One of the more curious comments of the day.
France coach Raymond Domenech suggesting that teams will not play their best at South Africa 2010 because it might be cold.
Huh ... what?
If anything, playing the tournament in June-July in South Africa -- the winter down there -- should make the European teams feel quite comfortable. Because all their pro leagues play right through the Euro winter, which in most cases is more severe than South Africa's. In some cases is far more severe.
This is what has happened in past World Cups, especially outside of Europe:
The Euros have melted in the heat of (fill in the blank) ... the United States, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Brazil ...
European club players rarely play in matches with temperatures higher than 90. And the 1994 World Cup, for one, played in the United States, was brutally hot. European players and teams had significant difficulty with the temperatures.
High temperatures are a common suggestion given for the inability of a European team -- any of them -- to win a World Cup played outside Europe. The Euros are 0-for-forever off their little continent.
South Africa matches will probably be played in the 50-70 degree range (Fahrenheit), and that should be right in the wheelhouse for the Euros. Well, maybe a bit too warm, if anything.
Read more!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Nigeria Hires Swedish Coach
And, no, it is not Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Lars Lagerback has been chosen to lead Nigeria at South Africa 2010. He was given a five-month contract -- which takes him through July -- and his appointment was announced today.
Lagerback was perhaps the darkhorse for this job, especially if you read the English media, because they fancied the two guys whom they know -- Eriksson, the former England coach; and Glenn Hoddle. Anyway, of the five finalists, Lagerback tended to get named last.
Unless Ivory Coast makes some last-minute swap of coaches, and rumors are afoot that it could happen, that makes Lagerback the Official Hired Gun Coach of 2010.
This is a title that Guus Hiddink has held the past few World Cups, and that Bora Milutinovic dominated from about 1986 through 1998 -- when he led Mexico, Costa Rica, the United States and Nigeria, as it turns out, to the second round of World Cups. All four of them.
It might be kinda fun to be a mercenary coach.
No pretense of putting down roots.
No bother with forging any real relationships with players.
No need to even know "your" guys' names nor speak anything that resembles a local language. (That's why Sepp Blatter invented tranlators.)
No need to coddle the media. Or fans. Or the federation, even.
You just show up, call in the guys who have made an impression on you ... watch them play and practice for a few months ... and then run them out there and see what happens.
It isn't the high road, of course. It's far too businesslike. Far too cynical.
But I would take my chances with Nigeria's talent. They have a batch of guys playing in Europe's top leagues (including 10 in the Premiership), and even though they looked like a disinterested, selfish crew during much of the African Cup of Nations, and several of their best attacking players are nicked up ... who says they can't have a hot couple of weeks in South Africa, playing on their own continent, and do some serious damage?
Take a look at their roster on their wiki home page. Way more guys playing in top European teams than, say, the U.S. has. More than any qualifier from North America, Asia and all of South America that isn't Brazil or Argentina.
Lagerback has World Cup experience, making the second round in 2002. He knows up from down and quality from trash. If he gets to the second round, he will get lots of job offers. If he doesn't, he never goes Nigeria again and goes back to what he was doing in Sweden. Which was just chillin' after not quite getting Sweden to the World Cup.
This could be fun.
Read more!
Lars Lagerback has been chosen to lead Nigeria at South Africa 2010. He was given a five-month contract -- which takes him through July -- and his appointment was announced today.
Lagerback was perhaps the darkhorse for this job, especially if you read the English media, because they fancied the two guys whom they know -- Eriksson, the former England coach; and Glenn Hoddle. Anyway, of the five finalists, Lagerback tended to get named last.
Unless Ivory Coast makes some last-minute swap of coaches, and rumors are afoot that it could happen, that makes Lagerback the Official Hired Gun Coach of 2010.
This is a title that Guus Hiddink has held the past few World Cups, and that Bora Milutinovic dominated from about 1986 through 1998 -- when he led Mexico, Costa Rica, the United States and Nigeria, as it turns out, to the second round of World Cups. All four of them.
It might be kinda fun to be a mercenary coach.
No pretense of putting down roots.
No bother with forging any real relationships with players.
No need to even know "your" guys' names nor speak anything that resembles a local language. (That's why Sepp Blatter invented tranlators.)
No need to coddle the media. Or fans. Or the federation, even.
You just show up, call in the guys who have made an impression on you ... watch them play and practice for a few months ... and then run them out there and see what happens.
It isn't the high road, of course. It's far too businesslike. Far too cynical.
But I would take my chances with Nigeria's talent. They have a batch of guys playing in Europe's top leagues (including 10 in the Premiership), and even though they looked like a disinterested, selfish crew during much of the African Cup of Nations, and several of their best attacking players are nicked up ... who says they can't have a hot couple of weeks in South Africa, playing on their own continent, and do some serious damage?
Take a look at their roster on their wiki home page. Way more guys playing in top European teams than, say, the U.S. has. More than any qualifier from North America, Asia and all of South America that isn't Brazil or Argentina.
Lagerback has World Cup experience, making the second round in 2002. He knows up from down and quality from trash. If he gets to the second round, he will get lots of job offers. If he doesn't, he never goes Nigeria again and goes back to what he was doing in Sweden. Which was just chillin' after not quite getting Sweden to the World Cup.
This could be fun.
Read more!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Greening of SA2010: Jerseys from Plastic Bottles
Today's feel-good story. Well, most days we have a "feel-bad" story, don't we? So this would be "this week's" feel-good story ... or maybe "this month's" ...
Anyway, Nike says it will outfit players from nine teams with jerseys made from recycled plastic bottles.
One of the teams is that from the United States, where Nike is based. Another is Brazil, the favorite to win the whole shootin' match.
This is not one of those moves that will save the world but the sort of small gesture that gets attention and certainly doesn't hurt. I recall South Africa 2010 as, in theory, environmentally friendly, but we haven't seen many examples of it.
The bottles -- 13 million of them -- apparently come from landfills in Japan and Taiwan. The bottles were melted down and turned into polyester.
Nike claims the shirts are actually superior to previous models. They will keep players drier and cooler. (Drier is fine but "cooler" may be not such a great idea considering the tournament will be played in the late fall/early winter, in South Africa.)
Anyway, Nike is trying to wrest soccer-shirt market share from Adidas, its longtime rival, which apparently has dominated the market.
And the story linked, above, notes that South Africa officials concede that carbon emissions for their tournament will be significantly higher than those of the 2006 World Cup, in Germany.
So those jerseys from plastic bottles ... every little bit helps. Read more!
Anyway, Nike says it will outfit players from nine teams with jerseys made from recycled plastic bottles.
One of the teams is that from the United States, where Nike is based. Another is Brazil, the favorite to win the whole shootin' match.
This is not one of those moves that will save the world but the sort of small gesture that gets attention and certainly doesn't hurt. I recall South Africa 2010 as, in theory, environmentally friendly, but we haven't seen many examples of it.
The bottles -- 13 million of them -- apparently come from landfills in Japan and Taiwan. The bottles were melted down and turned into polyester.
Nike claims the shirts are actually superior to previous models. They will keep players drier and cooler. (Drier is fine but "cooler" may be not such a great idea considering the tournament will be played in the late fall/early winter, in South Africa.)
Anyway, Nike is trying to wrest soccer-shirt market share from Adidas, its longtime rival, which apparently has dominated the market.
And the story linked, above, notes that South Africa officials concede that carbon emissions for their tournament will be significantly higher than those of the 2006 World Cup, in Germany.
So those jerseys from plastic bottles ... every little bit helps. Read more!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
It's Official: More Tickets for South Africans
This has been an odd story. A week ago Fifa conceded that demand for tickets to the 2010 World Cup was soft. Something like 800,000 tickets were unsold, from a total of 2.9 million, and on the order of 350,000 fewer tourists would be in South Africa.
But then Fifa insisted that ticket prices would not be slashed.
When, of course, they will be.
Finally, it's official. Yes, those $20 tickets are going from 11 percent of the total to 29 percent, which pretty much accounts for the 27 percent of tickets that were unsold, as of a week ago.
Anyway, in a philanthropic sense, this is good because the masses of South Africa's lower classes, many of whom are rabid soccer fans, now have a shot at seeing a World Cup match for probably the only times in their lives. They were priced out of the event, until this.
In a bigger sense, we're back to where we were a week ago. Those 800,000 unsold tickets (down to maybe 650,000 now) represent tens of millions of dollars in unrealized ticket revenue for the organizers. It also means vacant hotel rooms and empty seats on airlines because all those soccer tourists aren't coming.
Perhaps the most important aspect of this story will be one we don't quite see for months or even years -- what it means to the economy of South Africa to plan for X amount of tourist dollars and to receive X-minus-Y in reality. All those new stadiums, all that infrastructure and a lack of high-end customers to take advantage of it all.
This could turn out to be a massive boondoggle for a country that doesn't really have the spare cash to put on a big party that doesn't pay for itself. Read more!
But then Fifa insisted that ticket prices would not be slashed.
When, of course, they will be.
Finally, it's official. Yes, those $20 tickets are going from 11 percent of the total to 29 percent, which pretty much accounts for the 27 percent of tickets that were unsold, as of a week ago.
Anyway, in a philanthropic sense, this is good because the masses of South Africa's lower classes, many of whom are rabid soccer fans, now have a shot at seeing a World Cup match for probably the only times in their lives. They were priced out of the event, until this.
In a bigger sense, we're back to where we were a week ago. Those 800,000 unsold tickets (down to maybe 650,000 now) represent tens of millions of dollars in unrealized ticket revenue for the organizers. It also means vacant hotel rooms and empty seats on airlines because all those soccer tourists aren't coming.
Perhaps the most important aspect of this story will be one we don't quite see for months or even years -- what it means to the economy of South Africa to plan for X amount of tourist dollars and to receive X-minus-Y in reality. All those new stadiums, all that infrastructure and a lack of high-end customers to take advantage of it all.
This could turn out to be a massive boondoggle for a country that doesn't really have the spare cash to put on a big party that doesn't pay for itself. Read more!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
La Volpe: Mexico Better Advance (as Usual)
Mexico may be the most underrated national side on the planet. It shows up to the World Cup with its undersized players who almost all play in the country's domestic league, which is of a high level but little-known outside its own borders. And then it makes it to the second round like clockwork (four straight), and how many countries in the world who aren't Germany, Italy, Brazil and Argentina can say that?
So it was a sort of an interesting non-story of a story the other day when Ricardo La Volpe, the coach who helped El Tri get to the final 16 of Germany 2006, where Mexico lost to the hosts 2-1 in extra time, said, to the effect, that current coach Javier Aguirre better get to the second round.
Which is something of a "well, duh" moment, because the second round is expected in Mexico, even if the rest of the world is mildly surprised nearly every four years.
La Volpe's comments, including that observation that not getting to the second round would constitute "a low blow" for Mexican soccer, seemed to be motivated by Aguirre's revelation that he plans to leave El Tri after South Africa 2010 and go coach in Europe. Aguirre cited national insecurity caused by narco-terror.
La Volpe seems to believe that by making that announcement ahead of the World Cup that it could somehow hurt the national-team effort. Well, perhaps. But it isn't as if Aguirre is some long-term coach with whom players have bonded. He replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson less than a year ago, and Eriksson replaced Hugo Sanchez (Mexico's answer to Diego Maradona -- as a coach) a year before, and Sanchez had replaced La Volpe.
Plus, no one in Mexico these days really blames prominent sports figures from leaving the country. Well, they do blame them, but they don't hold it against them.
An increasing number of Mexico's top players play in Europe when, for decades, Mexican players were fully expected to stay home for their entire careers. Among the most prominent to go to Europe: Rafael Marquez, at Barcelona; Ricardo Osorio, at Stuttgart; Giovani dos Santos, at Galatasary; Andres Guardado, at Deportivo; Omar Bravo, at Liverpool; and Carlos Vela, at Arsenal.
Mexico is in Group A with South Africa, France and Uruguay. Not an easy group, but not a brutal one, either. I think El Tri is still playing when half the field goes home.
La Volpe may have broached the whole subject because the Argentinian says he is ready to resume running Mexico's national team. And he may get the chance, after SA2010 -- and Mexico's likely second-round appearance, particularly if/when it defeats South Africa in the tournament's opening match. Read more!
So it was a sort of an interesting non-story of a story the other day when Ricardo La Volpe, the coach who helped El Tri get to the final 16 of Germany 2006, where Mexico lost to the hosts 2-1 in extra time, said, to the effect, that current coach Javier Aguirre better get to the second round.
Which is something of a "well, duh" moment, because the second round is expected in Mexico, even if the rest of the world is mildly surprised nearly every four years.
La Volpe's comments, including that observation that not getting to the second round would constitute "a low blow" for Mexican soccer, seemed to be motivated by Aguirre's revelation that he plans to leave El Tri after South Africa 2010 and go coach in Europe. Aguirre cited national insecurity caused by narco-terror.
La Volpe seems to believe that by making that announcement ahead of the World Cup that it could somehow hurt the national-team effort. Well, perhaps. But it isn't as if Aguirre is some long-term coach with whom players have bonded. He replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson less than a year ago, and Eriksson replaced Hugo Sanchez (Mexico's answer to Diego Maradona -- as a coach) a year before, and Sanchez had replaced La Volpe.
Plus, no one in Mexico these days really blames prominent sports figures from leaving the country. Well, they do blame them, but they don't hold it against them.
An increasing number of Mexico's top players play in Europe when, for decades, Mexican players were fully expected to stay home for their entire careers. Among the most prominent to go to Europe: Rafael Marquez, at Barcelona; Ricardo Osorio, at Stuttgart; Giovani dos Santos, at Galatasary; Andres Guardado, at Deportivo; Omar Bravo, at Liverpool; and Carlos Vela, at Arsenal.
Mexico is in Group A with South Africa, France and Uruguay. Not an easy group, but not a brutal one, either. I think El Tri is still playing when half the field goes home.
La Volpe may have broached the whole subject because the Argentinian says he is ready to resume running Mexico's national team. And he may get the chance, after SA2010 -- and Mexico's likely second-round appearance, particularly if/when it defeats South Africa in the tournament's opening match. Read more!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Fifa: South Africa Not Ready
Wow. This is like your mom saying, "Actually, he's not getting it done."
If Fifa says anything negative about a host country's preparations ... that's a punch to the gut equivalent to 20 or 30 rants in the British press. As an organizing committee, you expect unconditional love from Fifa.
If Fifa's No. 2 guy says "no, they're not ready," he's saying, "you better get going because we're not going to cover for you anymore."
Jerome Valcke, Sepp Blatter's favorite boy, said that today. "Could we host the World Cup tomorrow morning? The answer is no."
Whoa.
He is correct, of course.
He cited several issues:
--The main stadium, Soccer City venue in Johannesburg, is not finished. The first match will be played there in little over 100 days. The stadium not being ready ... is an issue. A few days ago, Valcke said something to the effect that it's never a comfortable feeling when the main stadium isn't ready. Uh, yeah.
--Fifa and South Africa 2010 have 700,000 tickets (of 2.9 million) still to sell.
--The quality of the playing surfaces is patchy.
--Some of the accommodations for the incoming teams aren't done, either. Such as that allegedly posh place England would be staying at. Not done.
So, there's a shot over the bow, for South Africa. Clean this stuff up. Finish it off. Momma Fifa says you need to get it done. Read more!
If Fifa says anything negative about a host country's preparations ... that's a punch to the gut equivalent to 20 or 30 rants in the British press. As an organizing committee, you expect unconditional love from Fifa.
If Fifa's No. 2 guy says "no, they're not ready," he's saying, "you better get going because we're not going to cover for you anymore."
Jerome Valcke, Sepp Blatter's favorite boy, said that today. "Could we host the World Cup tomorrow morning? The answer is no."
Whoa.
He is correct, of course.
He cited several issues:
--The main stadium, Soccer City venue in Johannesburg, is not finished. The first match will be played there in little over 100 days. The stadium not being ready ... is an issue. A few days ago, Valcke said something to the effect that it's never a comfortable feeling when the main stadium isn't ready. Uh, yeah.
--Fifa and South Africa 2010 have 700,000 tickets (of 2.9 million) still to sell.
--The quality of the playing surfaces is patchy.
--Some of the accommodations for the incoming teams aren't done, either. Such as that allegedly posh place England would be staying at. Not done.
So, there's a shot over the bow, for South Africa. Clean this stuff up. Finish it off. Momma Fifa says you need to get it done. Read more!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Ronaldo and One More Go-Round?
Talking about the other Ronaldo here. And you know it's been a rough few years if you are a three-time Fifa player of the year ... and some other guy has taken over your name. That other guy being Cristiano Ronaldo.
We're talking about the first famous Ronaldo. Full name ... Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima. Of Brazil. Who played on the World Cup-winning teams of 1994 and 2002.
Ronaldo said today he will retire next year. But he wants to play in one more World Cup.
Will he get the chance?
Only if his former Brazil teammate, Dunga, calls him in. Which seems unlikely. Ronaldo hasn't played for the national team since 2006, so ...
Do you remember how good Ronaldo was? Really, really, really good. If you can't remember, check out this youtube video of highlights from the 1998 World Cup.
It's all there. The size. The speed. The sublime technical skills. Not many big men could hold a ball in traffic the way he did, nor run as fast. He had the whole package: athleticism as well as skill.
He was extremely good in that World Cup -- right up to the championship match, when he suffered some sort of attack -- a seizure, or perhaps a panic attack. But he wasn't very good, and Brazil was trounced 3-0. Years later, journalists were still writing about it. But note, too (if you stayed to the end of the video linked above), the violent collision he had with France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. That couldn't have helped.
Ronaldo has had a rough time the past few years. He has been hurt nearly all the time. He gained weight. Or maybe he gained weight, then got hurt.
He is back playing for a club in Brazil, but he would like one more shot at the Big Event. South Africa 2010.
Most teams in the world, they would bring him along, for old-time's sake, and also because he might still have some real use. But Brazil has no need of sentimentality ... and far too many players in their prime, as opposed to 33, chubby and hurt.
But the Original Ronaldo was just amazingly good. (I just remembered the TV commercial that showed him dribbling through, what, an airport? This isn't the version I was thinking of, but it gives you an idea.)
Put that on our wish list: Ronaldo with Brazil in South Africa. And maybe a few minutes in a first-round match. Can we make that happen? Read more!
We're talking about the first famous Ronaldo. Full name ... Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima. Of Brazil. Who played on the World Cup-winning teams of 1994 and 2002.
Ronaldo said today he will retire next year. But he wants to play in one more World Cup.
Will he get the chance?
Only if his former Brazil teammate, Dunga, calls him in. Which seems unlikely. Ronaldo hasn't played for the national team since 2006, so ...
Do you remember how good Ronaldo was? Really, really, really good. If you can't remember, check out this youtube video of highlights from the 1998 World Cup.
It's all there. The size. The speed. The sublime technical skills. Not many big men could hold a ball in traffic the way he did, nor run as fast. He had the whole package: athleticism as well as skill.
He was extremely good in that World Cup -- right up to the championship match, when he suffered some sort of attack -- a seizure, or perhaps a panic attack. But he wasn't very good, and Brazil was trounced 3-0. Years later, journalists were still writing about it. But note, too (if you stayed to the end of the video linked above), the violent collision he had with France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. That couldn't have helped.
Ronaldo has had a rough time the past few years. He has been hurt nearly all the time. He gained weight. Or maybe he gained weight, then got hurt.
He is back playing for a club in Brazil, but he would like one more shot at the Big Event. South Africa 2010.
Most teams in the world, they would bring him along, for old-time's sake, and also because he might still have some real use. But Brazil has no need of sentimentality ... and far too many players in their prime, as opposed to 33, chubby and hurt.
But the Original Ronaldo was just amazingly good. (I just remembered the TV commercial that showed him dribbling through, what, an airport? This isn't the version I was thinking of, but it gives you an idea.)
Put that on our wish list: Ronaldo with Brazil in South Africa. And maybe a few minutes in a first-round match. Can we make that happen? Read more!
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