Update on blog item below:
Thierry Henry, not punished for handball.
Shocking.
Fifa is like the pope: Infallible. Or it's like your annoying friend ... and never admits to a mistake.
The excuse here was the one we anticipated: No legal right to proceed.
Next case!
Read more!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Handball Could Cost Henry World Cup Time
Thierry Henry, the French national guilty of the infamous hand ball in a decisive World Cup qualifier vs. Ireland, will get up in front of a Fifa disciplinary hearing today to talk about what happened.
The worst-case scenario is not a good one for Henry or France.
The veteran striker could be hit with a suspension, and could miss a match of two at South Africa 2010.
More likely, is ... nothing. Which will annoy the Irish and much of the world soccer community -- or at least that part of it convinced France might getting ready for the 2014 World Cup if not for the Henry handball -- which set up the winning goal by William Gallas.
Henry will argue that soccer's laws on handball punishment pertain only to infractions that prevent a goal from being scored.
Henry's handling only kept the ball in play, from where he passed it to Gallas. No rule seems to apply to him.
But Fifa hasn't always been consistent when it comes to its judgments, and perhaps throwing Henry under the bus, as the cliche goes, might make it seem as the organization realizes the magnitude of the error.
Still, the smart money is ... nothing happening at all. Read more!
The worst-case scenario is not a good one for Henry or France.
The veteran striker could be hit with a suspension, and could miss a match of two at South Africa 2010.
More likely, is ... nothing. Which will annoy the Irish and much of the world soccer community -- or at least that part of it convinced France might getting ready for the 2014 World Cup if not for the Henry handball -- which set up the winning goal by William Gallas.
Henry will argue that soccer's laws on handball punishment pertain only to infractions that prevent a goal from being scored.
Henry's handling only kept the ball in play, from where he passed it to Gallas. No rule seems to apply to him.
But Fifa hasn't always been consistent when it comes to its judgments, and perhaps throwing Henry under the bus, as the cliche goes, might make it seem as the organization realizes the magnitude of the error.
Still, the smart money is ... nothing happening at all. Read more!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Dempsey: One of Those Injuries That Matter
I mentioned this a month or so ago ... that one of the difficult tasks for anyone who pretends to be up to date on the fortunes of the 32 teams headed for South Africa 2010 is to have a grasp on injuries.
And when it's not your national team, or one in your region, you may not notice when a guy goes down with something, and you go around thinking John Smith will be facing your team in group play when he's actually still in a cast.
Well, one of those apparently serious injuries happened to a U.S. player today.
The player? Clint Dempsey of Premier League side Fulham, injured in a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn today.
His coach believes Dempsey suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament. And if he is correct, Dempsey may be out of the World Cup, which begins on June 11 -- and on June 12 for the United States, in a match vs. England.
Dempsey is only, oh, the second-best attacking player on the U.S. team. He plays on the wing and has moments of true inspiration around the net.
He has been enjoying his best season, at Fulham, and would have been counted on for long minutes and even a goal or two at South Africa -- where he scored three goals in the Confederations Cup last June, including strikes against Brazil and Spain that helped the Americans finish a surprise second.
If Dempsey is out, the U.S. is seriously compromised because it does not have much depth of talent, particularly among players who can actually score. There is the First XI, which actually has about six First XI quality players ... and now one of them is injured, perhaps badly.
Just put it in the back of your mind: One of the best U.S. players is down and maybe out of the World Cup. A day ago, they seemed like a potential dark horse candidate to get into maybe the final eight. Not so much so, now. Read more!
And when it's not your national team, or one in your region, you may not notice when a guy goes down with something, and you go around thinking John Smith will be facing your team in group play when he's actually still in a cast.
Well, one of those apparently serious injuries happened to a U.S. player today.
The player? Clint Dempsey of Premier League side Fulham, injured in a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn today.
His coach believes Dempsey suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament. And if he is correct, Dempsey may be out of the World Cup, which begins on June 11 -- and on June 12 for the United States, in a match vs. England.
Dempsey is only, oh, the second-best attacking player on the U.S. team. He plays on the wing and has moments of true inspiration around the net.
He has been enjoying his best season, at Fulham, and would have been counted on for long minutes and even a goal or two at South Africa -- where he scored three goals in the Confederations Cup last June, including strikes against Brazil and Spain that helped the Americans finish a surprise second.
If Dempsey is out, the U.S. is seriously compromised because it does not have much depth of talent, particularly among players who can actually score. There is the First XI, which actually has about six First XI quality players ... and now one of them is injured, perhaps badly.
Just put it in the back of your mind: One of the best U.S. players is down and maybe out of the World Cup. A day ago, they seemed like a potential dark horse candidate to get into maybe the final eight. Not so much so, now. Read more!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
We Have Maradona to Kick Around Again
Diego Maradona has served his two-month suspension for using vile language while talking to reporters after Argentina clinched a spot in the World Cup.
We've missed him. When the biggest fool among the 32 coaches in South Africa 2010 is absent ... the comedic value of the event just plummets.
Diego will kick off his return by flying to Pretoria to check out Argentina's base camp for the 2010 World Cup. Though the Argentines may not need it past the group phase of the event.
You wouldn't think he could do much damage there, in Pretoria, looking at a hotel and some practice fields. No players to confuse. No game plans to mess up. No lineups to pull out of his hat.
Unless he starts spewing obscenities at South African reporters, perhaps.
Welcome back, Diego. Read more!
We've missed him. When the biggest fool among the 32 coaches in South Africa 2010 is absent ... the comedic value of the event just plummets.
Diego will kick off his return by flying to Pretoria to check out Argentina's base camp for the 2010 World Cup. Though the Argentines may not need it past the group phase of the event.
You wouldn't think he could do much damage there, in Pretoria, looking at a hotel and some practice fields. No players to confuse. No game plans to mess up. No lineups to pull out of his hat.
Unless he starts spewing obscenities at South African reporters, perhaps.
Welcome back, Diego. Read more!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Knife-Proof Vest for SA 2010 Fans?
The company's name is Protektorvest, and what it will sell you is a knife-proof vest for $69.95.
And it is getting a lot of attention, both positive and negative in South Africa, host of the 2010 World Cup.
The firm selling the vests appears to be South African, too.
One school of thought is, "If anyone knows what kind of protection you need in South Africa, wouldn't it be a South African firm?
And the second is, "This is someone hoping to take advantage of irrational fears from First World fans."
Anyway, it's getting a lot of notice. Including in the Daily Mirror of England.
Here is the link to the story about the vest.
Returning to the on-one-hand, on-the-other frame of mind ...
South Africa is a dangerous place. We have established that. Maybe not dangerous in an Angola sort of "organized rebel group" way, but in a "50 murder nationwide daily" way.
Sascha Cotura, co-founder of the company, says, "Of course people think it is crazy, but South Africa is is famous for knife crime."
Ao, a knife-proof vest? Maybe it's not that crazy.
And to spiff up the whole sale, you can get your knife-proof "Protektorvest" in your nation's colors.
Meanwhile, the Football Supports Federation of England is suggesting the knife-proof vest is is unnecessary and a fear-mongering concept. Said FSF spokesman Michael Clarke: "This will just panic people and introduce a degree of tension. They are not exactly going to endear fans to the host nation and we would advise them not to buy these things."
Anyway, if you're thinking of going and you want some sort of protection from a stabbing, here is the link to the Protektorvest company site.
The company co-founder says he's just offering a service. ''I can imagine that the organizers of the World Cup say it is safe, but fans want to do what they can," Cotura said. "Football fans can get into trouble. They can be drunk and rowdy unlike in other sports, so they can have problems. If they approach situations with the wrong attitude it could go horribly wrong."
Hmm. Hard to argue with that. Read more!
And it is getting a lot of attention, both positive and negative in South Africa, host of the 2010 World Cup.
The firm selling the vests appears to be South African, too.
One school of thought is, "If anyone knows what kind of protection you need in South Africa, wouldn't it be a South African firm?
And the second is, "This is someone hoping to take advantage of irrational fears from First World fans."
Anyway, it's getting a lot of notice. Including in the Daily Mirror of England.
Here is the link to the story about the vest.
Returning to the on-one-hand, on-the-other frame of mind ...
South Africa is a dangerous place. We have established that. Maybe not dangerous in an Angola sort of "organized rebel group" way, but in a "50 murder nationwide daily" way.
Sascha Cotura, co-founder of the company, says, "Of course people think it is crazy, but South Africa is is famous for knife crime."
Ao, a knife-proof vest? Maybe it's not that crazy.
And to spiff up the whole sale, you can get your knife-proof "Protektorvest" in your nation's colors.
Meanwhile, the Football Supports Federation of England is suggesting the knife-proof vest is is unnecessary and a fear-mongering concept. Said FSF spokesman Michael Clarke: "This will just panic people and introduce a degree of tension. They are not exactly going to endear fans to the host nation and we would advise them not to buy these things."
Anyway, if you're thinking of going and you want some sort of protection from a stabbing, here is the link to the Protektorvest company site.
The company co-founder says he's just offering a service. ''I can imagine that the organizers of the World Cup say it is safe, but fans want to do what they can," Cotura said. "Football fans can get into trouble. They can be drunk and rowdy unlike in other sports, so they can have problems. If they approach situations with the wrong attitude it could go horribly wrong."
Hmm. Hard to argue with that. Read more!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
What South Africans Are Thinking ... Is Scary
I was going to link to a story from the Johannesburg Times on how the United States ambassador to South Africa said that Americans understand that Africa is not one country.
Well, I suppose I will do it, anyway.
It's a short story, and the gist of it? That Americans won't jump to a conclusion that Togo's soccer team getting shot up in Angola means terror is due to break out in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, as well.
But what I found more interesting were the comments posted on the story.
What makes them interesting?
There's the anti-Americanism, of course. The whole "they know nothing about geography" thing, which no one would dispute. Though I would guess we would discover that lots and lots of people in the world have no idea where much of anything is outside their own country, too.
But more telling -- even if we take into account the contentiousness endemic among people who post comments on websites -- is the byplay/interplay between what are clearly African and European-African commenters. It is fascinating. In a disturbing sort of way.
This was a country that, the movie "Invictus" would have us believe (as well as the generic South African tourist-board line of patter) ... that blacks and whites settled their differences in the country 15 years ago ... or at least after the South African rugby team won the 1995 world championship.
Yet, here we have insults flying, many of them along race lines. There are charges of continued apartheid, of ignorance among black South Africans. The black president is called a village idiot.
Shortly, it is the sort of "look under the scab" sort of thing that isn't uplifting. But certainly is informing. Have a look.
Read more!
Well, I suppose I will do it, anyway.
It's a short story, and the gist of it? That Americans won't jump to a conclusion that Togo's soccer team getting shot up in Angola means terror is due to break out in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, as well.
But what I found more interesting were the comments posted on the story.
What makes them interesting?
There's the anti-Americanism, of course. The whole "they know nothing about geography" thing, which no one would dispute. Though I would guess we would discover that lots and lots of people in the world have no idea where much of anything is outside their own country, too.
But more telling -- even if we take into account the contentiousness endemic among people who post comments on websites -- is the byplay/interplay between what are clearly African and European-African commenters. It is fascinating. In a disturbing sort of way.
This was a country that, the movie "Invictus" would have us believe (as well as the generic South African tourist-board line of patter) ... that blacks and whites settled their differences in the country 15 years ago ... or at least after the South African rugby team won the 1995 world championship.
Yet, here we have insults flying, many of them along race lines. There are charges of continued apartheid, of ignorance among black South Africans. The black president is called a village idiot.
Shortly, it is the sort of "look under the scab" sort of thing that isn't uplifting. But certainly is informing. Have a look.
Read more!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Japan Coach Planning for Semifinals
You don't expect coaches of even the most modest World Cup qualifiers to poor-mouth their teams.
No team goes to the World Cup planning and expecting to go three-and-out after group play. No one says, "Hey, we're Honduras! No way we advance!" You just don't say that. Even if you know it to be the likely scenario.
But talking about getting to the semifinals, when you coach Japan ... talking about how the semifinals is your goal ... is just plain wacky.
Either coach Takeshi Okada is massively deluded ... or he's got some sort of career deathwish by setting the bar his team way, way too high.
Let's hear from the coach:
"All of our opponents are a bit stronger than us but are in a range we can deal with." Okada said. "We are aiming for a place in the semifinals and don't intend to change that."
"It's never easy whoever you play. This might sound strange but I don't think it's a bad group to be in. We are not up against teams that we have absolutely no chance of beating."
Japan, remember, is in the same group with Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon. The average fan would say "Japan finishes last there."
Japan is one of those teams (and every World Cup has 15-20 of them) who have no chance, none, of winning the championship.
Japan has been out of the first round only once, when they were playing at home in 2002. The Japanese play hard, and the team is well-organized, but it has very thin talent, and unless it gets a batch of Brazilians naturalized in the next few months (and maybe Okada knows something we don't) ... there's no way they get out of that group and win two games in the knockout round.
Anyway, weird prediction. Nobody should talk about the World Cup semifinals in South Africa this year unless they are named Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands and (maybe) England.
Everyone else, most certainly including Japan, should talk about playing hard, getting out of the first round and maybe winning a knockout game. But semifinals? No. Don't set yourself up in a scenario that isn't going to happen. Read more!
No team goes to the World Cup planning and expecting to go three-and-out after group play. No one says, "Hey, we're Honduras! No way we advance!" You just don't say that. Even if you know it to be the likely scenario.
But talking about getting to the semifinals, when you coach Japan ... talking about how the semifinals is your goal ... is just plain wacky.
Either coach Takeshi Okada is massively deluded ... or he's got some sort of career deathwish by setting the bar his team way, way too high.
Let's hear from the coach:
"All of our opponents are a bit stronger than us but are in a range we can deal with." Okada said. "We are aiming for a place in the semifinals and don't intend to change that."
"It's never easy whoever you play. This might sound strange but I don't think it's a bad group to be in. We are not up against teams that we have absolutely no chance of beating."
Japan, remember, is in the same group with Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon. The average fan would say "Japan finishes last there."
Japan is one of those teams (and every World Cup has 15-20 of them) who have no chance, none, of winning the championship.
Japan has been out of the first round only once, when they were playing at home in 2002. The Japanese play hard, and the team is well-organized, but it has very thin talent, and unless it gets a batch of Brazilians naturalized in the next few months (and maybe Okada knows something we don't) ... there's no way they get out of that group and win two games in the knockout round.
Anyway, weird prediction. Nobody should talk about the World Cup semifinals in South Africa this year unless they are named Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands and (maybe) England.
Everyone else, most certainly including Japan, should talk about playing hard, getting out of the first round and maybe winning a knockout game. But semifinals? No. Don't set yourself up in a scenario that isn't going to happen. Read more!
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