World Cup. Seven sides from across the planet gathered to contest the title, with the likes of Real Madrid CF, Cruz Azul FC and Moghreb Athletic de Tetouan locking horns in Rabat and Marrakech.

effort has been made to ensure that the tournament is perfectly organised, and FIFA has been working hard to achieve this goal. There has been a clear improvement from last year.

As FIFA President Blatter said, we hope the second edition of the tournament is even better than the first, and reaches levels of true excellence.

A royal gathering for a kingdom

Mohamed Raouraoua, Chairman of the ­Organising Committee for the FIFA Club World

If last year’s tournament was good, we expect this year’s to be perfect. I think it’s great that Morocco would like to host the next ten editions of the Club World Cup. This shows how an event like this can create an important legacy for a city and a country.

Now it is important that Morocco makes the most of this opportunity and has all the necessary tools to develop football in the country, and make the sport here even stronger.

Cup Morocco 2014

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke

To organise a successful World Cup you have to keep improving. The organisation of the tournament is directly linked to other sectors, such as the economy and tourism.

The Organising Committee and its partners know that football is an important means of promoting Morocco and its tourism industry.

The change in venue means that other cities can benefit from the event and the investments in infrastructure that come with it.

If possible we would like to host the competition for the next ten years, so that the whole country can benefit. Agadir experienced the remarkable development opportunity that the Club World Cup represents last year, and now it is Rabat’s turn to make the most of this chance to improve its sporting infrastructure.”

Ahmed Ghaibi, Special Adviser to the Local Organising Committee

I would like to thank everyone involved for the superb organisation of the tournament.

Morocco has once again provided excellent infrastructure that will allow the event to run as smoothly as possible. We made one change from last year’s competition, with Rabat, where the stadium has been entirely renovated and will become an important sporting legacy for the country, replacing Agadir as a venue. All the feedback we have received so far has been positive. The teams have been given a first class welcome. Every

Fan Zones With the FIFA Club World Cup fast approaching, hosts Morocco have been putting the final touches to preparations and ensuring that visiting fans receive the best possible welcome.

A large marketing campaign is underway, featuring advertising displays at train stations and on trams in Casablanca and Rabat.

A cornerstone of guaranteeing the success of the illustrious global event has been the establishment of four Fan Zones, areas where supporters can engage in friendly exchanges and celebrate the beautiful game.

“The Local Organising Committee of the FIFA Club World Cup made the implementation of Fan Zones a strategic priority,” explained Youssef Samihi, the LOC’s merchandising and Fan Zone manager.

“Even better, in addition to the two host cities, Rabat and Marrakech, we decided to expand the festivities to Tetouan, the home of Moghreb Athletic Tetouan, and to Casablanca, one of Morocco’s football strongholds,” he added.

Strategically located in the four towns in question, the Fan Zones will offer a fantastic meeting place for football-loving visitors from all over the globe. On-site cultural and sporting events are on the agenda, including concerts and fun activities for children, such as video games and small-sided matches. A ticket office will also be made available to attendees.

These Fan Zones, officially opened within the last few days, will be accessible on a daily basis from 11am to 8pm. A giant screen has been installed at each site, enabling supporters to watch Club World Cup matches in a relaxed environment.

T

he final highlight of a memorable footballing year, the Club World Cup in Morocco, began on Wednesday. One question is on everyone’s lips: can Real Madrid win the ­trophy for the first time and fill the last gap on their impressive roll of honour? The men from Madrid face stiff competition from the Champions League winners from the other confederations, including highly-respected Copa Libertadores winners San Lorenzo de Almagro from Argentina, surprise package Western Sydney Wanderers and Mexican cracks Cruz Azul.

The encounter between Algeria’s ES Setif and Auckland City promises to be an exciting one. With the early exit of Moroccan champions Moghreb Tetouan, African hopes now rest on the CAF Champions League winners, after Raja Casablanca’s spirited performance last year set the bar high. There are no chances to correct errors on the path to glory, because a single defeat puts the trophy beyond reach.

The Club World Cup has a relatively short history consisting of eleven editions so far, but it is now a permanent fixture on the international calendar. An intercontinental test of strength at club level has a particularly special appeal.

The tournament also has the highest ­priority for FIFA. At the end of the day, club football nurtures talent and shapes the game on a day-to-day basis, forming the foundation for the associations and national teams.

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

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Up to 24 teams The increased field of World Cup entrants was drawn into six groups at a glittering ceremony in Ottawa.

Champions Japan kick off against Swiss debutants Among the standout fixtures in the group stage of the Women’s World Cup 2015 are Germany’s clash with Norway, USA’s encounter with Sweden and France’s match-up with England.

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he dice – or, more appropriately, the balls – have been cast. The final draw for the Women’s World Cup 2015 in Canada took place on 6 December at Ottawa’s Canadian Museum of History. Assisted by several Canadian sports personalities, FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke and Tatjana Haenni, FIFA Deputy Director of the Com-

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

petitions Division and Head of Women’s Football determined which teams would compete in each of the six groups – and the results were fascinating. Can defending champions Japan go all the way once more? Will the Canadian team inspire their home crowd? Or could some of the outsiders spring a surprise?

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Julien Sebbah, Nicole Ratzmann, Hayes Creech and Sarah Steiner

C A N A DA 2015

Group A

her first touches of the ball. Memories of that encounter should ensure excitement, drama and top-quality football as Norway look to settle a score.

Ambitious Christine Sinclair (left) and Kaylyn Kyle’s Canada are keen to impress on home soil.

“You always have to take African teams seriously.”

Silvia Neid, Germany coach

The big game: Canada - New Zealand Canada’s head coach John Herdman could not hold back a beaming smile when New Zealand were drawn in Group A. Herdman guided the Football Ferns to the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, and he will now face his former side. “I get a chance to play against my old team, which I was hoping was going to happen. The New Zealand girls meant a lot to us, so to be able to share a moment in Canada is going to be really cool.” Tony Readings, Herdman’s successor, will be looking to lead the Kiwis past the group stage for the first time in the nation’s competition history. New Zealand have yet to win a group stage match in the tournament, and while a victory against the hosts would be an upset, it would be immediately inserted into New Zealand women’s football folklore.

“It’s going to be real cool.”

John Herdmann, Canada coach

What else to expect China PR head coach Hao Wei takes a side that will surely be hungry to make a positive early impression on the proceedings after the country missed out on Germany 2011. While the world welcomes back a tournament regular in China PR, the Netherlands will be one of eight new faces to participate at Canada 2015. Head coach Roger Reijners’ side were the last European team to qualify, doing so in dramatic fashion in a two-leg playoff against Italy. Reijners will be leading a side that represents the first ever Dutch team to play in a FIFA women’s competition. If the Oranje Leeuwinnen are able to use their momentum from the UEFA qualifiers, they could very well book a place in the Round of 16.

Group B Unwavering Nadine Angerer stops almost every ball for Germany.

The big game: Germany - Norway Germany and Norway are familiar foes. Their meeting in the group stage will be a rematch of the EURO 2013 final, where goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and Anja Mittag ended Norway’s hopes of lifting the trophy. The Germany custodian and FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013 winner was seemingly unbeatable in the title-decider and saved two penalties, much to her opponents’ despair. Mittag had an almost instant impact as a second-half substitute by scoring the winning goal for Germany with one of

What else to expect The European heavyweights’ fixtures against the two World Cup debutants also promise plenty of intrigue, as the newcomers are largely unknown quantities. “Asian teams are renowned for their strong technical ability, while you always have to take African teams seriously. They’re very strong in the tackle and usually have very quick players,” analysed Germany Coach Silvia Neid. Indeed, on paper at least, the underdogs’ chances of reaching the Round of 16 appear to be slim, as Thailand are currently 30th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking and Côte d’Ivoire are 64th.

Group C Clever Norio Sasaki (right) will be seeking to successfully defend Japan’s World Cup title.

The big game: Japan - Switzerland Switzerland coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg could hardly have wished for a better draw after her side was pitted against the defending world champions in their maiden World Cup match.

“We can only gain from it,” she said after learning her team’s fate. Both countries have enjoyed great success under their present coaches. Norio Sasaki led Japan to a surprising World Cup triumph in 2011 and reached the final of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament a year later. Meanwhile, under Voss-Tecklenburg’s guidance, Switzerland have qualified for a major tournament for the first time in their history.

“We can only gain from it.”

Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Switzerland coach

What else to expect The overriding question in Group C is which side will be able to reach the next round alongside Japan. Switzerland qualified for Canada 2015 in some style and in Lara Dickenmann and Ramona Bachmann have two of their leading players contracted to foreign clubs. Their expertise could be the difference between success and failure for the Swiss. Ecuador coach Vanessa Arauz may not be able to boast of such well-known names in her squad, but the tactical discipline, fighting spirit and opportunism they showed in the play-offs are the South Americans’ standout qualities. Cameroon should not be underestimated, however, as coach Enow Ngachu has a hugely experienced ensemble at his disposal. And the Africans know what to expect at a major tournament, as many of Cameroon’s players participated at the 2012 Olympics and lace their boots for foreign sides.

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C A N A DA 2015

Group D Dominant US striker Abby Wambach (number 20) could break the all-time goalscoring record at the World Cup.

The big game: USA - Sweden USA were drawn with Sweden for the fourth consecutive World Cup. Not only do the sides know each other well on the pitch, but former USA coach Pia Sundhage, now in charge of The Blueyellow, will know her American opponents extremely well.

She led them to two Olympic gold medals and the Germany 2011 final. “The match will obviously be quite special for me; I’ve got mixed emotions about it,” Sundhage admitted. “It’s good to play against the best teams in the group stage though. We’re looking at it positively.” USA coach Jill Ellis said: “We joked about being drawn in the same group. They’re obviously a very good team and they’ll be very tough. I think it will be a really good matchup for us.”

“I have mixed emotions about it.”

Pia Sundhage, Sweden coach

What else to expect Australia are appearing in their sixth Women’s World Cup, making them the least experienced team in the pool. Nigeria, Sweden and USA have taken part in every tournament held. The Matildas were knocked out by the Swedes at Germany 2011 in the quarter-finals, so coach Alen Stajcic and Co will be looking for revenge in their final group game at Canada 2015. A significant tournament milestone could be reached in Group D with USA forward Abby Wambach just one goal away from equalling the goalscoring record held by Germany’s Birgit Prinz and Marta (14). Wambach has scored against the Swedes in three Women’s World Cups, and against Nigeria in two, so the odds look to be on the former FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year’s side.

Group E Inimitable Marta (left) continues to be a potent force for Brazil.

history of the tournament, and remains her nation’s biggest goal threat. At the other end of the pitch, Veronica Boquete will pose the greatest danger to the former finalists’ rearguard.

“I was hoping to get Brazil.”

Yoon Deok-Yoo, Korea Republic coach

What else to expect Costa Rica, also making their first World Cup appearance, should not feel too far out of their element. The CONCACAF representatives, coached by Uruguayan Garabet Avedissian, possess a core of talented young players who came into their own in 2014, first at the U-17 World Cup on home soil, and then at the U-20 World Cup, also held in Canada. The same goes for Korea Republic, whose squad includes many of the players who were crowned U-17 world champions in 2010, as well as more experienced heads such as captain and defensive midfielder Cho So-Hyun and goalkeeper Kim Jung-Mi. As for their coach, Yoon Deok-Yeo, he will have to live up to the confident statement he made after the Final Draw. “Out of the six seeds, I was hoping to get Brazil. That’s why I’m happy with the outcome,” he said.

Group F Frenetic The French want more reasons to celebrate in Canada.

The big game: France - England England’s last World Cup outing ended in a suspenseful defeat on penalties by France in the quarter-finals of Germany 2011. Les Bleues have since defeated the Three Lionesses at the 2013 UEFA Women’s Championship and in the final of the aforementioned Cyprus Cup, so Mark Sampson’s players are unlikely to be lacking in motivation. Sampson has been tasked with injecting fresh impetus into women’s football in England and said confidently: “The team will make England proud.” His opposite number, Philippe Bergeroo, will rely on a generation of players that has truly begun to blossom, while also handing an opportunity to young talents like Claire Lavogez and Griedge Mbock Bathy.

“The team will make England proud.”

Mark Sampson, England coach

The big game: Brazil - Spain Although individual technical ability is the hallmark of A Canarinha, the Spaniards will likely respond with the same fast, accurate and devastatingly effective collective style. Fresh from a Canada 2015 qualifying campaign that saw them win nine out of ten matches, La Roja are finally enjoying the fruits of the labour put in by their coach, Ignacio Quereda, who has been in charge since 1988, when Marta was just two years old. The skilful Brazilian has since gone on to become the joint top scorer in the

What else to expect It is unlikely that Mexico would be where they are today were it not for the efforts of Leonardo Cuellar, the man who has transformed El Tri into a team capable of making life difficult for anyone. Felipe Taborda’s Colombian squad have enjoyed a similar rise to prominence in South America, aided by the coach’s previous work with the U-17 and U-20 sides. The European teams in Group F should be aware that they will not have it all their own way, therefore, given the Latin American teams’ ability to marry innate skill with tactical nous and increased physical strength. Å T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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F I F A ’ S 11

Hard times

Most matches played at Women’s World Cups

David Winner

I

n his book ’Religion Explained’ Pascal Boyer describes a sacred rite in a remote community fallen on hard times. A group of villagers organise a ceremony to tell their local goddess her services are no longer required. Why? She “failed to protect them from epidemics so they decide to ’drop’ her and find a more efficient replacement”. A similar impulse is evident in the horror film ’The Wicker Man’ when fashionable, apparently well-educated modern Brits carry out a human sacrifice after their crops fail. The modern football manager increasingly fulfils a quasi-religious role: glorified when things go well, scapegoat when results, the football equivalent of sickness or a bad harvest, go wrong.

One aspect of a new fan culture shaped by social media, high ticket prices and a sense of entitlement to success, is that the ’faithful’, as English supporters are routinely described, feel justified in turning vitriol against even revered figures. Last season Manchester United supporters flew a banner across the sky expressing dissatisfaction with so-called ’Chosen One’ manager David Moyes. Fans at Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Cardiff City, Leicester City and Hull City have staged angry protests of various kinds against their clubs’ owners, chief executives or managers.

But nowhere is the phenomenon more startling than at Arsenal where fans have divided into tribes for and against long-serving manager Arsene Wenger.

On one side is the Wenger Out Brigade (WOB). On the other, the AKBs who still believe that Arsene Knows Best. Members of the two factions were seen punching each other last Saturday outside Stoke’s Britannia Stadium where Arsenal, not for the first time this season, defended poorly and lost.

At West Bromwich Albion last month travelling WOBs raised a red flag which read:

“­ Arsene, thanks for the memories but it’s time to say goodbye”. Former club chairman Peter Hill-Wood called the protestors “thoroughly ignorant people”. Notable anti-Wenger voices include Piers Morgan, the former newspaper editor and chat show host, and “Angry Claude” a fan whose rants have made him a celebrity on Twitter. Pro-Wengerists include perhaps a majority of fans, and the club’s board. Thierry Henry recently praised his old boss and predicted he will only be appreciated properly after he leaves the club.

Wenger has been Arsenal manager for 18 years. He has won two Doubles, three league titles, five FA Cups – one of them last May – and created the 2003-4 ’Invincibles’, arguably the best English club team ever. Indeed, he looms as an almost Moses-like figure who transformed Arsenal’s culture, turned them away from boring football, and led them to a new home at the Emirates Stadium.

The current team has its problems but, as Aaron Ramsey’s wonder goal during the 4-1 win at Galatasaray on Tuesday showed, there’s still plenty of talent in attack. But his detractors insist Wenger has lost his powers.

That Arsenal sit sixth in the Premier League table, routinely lose to Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, and have failed to win the league in ten years has destroyed their faith. To them, he is the god who failed.

He no longer provides adequate protection or good crops.

The WOBs want a new manager they can believe in. But they may have overplayed their hand. Footage of fans screaming abuse at Wenger as he boarded a train on Saturday struck some observers as scandalous. Gary Lineker, the former Spurs and England star who is now something of a football guru on TV, called it “disgustingly disrespectful and totally inexcusable.” Å

The weekly column by our staff writers

1

K ristine Lilly, USA Matches played: 30 (1991–2007) Minutes played: 2535 Goals: 8

2

Julie Foudy, USA Matches played: 24 (1991–2003) Minutes played: 1993 Goals: 4

Birgit Prinz, Germany Matches played: 24 (1995–2011) Minutes played: 1882 Goals: 14

4

Joy Fawcett, USA Matches played: 23 (1991–2003) Minutes played: 2100 Goals: 3

Mia Hamm, USA Matches played: 23 (1991–2003) Minutes played: 1945 Goals: 8

6

Bente Nordby, Norway Matches played: 22 (1995–2007) Minutes played: 2010 Goals: 0

Bettina Wiegmann, Germany Matches played: 22 (1991–2003) Minutes played: 1954 Goals: 11

Hege Riise, Norway Matches played: 22 (1991–2003) Minutes played: 1641 Goals: 9

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Formiga, Brazil Matches played: 21 (1995–2007) Minutes played: 1607 Goals: 1

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W en Sun, China PR Matches played: 20 (1991–2003) Minutes played: 1766 Goals: 11

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Briana Scurry, USA Matches played: 19 (1995–2007) Minutes played: 1738 Goals: 0

Source: FIFA (FIFA, Statistical Kit, 10.12.2014) T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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HISTORY

Di Stefano, Real Madrid’s history maker The Club World Cup, the one trophy missing from Real Madrid’s bulging cabinet, could soon be added to the Spanish club’s lengthy roll of honours. Yet the silverware-laden part of the club’s history only began with the signing of Alfredo Di Stefano in 1953.

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The White Ballet Between 1953 and 1964, Argentinian forward Alfredo Di Stefano won eight league titles with Real Madrid. He developed a close understanding with strike partner Ferenc Puskas (below, right).

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HISTORY

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adrid Football Club was founded on 6 March 1902 and in 1904 was also a founding member of FIFA as Spain’s official representative. Since then, Real Madrid have grown into one of the world’s biggest clubs and today are the wealthiest on the planet, with an annual turnover of more than €600 million. Los Merengues have won virtually all there is to win, both domestically and on the international scene. Furthermore, Real were named Club of the 20th Century by FIFA in 2000, awarded the FIFA Order of Merit four years later and honoured with the title of Best ­European Football Club by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) in London in 2010. Now Los Blancos have their sights set on lifting the Club World Cup in Morocco, with the tournament set to take place from 10-20 December.

“I’ve always made it ­c lear that I don’t want to be idolised but that I want to play.”

Alfredo Di Stefano

The list of Real Madrid’s famous alumni and present stars reads like a fantasy line-up of the best talent in world footballing history.

Yet there is one person in particular who shaped the club’s fortunes more than any other: Alfredo Di Stefano. He arrived in Europe in the 1950s and his extraordinary playing abilities instigated Real’s first period of major success.

Another of Di Stefano’s defining characteristics was his desire to be a team player, and he gave great importance to winning as a collective. “Football has given me everything,” he said once. “But I’ve always viewed it as a team game and made it clear that I don’t want to be idolised but that I want to play. That means a lot of running and sweating.”

Interest from Barcelona Born in 1926, Di Stefano’s breakthrough came at his boyhood club River Plate in his home city of Buenos Aires. He won his first championship title as a 19-year-old and in 1947 he finished as the league’s top scorer. That year Di Stefano also made his debut for Argentina at the Copa America and earned the nickname ‘La Saeta Rubia’ – the Blonde Arrow.

It was not until the 1951/52 season that he started to attract attention from European

clubs, after playing for Colombian side Millonarios against Real Madrid in a friendly to honour the 50th anniversary of the Spanish club’s founding. The Real board were captivated by Di Stefano and became determined to sign him, entering a race with Barcelona for his signature. The ensuing battle between Spain’s two biggest sides only ended when Di Stefano joined Real, making his debut in the white shirt in September 1953. From then on, he was a ‘Madridista’.

In his first season in the Spanish capital, Di Stefano led Real to their third league title – and first for 21 years. He went on to win La Liga eight times in 11 years and also lifted the Copa de España once. Real triumphed in the European Cup, which was established in 1956 and the forerunner of today’s Champions ­League, for five consecutive years, setting a record that to this day has yet to be matched.

“I don’t believe any team in history has ever had a more complete attacking line-up,” Di Stefano said of his glory years in Madrid. In the side’s heyday, players of the calibre of Raymond Kopa, Hector Rial, Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento and Jose Santamaria took to the pitch alongside him, although it was with Hungarian attacker Puskas, in particular, that Di Stefano formed a terrifying strike partnership.

The big-name signings were the product of a visionary working behind the scenes at the club, namely then-president Santiago Bernabeu, from whom Real’s eponymous stadium takes its name. Bernabeu gradually put together an all-conquering squad. Real’s forwards “danced” through opposition back lines, leading to the creation of the term ‘White Ballet’ which is still used today.

Spain international Di Stefano later became a naturalised citizen in his adopted homeland and went on to earn 31 caps for Spain, scoring an impressive 23 goals. He travelled to the 1962 World Cup in Chile as part of the squad but was unable to play a single game due to injury. As a consequence he joins Northern Ireland’s George Best, Liberia’s George Weah and Wales’ Ryan Giggs on a list of world-class players never to have taken part at a World Cup. Di Stefano’s profound bond with Real ­Madrid never waned and after hanging up his boots he took the reins of the side as coach on two occasions, but only managed to win the Spanish Super Cup once. In 2000 he was named as the club’s honorary president.

On 7 July 2014, just three days after his 88th birthday, Di Stefano died of a heart attack in Madrid. However, his legend undeniably lives on in Real’s successes and he would doubtless have enjoyed witnessing his club compete for the only trophy missing from its cabinet in Morocco. Å

MATCH SCHEDULE CLUB WORLD CUP MOROCCO 2014 10 December, 19:30 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat Match 1 · Playoff for Quarter-Finals Moghreb Tetouan 0 (3) Auckland City 0 (4) Auckland City win on penalties 13 December, 16:00 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat Match 2 · Quarter-Final ES Setif Winner of Match 1 13 December, 19:30 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat Match 3 · Quarter-Final Cruz Azul Western Sydney Wanderers 16 December, 19:30 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat Match 4 · Semi-Final Winner of Match 3 Real Madrid 17 December, 16:30 Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech Match 5 · Match for Fifth Place Loser of Match 2 Loser of Match 3 17 December, 19:30 Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech Match 6 · Semi-Final San Lorenzo Winner of Match 2 20 December, 16:30 Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech Match 7 · Match for Third Place Loser of Match 4 Loser of Match 6 20 December, 19:30 Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech Match 8 · Final Winner of Match 4 Winner of Match 6 T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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MIRROR IMAGE

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Bob Thomas / Getty Images

Lightning provides a dramatic backdrop to the World Cup match between England and Republic of Ireland at the Stadio Sant’Elia.

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Matthew Ashton / AMA / Corbis

Rainbows appear over the Britannia Stadium during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Swansea City.

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FIFA WORLD R ANKING Rank Team

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 9 10 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 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 56 58 59 60 61 62 62 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77

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Change in ranking Points

Germany Argentina Colombia Belgium Netherlands Brazil Portugal France Spain Uruguay

0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 -2

1725 1538 1450 1417 1374 1316 1160 1160 1142 1135

Italy Switzerland England Chile Romania Costa Rica Czech Republic Algeria Croatia Mexico Slovakia Tunisia Austria Côte d'Ivoire Greece Ukraine Ecuador USA Bosnia and Herzegovina Denmark Russia Israel Iceland Wales Senegal Scotland Ghana Guinea Cape Verde Islands Poland Cameroon Nigeria Sweden Hungary Slovenia Serbia Northern Ireland Turkey Mali Albania South Africa Peru Japan Trinidad and Tobago Congo DR Panama Iran Montenegro Congo Egypt Republic of Ireland Zambia Togo Gabon Burkina Faso Bulgaria Norway Haiti Korea Republic Finland Jamaica Honduras Guatemala Uzbekistan Paraguay Libya Armenia

0 0 7 -1 6 0 5 -3 -5 -3 3 9 6 1 -7 -7 0 -5 -3 2 -1 13 -5 0 6 1 -2 17 -6 4 -1 0 -4 6 -9 0 -4 -2 9 -2 6 2 -1 -5 5 0 -5 6 3 -22 0 16 -10 3 6 -7 1 25 -3 -7 42 -3 -1 -9 1 -3 -2

1103 1091 1032 1022 1014 995 987 948 946 913 891 867 863 861 856 854 852 836 808 804 789 788 761 748 734 729 714 698 693 684 664 656 646 632 622 617 615 604 603 577 568 565 563 553 548 547 547 537 529 527 519 516 516 511 510 506 500 484 481 468 467 461 458 448 438 437 436

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Ranking 06 / 2014

07 / 2014

08 / 2014

09 / 2014

10 / 2014

11 / 2014

1 -41 -83 -125 -167 -209

78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 91 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 106 108 109 110 110 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 131 133 133 135 135 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144

Top spot

Biggest climber

Uganda Cuba Antigua and Barbuda Angola Morocco Estonia Sierra Leone United Arab Emirates Jordan Bolivia Cyprus Venezuela Rwanda Benin Dominican Republic El Salvador Malawi Lithuania Oman Latvia Qatar China PR Mozambique Belarus Australia FYR Macedonia Iraq Faroe Islands Saudi Arabia Zimbabwe Botswana Namibia Ethiopia Canada Tanzania Palestine Kenya Sudan Niger St Kitts and Nevis St Vincent and the Grenadines Equatorial Guinea Moldova Liberia Lesotho Kuwait Burundi Bahrain Georgia Lebanon Philippines Luxembourg Liechtenstein Guinea-Bissau Aruba New Zealand Afghanistan Azerbaijan Tajikistan Korea DPR Vietnam Kazakhstan Myanmar Mauritania Maldives Barbados Thailand

6 33 -10 6 6 5 -7 -6 -12 16 8 -4 5 -5 -11 -11 15 -3 -13 2 -10 -11 -3 5 -8 -4 -23 82 -9 -5 -6 4 1 12 -2 -5 2 -8 5 -2 -13 6 -1 2 -4 -3 4 -21 -9 -3 1 -3 25 -1 1 -2 1 -9 -1 11 -2 -7 -3 -1 0 3 21

Biggest faller

425 423 413 394 393 390 387 385 382 375 372 369 367 361 361 358 357 355 351 339 338 336 334 331 327 324 321 317 314 314 309 295 287 287 285 276 271 265 261 258 256 251 250 249 247 246 245 243 239 238 231 230 219 218 218 216 216 215 215 211 206 205 202 195 184 183 182

145 146 147 148 148 148 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 159 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 170 170 173 174 174 174 177 178 179 180 180 180 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 192 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 202 204 204 206 206 208 209

St Lucia Central African Republic Chad Malta Turkmenistan Madagascar Syria Grenada Kyrgyzstan New Caledonia Malaysia Curaçao Indonesia Singapore Laos Hong Kong Puerto Rico Swaziland Bangladesh Suriname Guam Tahiti Gambia Montserrat Sri Lanka India São Tomé e Príncipe Guyana Comoros Yemen Nicaragua Seychelles Belize Turks and Caicos Islands Nepal Bermuda San Marino Cambodia Pakistan Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Macau Dominica Chinese Taipei South Sudan Vanuatu Mauritius Fiji Samoa Mongolia Bahamas Tonga US Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Papua New Guinea American Samoa Andorra British Virgin Islands Eritrea Cayman Islands Djibouti Somalia Cook Islands Anguilla Bhutan

-7 -2 -6 9 -10 -5 0 -7 -3 -1 1 -9 0 3 -5 4 -2 2 13 -15 -3 0 1 2 5 -11 5 -18 -1 4 -6 -3 -10 -1 0 -8 28 5 -1 -4 -3 -2 -7 0 -3 0 0 0 -3 -1 -1 -2 0 0 0 -6 1 1 -2 -3 1 -3 -1 -1 -1

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

179 178 172 166 166 166 148 147 146 142 137 127 126 123 120 120 119 113 111 109 105 100 90 86 85 84 84 84 77 75 75 75 74 66 58 55 55 55 54 53 51 49 48 47 43 33 32 30 30 29 26 17 16 15 13 12 9 8 8 5 5 4 4 2 0

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

“No love tonight, alright, alright!”

Wherever prolific goalscorer Giorgio Chinaglia appeared, he prompted strong emotions and made headlines – except when he took to the microphone, alas.

Hanspeter Kuenzler

Sion Ap Tomos

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t first sight, Giorgio Chinaglia appeared blessed with many of the attributes required for a successful pop music career. In the first place, the striker’s smile was positively angelic. Second, he exuded an arrogance to equal Mick Jagger’s. And third, a tailor-made song was written for him by a team of tried and tested hitmakers who employed one of the classic and (usually) fail-safe tricks for success: brackets.

A phrase in brackets, especially when it makes no actual sense, suggests a deeper, hidden meaning. Pop fans can seldom resist this kind of challenge, as evidenced by the examples of “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” or “(Everything I Do) I Do it For You”.

Giorgio Chinaglia (1947 – 2012) a player from Carrara in Italy, actually spent his youth years in Wales with Swansea.

His talent was spotted at an early stage, but due to the fact that the lad was largely unwilling to keep the rules and also discovered the joys of sex, drugs & rock´n´roll while still a

youngster, he was despatched back to Italy. Things took a footballing turn for the better and he was hailed as a hero, as an Italy international and for his 98 goals in 209 games for Lazio. Squabbles and scandals meant that he fled to the New York Cosmos when his powers were at their height, although diplomacy remained his weak suit and he contrived to irritate and alienate the likes of team-mate Pele.

Despite it all, he scored a remarkable 193 goals in 213 games.

Chinaglia’s English-language single was released in 1974 when he was still playing in Italy. The song was penned by the de Angelis brothers, whose soundtrack to “All the Way” won the Italian equivalent of an Oscar in 1973. Chinaglila, it turns out, has the voice of a little boy. To the accompaniment of Kinks-style guitar, a heavenly girls’ chorus and blaring trumpet, “(I’m) Football Crazy” reflects on a coach’s instructions on the night before a game: “No love tonight!

Alright, alright!” It is doubtful that Chinaglia himself followed those guidelines, of course. Æ T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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TURNING POINT

“I’d done everything right.

But still I had to go.”

At Standard Liège, Romanian championship-winning coach Mircea Rednic experienced the five happiest minutes of his career – and the five saddest.

Name Mircea Rednic Date and place of birth 9 April 1962, Hunedoara Playing career (defender) 1983–1990 Dinamo Bucharest 1990–1991 Bursaspor 1991–1996 Standard Liège 1996–1997 VV St. Truiden 1997–2000 Rapid Bucharest Coaching career 1998, 2000–2001, 2002–2003, 2007–2008 Rapid Bucharest 2003–2004 Al-Nasr 2006–2007, 2008–2009 Dinamo Bucharest 2009 Alania Vladikavkaz 2010–2011 Khazar Lenkoran 2012 Petrolul Ploiești 2012–2013 Standard Liège 2013 CFR Cluj 2013–2014 KAA Gent Coaching honours 2003, 2007 Romanian Championship 2002 Romanian Cup 2011 Azerbaijani Cup Romanian national team 83 games (2 goals)

Cristi Preda

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t had always been my dream to coach a big team in Western Europe – in a country where football touches the hearts of the entire population and where the work you do is properly appreciated.

After playing 83 times for Romania, I became a coach and won two Romanian league titles and the national cup. Then I moved to Russia, where I subsequently won promotion from the second tier to the top division with Alania Vladikavkaz, before moving again, this time to Khazar Lenkoran FC in Azerbaijan. But still I wanted to coach a top team in Europe – and then came my opportunity. Early on in the 2012/13 season I moved to Belgian powerhouse Standard Liège, a club where I’d already spent five years as a player back in the 1990s.

The Liège president called me one evening in 2012. I remember that it was the day before the quarter-final of a cup game for Petrolul Ploieşti - we went on to reach the semi-finals – and I told him how I’d dreamed of coaching a club like Standard Liège. I was still at Petrolul when he called but I’d had it written into my contract that I could leave the club if the right offer for me came along.

That’s what happened. Shortly after 7am on the morning after that cup game and without even having gone home first, I jumped on a plane, travelling only with the bag that I had with me.

I recognised everything in Liège, and I still had my Belgian citizenship that I’d acquired when I was a player. I met with the club president and we talked for three hours, after which

he agreed to give me a contract until the end of the season, which was about seven or eight months. Standard were 13th in the league table and there were problems with the team’s structure. The atmosphere at the club, especially with the supporters, needed repairing. It wasn’t easy taking over in a situation like that.

I made regular visits to the youth academy and brought a few young players into the first team. The president had set the target of reaching the play-offs for Europe, and that seemed feasible to me once I’d bedded in some youngsters and got them fit and ready going forward. The players worked really hard and we managed to qualify for the Europa League in the very last game of the season by winning 7-0 at home to KAA Gent at the end of May 2013. After all the problems we’d faced – and overcome – those were the best five minutes of my coaching life: fourth place in the league and qualification. Everyone was happy and the fans were chanting my name on our lap of honour around the pitch. It was wonderful. I was

happy because I’d done everything right. I felt confident about the conversation I was about to have with the president.

But after the five happiest minutes came the five saddest. My contract wasn’t renewed.

I was bitterly disappointed.

I went back to Romania and became coach of CFR Cluj, but a short time afterwards I returned to Belgium, to a different club this time: KAA Gent, the team I’d beaten 7-0. Å Mircea Rednic was speaking to Perikles Monioudis

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

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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

FIFA QUIZ CUP

One bearded world champion, some low-scoring league winners and a headless maestro – test your knowledge!

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Paul Breitner is pictured here with after the 1974 Final with his attempt at a full beard. When was the last time a bearded player featured in the starting line-up for a World Cup winning side?

President: Joseph S. Blatter Secretary General: Jérôme Valcke

F 1978 G 1986 P 2006 R 2010

Director of Communications and Public Affairs: Walter De Gregorio Chief Editor: Perikles Monioudis Staff Writers: Alan Schweingruber, Sarah Steiner, Tim Pfeifer

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Sterling effort: Where is George?

Art Direction: Catharina Clajus Picture Editor: Peggy Knotz Layout: Richie Krönert (Lead), Tobias Benz, Marianne Bolliger-Crittin, Susanne Egli, Alissa Rosskopf Proof Reader: Martin Beran, Nena Morf, Kristina Rotach

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34 matches, 36 goals, champions! Who pulled off this feat one season during the 1990s?

Contributors: Sérgio Xavier Filho, Luigi Garlando, Sven Goldmann, Hanspeter Kuenzler, Jordi Punti, Thomas Renggli, David Winner, Roland Zorn Contributors to this Issue: Hayes Creech, Peter Kanjere, Andrés de Kartzow, Dominik Petermann, Nicole Rätzmann, Julien Sebbah Editorial Assistant: Honey Thaljieh

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The FIFA Weekly reading pays off: Whose head is missing from this illustration?

Production: Hans-Peter Frei Project Management: Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub Translation: Sportstranslations Limited www.sportstranslations.com Printer: Zofinger Tagblatt AG www.ztonline.ch

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Contact: feedback-theweekly@fifa.org Reproduction of photos or articles in whole or in part is only permitted with prior editorial approval and if attributed “The FIFA Weekly, © FIFA 2014”.

The editor and staff are not obliged to publish unsolicited manuscripts and photos. FIFA and the FIFA logo are registered trademarks of FIFA. Made and printed in Switzerland.

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

The answer to last week’s Quiz Cup was SHOE Detailed answers on www.fifa.com/theweekly Inspiration and implementation: cus

Send your answer by 17 December 2014 to feedback-theweekly@fifa.org.

Correct solutions to all quizzes published from 13 June 2014 onwards will go into a draw in January 2015 for a trip for two to the FIFA Ballon d’Or on 12 January 2015.

Before sending in answers, all participants must read and accept the competition terms and conditions and the rules, which can be found at: http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/af-magazine/fifaweekly/02/20/51/99/en_rules_20140613_english_neutral.pdf T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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L A S T W E E K’S P O L L R E S U LT S Which of these African forwards has impressed you most in the top five European leagues?

42+18+148

T HIS WEEK’S POLL

Which of the former winners or finalists will put in the best performance in Canada?

8%

14%

42%

18%

· Brazil · China PR · Sweden · Norway · Germany · Japan · USA

18%

≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠

Wilfried Bony (Swansea City)

Nordin Amrabat (FC Malaga)

Eric Choupo-Moting (Schalke 04)

Cast your votes at: Fifa.com/newscentre

Cheick Diabate (Girondins Bordeaux) Khouma Babacar (AC Florenz)

“I never comb my hair. I just shake my head every morning!”

Marcelo

6

Major League Soccer titles was the record tally set by Landon Donovan in the final match of his glitter-

seconds were on the clock when

year after being promoted, Gamba

ing career. The American

Peter Crouch put Stoke City in

Osaka have been crowned J.League

icon retired having

front against Arsenal. Not only was

champions after a dramatic climax

helped LA Galaxy win

it the fastest goal of the English

to the season. Gamba had won the

the MLS Cup for an

top-flight season so far; Crouch’s

Japanese title just once before, in

unprecedented fifth time,

effort ranked as the earliest effort

2005, and went into the mid-sea-

surpassing the benchmark

ever conceded by the Gunners in the

son break languishing in the

of four first set by DC United

Premier League.

relegation zone.

between 1996 and 2004.

imago (4)

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WEEK IN NUMBERS