An interesting story. Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian Football Federation, made a point of telling a news conference that current national team coach Dunga won't put up with any shenanigans from the 2010 Brazil World Cup team. Assuming Brazil makes it, and it is about 95 percent of the way there.
Teixeira suggests the 2006 Brazil team wasn't quite paying attention to detail at the World Cup in Germany, and that's why the team was ushered out of the quarterfinals by France, 1-0.
"Given the team we had, it was a great disappointment," Teixeira is quoted as saying in a wire story. "There was a lack of fighting spirit."
That's kind of a nebulous accusation. From what I can tell, from researching, it wasn't as if Brazil players were missing curfew or getting arrested or acting badly on the field.
So what is Teixeira referring to when he says things like, "What happened in 2006 will certainly never happen again in terms of the Brazilian national team. You only learn when you suffer. I'll make the changes for that not to happen again"?
Well, here's our best guess.
While googling "Brazil Germany 2006 bad behavior" a bunch of items came up in the return, but here is the most interesting one.
It comes from a blogger who apparently is Brazilian (or speaks Portuguese, at the least), who wrote about Brazil's time at the World Cup.
And if you follow this link ... and scroll down the page to the third item -- "Brazil Is Ready for Failure" -- you will find a really interesting item from a Brazilian newspaper columnist in which he predicts disaster for the 2006 team. And, mind, this was written in May 2006, before the 2006 World Cup had kicked off.
The gist of it is ... that Brazil took a veteran team to Germany (which doesn't have to be bad) ... but this Brazil team, the journalist wrote, was one that happened to be a cynical, world-weary crew of veterans that was more interested in individual than collective success. He mocks the players' demands for individual rooms, a first for Brazil, which before had paired up players as roommates. He refers to them as "highnesses" who can't be bothered with a snoring roommate.
The writer also suggests Brazil had become ensnared in its own legend, feeling obligated to entertain while winning. The writer even refers to them as the Globetrotters -- the American team of basketball showmen who don't actually play real games.
So, yes, this Teixeira thing apparently is about attitude.
And here is where Dunga comes in.
If you want lots of background on Dunga, here is his wikipedia entry.
First, though, start by examining that mugshot.
Does that look like a coach who will put up with guys screwing around? Looking away as global icons seem more devoted to the joga bonito (the beautiful game) at the expense of team goals?
A weird thing here? Dunga is a nickname. The man's real name is Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri, which is 1) quite dignified and 2) of Italian and German background. But Carlos CBV got stuck with "Dunga" because, apparently, an uncle though he wouldn't grow up to be very tall, and "Dopey" was the name of one of the Seven Dwarfs (from "Snow White and the ...") and the rest is so not applicable history. Dunga was the hard man of Brazil soccer for three World Cups, the defensive mid who played with passion ... but perhaps not the sort of flair that Brazil prefers -- as long as it still wins.
Dunga is anything but Dopey. And anything but the sort of guy who is going to take any guff from anyone. Ever.
And, my sense is that this is what Teixeira (Dunga's boss) was referring to, the other day. If Brazil loses in South Africa, it won't be because the team lacked focus. That is what Dunga is about. And if Brazil loses some style points along the way ... well, Dunga is ready to make that trade in exchange for a trophy.
Read more!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
South Africa Sinks to No. 72 in World Rankings
Well, this has been a bit of a damper on World Cup enthusiasm, in South Africa.
The latest FIFA world rankings have South Africa at No. 72 on the planet, down two slots from the previous list. Here is a link to the Johannesburg Sunday Times story on it, and you can almost see the hand-wringing from a continent away.
Canada and Trinidad & Tobago have gone past the hosts of the 2010 World Cup, and that can't be promising ... especially for those of us who know how modest the achievements of the Canadian and Trinidadian sides are. Canada failed even to make the final six in Concacaf qualifying, and T&T has been all but eliminated from World Cup consideration halfway through the final round of competition.
At this rate, South Africa will be, by far, the lowest-ranked soccer nation ever to play host to the World Cup.
The lowest previous?
From my investigation of FIFA's rankings ... it appears as if South Korea was the previous lowest-ranked host -- No. 40 in May of 2002, the month before South Korea co-hosted with Japan -- which was No. 32 in May of 2002, the second-lowest ranking on record.
In 1994, the United States was the ranked No. 24 a month ahead of the tournament.
France was No. 18 just before the 1998 World Cup that it hosted ...
Germany was No. 19 (how did that happen?) the month before it hosted the 2006 World Cup.
FIFA's Web site takes its world rankings back only as far as 1993. But it's hard to imagine any earlier hosts of the World Cup -- Italy in 1990, Mexico in 1986, Spain in 1982, Argentina in 1978, West Germany in 1974, Mexico in 1970, England in 1966 ... and so on back to Uruguay in 1930 ... were ranked as low as South Africa is -- or is likely to be.
A 3-1 loss, in South Africa, to Serbia in a friendly last week won't help South Africa's ranking, either.
No host nation has failed to survive the first round of the tournament. But unless South Africa shows more signs of life, it will break that streak. Read more!
The latest FIFA world rankings have South Africa at No. 72 on the planet, down two slots from the previous list. Here is a link to the Johannesburg Sunday Times story on it, and you can almost see the hand-wringing from a continent away.
Canada and Trinidad & Tobago have gone past the hosts of the 2010 World Cup, and that can't be promising ... especially for those of us who know how modest the achievements of the Canadian and Trinidadian sides are. Canada failed even to make the final six in Concacaf qualifying, and T&T has been all but eliminated from World Cup consideration halfway through the final round of competition.
At this rate, South Africa will be, by far, the lowest-ranked soccer nation ever to play host to the World Cup.
The lowest previous?
From my investigation of FIFA's rankings ... it appears as if South Korea was the previous lowest-ranked host -- No. 40 in May of 2002, the month before South Korea co-hosted with Japan -- which was No. 32 in May of 2002, the second-lowest ranking on record.
In 1994, the United States was the ranked No. 24 a month ahead of the tournament.
France was No. 18 just before the 1998 World Cup that it hosted ...
Germany was No. 19 (how did that happen?) the month before it hosted the 2006 World Cup.
FIFA's Web site takes its world rankings back only as far as 1993. But it's hard to imagine any earlier hosts of the World Cup -- Italy in 1990, Mexico in 1986, Spain in 1982, Argentina in 1978, West Germany in 1974, Mexico in 1970, England in 1966 ... and so on back to Uruguay in 1930 ... were ranked as low as South Africa is -- or is likely to be.
A 3-1 loss, in South Africa, to Serbia in a friendly last week won't help South Africa's ranking, either.
No host nation has failed to survive the first round of the tournament. But unless South Africa shows more signs of life, it will break that streak. Read more!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
New Zealand Desperate for Fan Support
The United States can relate to this. Canada, too. Even South Africa, most years.
It is an English-speaking country in which soccer is, well, soccer. Not football.
Where soccer is anything but the No. 1 sport in the national sports hierarchy.
But where qualifying for the World Cup is a real possibility ... if only the national side can get a bit of support from the hometown population
How bad are things "soccer" in New Zealand?
So bad that New Zealand's soccer federation already has announced it is slashing ticket prices for a crucial home match, Nov. 14, in Wellington.
How sad is that? Well, quite. The Kiwis are 180 minutes from reaching the World Cup finals, for the first time since 1982. And they fear that they won't be able to sell out a 34,000-seat stadium unless they offer ticket prices at a fraction of what the country's rugby team could (and would) charge.
New Zealand is champion of Oceania (which no longer includes Australia, so it isn't exactly a tough region), which qualifies it to play the fifth-place team from Asia in a home-and-home series to determine one of the precious 32 World Cup berths.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia first play their own home-and-home (Sept. 5 and 9) to determine Asia's No. 5, and the survivor will face New Zealand. The first game will be in the Asian country, on Oct. 10. The second match will be in Wellington a month later.
New Zealand soccer officials realize that having a full stadium is critical. It would be damaging for team morale to have the All Whites (as the soccer Kiwis are known) come out on the pitch and see scads of empty seats.
Filling a 34,000-seat stadium with the World Cup on the line shouldn't be a problem -- and wouldn't be in nearly any other country in the world -- but New Zealand loves its rugby (and perhaps cricket, too) far more than soccer.
Also, New Zealand isn't a very populous place. It can't support much of a soccer infrastructure in the margins of its sports menu (as the U.S. does). The Wellington metro area has a population of less than 400,000, and the entire country's population is only 4.3 million.
Anyway, it strikes us as a bit perverse that soccer, a game invented by English-speaking people, in England, is perhaps least popular -- compared to other sports -- in primarily English-speaking countries. The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Just about anywhere else in the world that doesn't speak English as an official language (aside Cuba and Japan) ... soccer is No. 1.
Be interesting to see if the Kiwis can pack the joint, come Nov. 14, with the World Cup on the line. Someone may have to make sure the country knows it's a big deal. Read more!
It is an English-speaking country in which soccer is, well, soccer. Not football.
Where soccer is anything but the No. 1 sport in the national sports hierarchy.
But where qualifying for the World Cup is a real possibility ... if only the national side can get a bit of support from the hometown population
How bad are things "soccer" in New Zealand?
So bad that New Zealand's soccer federation already has announced it is slashing ticket prices for a crucial home match, Nov. 14, in Wellington.
How sad is that? Well, quite. The Kiwis are 180 minutes from reaching the World Cup finals, for the first time since 1982. And they fear that they won't be able to sell out a 34,000-seat stadium unless they offer ticket prices at a fraction of what the country's rugby team could (and would) charge.
New Zealand is champion of Oceania (which no longer includes Australia, so it isn't exactly a tough region), which qualifies it to play the fifth-place team from Asia in a home-and-home series to determine one of the precious 32 World Cup berths.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia first play their own home-and-home (Sept. 5 and 9) to determine Asia's No. 5, and the survivor will face New Zealand. The first game will be in the Asian country, on Oct. 10. The second match will be in Wellington a month later.
New Zealand soccer officials realize that having a full stadium is critical. It would be damaging for team morale to have the All Whites (as the soccer Kiwis are known) come out on the pitch and see scads of empty seats.
Filling a 34,000-seat stadium with the World Cup on the line shouldn't be a problem -- and wouldn't be in nearly any other country in the world -- but New Zealand loves its rugby (and perhaps cricket, too) far more than soccer.
Also, New Zealand isn't a very populous place. It can't support much of a soccer infrastructure in the margins of its sports menu (as the U.S. does). The Wellington metro area has a population of less than 400,000, and the entire country's population is only 4.3 million.
Anyway, it strikes us as a bit perverse that soccer, a game invented by English-speaking people, in England, is perhaps least popular -- compared to other sports -- in primarily English-speaking countries. The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Just about anywhere else in the world that doesn't speak English as an official language (aside Cuba and Japan) ... soccer is No. 1.
Be interesting to see if the Kiwis can pack the joint, come Nov. 14, with the World Cup on the line. Someone may have to make sure the country knows it's a big deal. Read more!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Hooligans Make SA Fret about Image
Nothing quite like playing host to a global event to make a country sit up and take stock of itself.
In 1984, Los Angeles got the Summer Olympics, and organizers spent thousands of man-hours working out solutions to unclog the freeways and the city spent millions of dollars building a big, new terminal at the airport, the Bradley Terminal, for international flights.
In 2008, China forced industries all over the country to shut down for three weeks so that the air quality for the Beijing Olympics would be merely bad, instead of the usual "awful."
Even South Africa, with far more limited resources than most nations that put on World Cups and Olympics, is getting into the clean-up-our-house spirit.
The Johannesburg Sunday Times over the weekend wrote an editorial about how "hooligans disgrace SA while the world watches."
Well, actually, the world isn't quite watching yet, aside from the likes of this blog. But it will be, certainly, when we get closer to the 2010 World Cup.
The angst exhibited by the Times in its editorial is understandable. There were ugly scenes at a domestic club match between a team from Cape Town and another from Johannesburg, and hometown fans of the Kaizer Chiefs apparently showered the pitch with bottles and vuvuzelas -- the plastic horns that seem to be a fixture at South Africa soccer matches.
(In the fans' defense ... well, we can't actually defend them ... but we can explain some of their actions by noting that the referee apparently was comically inept. The writer who reported on the game suggests the referee blew time to "end" the first half only 38 minutes into the match.)
South Africa doesn't seem to have experienced hooliganism of the sort that bedeviled Europe for so many years ... with drunken yahoos taking to the streets, brawling with other fans, trashing businesses and terrorizing passengers on public transit.
England, in particular, had serious issues with hooliganism that were investigated in depth in the 1990 book written by an American, "Among the Thugs." This is the book that famously details a hooligan sucking the eyeball out of a police officer's face.
Behavior among British fans of certain teams was so bad that American organizers celebrated when England failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, held in the U.S. They figured that keeping England's fans in England was better for the '94 World Cup than whatever economic gain England being in the tournament might have been worth.
That sentiment seemed to be borne out four years later, at the 1998 World Cup in France. After England's first match, English fans rioted after the team's first match, which was held in Marseilles and later came to be known as "The Battle of Marseille" by some elements of the English media.
The French responded with overwhelming security for every remaining match involving the English.
South Africa doesn't seem to have the same sort of deep issues that England and other countries, such as Germany and Holland, have seen. The Times editorial makes a point of noting that the bottles thrown were "empty." The other projectiles mentioned, vuvuzelas, are ubiquitous in part because they are cheap, plastic and weigh just a few ounces.
But when you feel as if your quiet little corner of the world is being examined more closely, it makes you nervous about bad behavior. The Times' editorial fretfully asks, "One wonders whether those overzealous idiots realised that the international soccer showcase is less than 300 days away — and that the whole world is watching our every move."
Well, we will be. And as the editorial notes, if there is a good time for South Africa fans to work on their sportsmanship, this is it.
Read more!
In 1984, Los Angeles got the Summer Olympics, and organizers spent thousands of man-hours working out solutions to unclog the freeways and the city spent millions of dollars building a big, new terminal at the airport, the Bradley Terminal, for international flights.
In 2008, China forced industries all over the country to shut down for three weeks so that the air quality for the Beijing Olympics would be merely bad, instead of the usual "awful."
Even South Africa, with far more limited resources than most nations that put on World Cups and Olympics, is getting into the clean-up-our-house spirit.
The Johannesburg Sunday Times over the weekend wrote an editorial about how "hooligans disgrace SA while the world watches."
Well, actually, the world isn't quite watching yet, aside from the likes of this blog. But it will be, certainly, when we get closer to the 2010 World Cup.
The angst exhibited by the Times in its editorial is understandable. There were ugly scenes at a domestic club match between a team from Cape Town and another from Johannesburg, and hometown fans of the Kaizer Chiefs apparently showered the pitch with bottles and vuvuzelas -- the plastic horns that seem to be a fixture at South Africa soccer matches.
(In the fans' defense ... well, we can't actually defend them ... but we can explain some of their actions by noting that the referee apparently was comically inept. The writer who reported on the game suggests the referee blew time to "end" the first half only 38 minutes into the match.)
South Africa doesn't seem to have experienced hooliganism of the sort that bedeviled Europe for so many years ... with drunken yahoos taking to the streets, brawling with other fans, trashing businesses and terrorizing passengers on public transit.
England, in particular, had serious issues with hooliganism that were investigated in depth in the 1990 book written by an American, "Among the Thugs." This is the book that famously details a hooligan sucking the eyeball out of a police officer's face.
Behavior among British fans of certain teams was so bad that American organizers celebrated when England failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, held in the U.S. They figured that keeping England's fans in England was better for the '94 World Cup than whatever economic gain England being in the tournament might have been worth.
That sentiment seemed to be borne out four years later, at the 1998 World Cup in France. After England's first match, English fans rioted after the team's first match, which was held in Marseilles and later came to be known as "The Battle of Marseille" by some elements of the English media.
The French responded with overwhelming security for every remaining match involving the English.
South Africa doesn't seem to have the same sort of deep issues that England and other countries, such as Germany and Holland, have seen. The Times editorial makes a point of noting that the bottles thrown were "empty." The other projectiles mentioned, vuvuzelas, are ubiquitous in part because they are cheap, plastic and weigh just a few ounces.
But when you feel as if your quiet little corner of the world is being examined more closely, it makes you nervous about bad behavior. The Times' editorial fretfully asks, "One wonders whether those overzealous idiots realised that the international soccer showcase is less than 300 days away — and that the whole world is watching our every move."
Well, we will be. And as the editorial notes, if there is a good time for South Africa fans to work on their sportsmanship, this is it.
Read more!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Key Dates in Countdown to 2010
Some dates you may want to note in counting down the days until the 2010 World Cup kicks off. Mark your calendar, and all.
One date we won't list, because it passed two days ago, is Aug. 14. That marked 300 days left till the first match of the 2010 South Africa -- featuring South Africa and an as-yet-to-be-identified opponent in the opening match of the tournament.
Some other important dates:
Sept. 5: On this date, 34 qualifying matches are scheduled.
Sept. 6: Six qualifying matches, all in Africa.
Sept. 9: 35 qualifying matches.
Oct. 10: 37 qualifying matches, the most hectic day on the qualifier schedule. Among the 37 is the first half of the New Zealand-vs.-Asia No. 5 home-and-home playoff.
Oct. 11: Three qualifying matches, all in Africa.
Oct. 13: Five qualifying matches, all in South America. Four World Cup-bound teams will be known by the end of the day.
Oct. 14: 27 qualifying matches, including the final matches in UEFA and Concacaf; we will know which three Concacaf teams have clinched berths, as well as nine UEFA group champions.
Oct. 19: The draw for the eight second-place teams out of UEFA qualifying that will have home-and-home playoffs to determine the final four European teams in the World Cup.
Nov. 13: 200 days to kickoff of the 2010 World Cup.
Nov. 14: 16 qualifying matches, 10 in Africa that will complete qualifying and give us five teams headed for South Africa; the second half of the New Zealand-vs.-Asia No. 5 home-and-home playoffs, which gives us another World Cup team; four among UEFA second-place teams involved in part one of the home-and-home playoffs for a berth; and the first half of the home-and-home between the Concacaf No. 4 and the South American No. 5.
Nov. 18: Five qualifiers, four of them from the second leg of the UEFA home-and-home playoffs to identify the final four European nations advancing to South Africa; and the second half of the home-and-home between the Concacaf No. 4 and South America No. 5. At the end of this day, all 32 teams involved in the 2010 World Cup should be known.
Dec. 4: World Cup draw in Cape Town, South Africa. Groups identified, game schedules set.
March 3: 100 days to kickoff of the 2010 World Cup.
May 15, 2010: World Cup rosters for each of the 32 qualified nations must be set.
June 11, 2010: Game 1 of the 2010 World Cup, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Read more!
One date we won't list, because it passed two days ago, is Aug. 14. That marked 300 days left till the first match of the 2010 South Africa -- featuring South Africa and an as-yet-to-be-identified opponent in the opening match of the tournament.
Some other important dates:
Sept. 5: On this date, 34 qualifying matches are scheduled.
Sept. 6: Six qualifying matches, all in Africa.
Sept. 9: 35 qualifying matches.
Oct. 10: 37 qualifying matches, the most hectic day on the qualifier schedule. Among the 37 is the first half of the New Zealand-vs.-Asia No. 5 home-and-home playoff.
Oct. 11: Three qualifying matches, all in Africa.
Oct. 13: Five qualifying matches, all in South America. Four World Cup-bound teams will be known by the end of the day.
Oct. 14: 27 qualifying matches, including the final matches in UEFA and Concacaf; we will know which three Concacaf teams have clinched berths, as well as nine UEFA group champions.
Oct. 19: The draw for the eight second-place teams out of UEFA qualifying that will have home-and-home playoffs to determine the final four European teams in the World Cup.
Nov. 13: 200 days to kickoff of the 2010 World Cup.
Nov. 14: 16 qualifying matches, 10 in Africa that will complete qualifying and give us five teams headed for South Africa; the second half of the New Zealand-vs.-Asia No. 5 home-and-home playoffs, which gives us another World Cup team; four among UEFA second-place teams involved in part one of the home-and-home playoffs for a berth; and the first half of the home-and-home between the Concacaf No. 4 and the South American No. 5.
Nov. 18: Five qualifiers, four of them from the second leg of the UEFA home-and-home playoffs to identify the final four European nations advancing to South Africa; and the second half of the home-and-home between the Concacaf No. 4 and South America No. 5. At the end of this day, all 32 teams involved in the 2010 World Cup should be known.
Dec. 4: World Cup draw in Cape Town, South Africa. Groups identified, game schedules set.
March 3: 100 days to kickoff of the 2010 World Cup.
May 15, 2010: World Cup rosters for each of the 32 qualified nations must be set.
June 11, 2010: Game 1 of the 2010 World Cup, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Read more!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Link to World Cup Ticket Site
Continuing with our theme of "news you can use ..."
If you want to attempt to purchase tickets to the 2010 World Cup, here is a link to the site that starts you on your way.
Many of the 3.2 million tickets remain available because we don't know most of the field yet.
And for five countries already qualified -- Australia, Japan, Netherlands, North Korea and South Korea -- we have no idea what groups they will end up in.
All we know for sure is when South Africa (team No. 1 in Group A) plays its group-stage matches.
Organizers say the biggest demand for tickets, so far, is from Europe and the United States.
The record for most tickets sold for a World Cup is nearly 3.6 million, sold for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. That record may not be broken for a while because of the size of the venues used by American organizers.
Read more!
If you want to attempt to purchase tickets to the 2010 World Cup, here is a link to the site that starts you on your way.
Many of the 3.2 million tickets remain available because we don't know most of the field yet.
And for five countries already qualified -- Australia, Japan, Netherlands, North Korea and South Korea -- we have no idea what groups they will end up in.
All we know for sure is when South Africa (team No. 1 in Group A) plays its group-stage matches.
Organizers say the biggest demand for tickets, so far, is from Europe and the United States.
The record for most tickets sold for a World Cup is nearly 3.6 million, sold for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. That record may not be broken for a while because of the size of the venues used by American organizers.
Read more!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Deadline for Volunteering: August 31
Organizers of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa are looking for 15,000 volunteers to help make the event work, as noted in a previous post on this site.
Time is running out to apply -- the deadline is Aug. 31 -- and here are more specifics on how to volunteer.
This is the link to the fifa.com news release that provides contacts and e-mail addresses for potential volunteers.
It's notable that more than 15,000 people already had applied to volunteer by the end of July, but organizers still seem interested in additional resumes.
Note that 10 percent of all volunteers must come from outside Africa. Ten percent must come from African countries that are not South Africa, and 80 percent will come from the host nation.
As you might expect, the greatest demand is for volunteers with language skills, and Danny Jordaan, the boss of the organizing committee says just that.
So, yes, if you can speak Dutch or Korean as well as English, your chances of being accepted are much better.
Read more!
Time is running out to apply -- the deadline is Aug. 31 -- and here are more specifics on how to volunteer.
This is the link to the fifa.com news release that provides contacts and e-mail addresses for potential volunteers.
It's notable that more than 15,000 people already had applied to volunteer by the end of July, but organizers still seem interested in additional resumes.
Note that 10 percent of all volunteers must come from outside Africa. Ten percent must come from African countries that are not South Africa, and 80 percent will come from the host nation.
As you might expect, the greatest demand is for volunteers with language skills, and Danny Jordaan, the boss of the organizing committee says just that.
So, yes, if you can speak Dutch or Korean as well as English, your chances of being accepted are much better.
Read more!
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