Archive: FIFA
Repercussions
Well, I can't let it drop just yet. Interesting news in the last 24 hours, and more to come shortly: - Klinsi steps down. Key graf: Klinsmann, whose contract expired on Sunday, has dismissed reports he received a lucrative offer to coach the United States and has said he has no interest in coaching another national team. - Lippi steps down. Key graf: He was recently linked with a move to Manchester United as a potential successor to Sir Alex Ferguson. But the Italian was quick to reject the speculation - citing his lack of English as his reason for not moving to the Premiership - and United also denied the rumours. - New FIFA rankings out (I know, I banned them from the blog. But they use a new formula now). What you need to know: 1. Brazil 2. Italy 3. Argentina 4. France .. 9. Germany .. 16....
By Jon DeNunzio | July 12, 2006; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
World Cup 2008?
Imagine if there was another World Cup coming in two years. According to the Financial Times, some movers in shakers in Europe are thinking about just that. You have to subscribe to the FT online to get the whole story (I don't), but I'm hoping I can track down a full story tomorrow. Until then, here's what's online for free: The World Cup could become a biennial event if radical restructuring proposals for international football prepared for top European clubs are adopted. The proposal is part of a presentation, commissioned by the G-14 grouping of wealthy European clubs, by Hypercube, a Dutch consultancy. Labelled "Grand Slam World", the proposal to double the frequency of World Cups, at present held every four years, is the most radical of four options outlined in the 36-page presentation. I'm the kind of guy who says every four years is perfect -- every two years...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 4, 2006; 11:30 PM ET | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
Zidane Makes It Official
Here's rambling post for those of you not glued to ESPN2 at the moment. - Zizou makes it official. This quote seems remarkably frank for a pro athlete, by American standards at least: 'In the last two years the results have eluded us [Real Madrid]. When you don't reach your goals you ask yourself questions. I know I can't do better than what I have already done and at my age, it's getting more and more difficult. I didn't want to experience another year like the ones I've been through.' If he were American, he would be saying "I want to spend more time with my family." - England Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, is, how you say, cautiously optimistic? - Will soccer get kicked out of the Olympics? This doping/WADA/FIFA stuff started coming out in stories like this yesterday. Today, Sepp Blatter reacts. - Some Netherlands news you may have seen...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 25, 2006; 03:45 PM ET | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
It's My Blog
Finally, a good reason to be imperious in the blog: The new FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings are out. According to the folks who bring us football and fizzy sugar water, the top 10 teams in the world are: 1 Brazil 2 Czech Republic 3 Netherlands 4 USA 5 Spain 6 Mexico 7 France 8 Portugal 8 Argentina 10 England I agree with No. 1. After that, forget it. These rankings are a joke, and have been for as long as I've seen them. Sorry, but the U.S. is not the fourth-best team in the world. There are not seven teams better than Argentina. Don't get me started on No. 14 Italy ... So I state here, once and for all: All mention of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Rankings on this blog are banned. We have more important things to consider. Like Togo's pre-World Cup friendly schedule....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 19, 2006; 05:45 PM ET | Comments (39) | TrackBack (0)
Lunchtime Kick-About
Picking out newsy futbol items off the Web as I pick the croutons out of my salad ... - FIFA claims to be addressing racism in the stands. Two remarkable quotes: Sepp Blatter: "At the first sign of racism there will be a deduction of three points, then we are finished with problems of discrimination." Then we are finished? It's that easy? Thanks. Moving on. It is not clear, however, how the rules will apply to the knockout stages. And neither has Blatter explained how Fifa will stop the rule being abused by fans of one nation passing themselves off as opposition supporters. "Those comments were made by our president in Dubai," a flustered Fifa spokesman told Guardian Unlimited. "He will be back this afternoon. It's impossible for us to clarify his comments until we speak to him." I love spokesmen. - Argentina's Pablo Aimar is out of the hospital....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 19, 2006; 12:24 PM ET | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
I Stand Corrected
SPOILER ALERT! Do not click below for the rest of this post if you are trying to avoid news on Barcelona-AC Milan....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 18, 2006; 04:03 PM ET | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Searching for Tickets?
Well, FIFA isn't much help, some say. Anyone have any good ticket fiasco stories?...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 13, 2006; 02:10 PM ET | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Catching Up ...
I was out of pocket for a good portion of the day (although there seemed to be plenty of fodder for discussion on the blog anyway), and I just got a chance to look at the day's news. Some headlines: - Argentina injury news: defender Gabriel Heinze may be back soon for Manchester United, while Lionel Messi has a slight knock and will likely miss Barcelona's Champions League game next week. Heinze in good health would be a great addition for Argentina (thanks to The Post's Christian Swezey for tipping me off on this one, btw); Messi's injury is not enough to make anyone worry he'd miss Germany. - They're gonna use a special gold ball in the final. Geez. - Reason No. 5,687 I love BBC.com: this breakdown of England's potential roster. Including: Glen Johnson, who missed a Chelsea game after forgetting his passport, is unlikely to have such...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 11, 2006; 07:45 PM ET | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
