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ISSUE 55, 7 NOVEMBER 2014
ENGLISH EDITION
Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904
Asian club football
WANDERERS REACH MILESTONE
MEXICO
AMPUTEES
PLAY ON
RAINER BONHOF
WORLD CHAMPION
FOR EVER
SALVADOR CABANAS
LIFE AFTER THE
ASSASSIN’S BULLET
W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY
THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL
6
18
North and
Central America
35 members
www.concacaf.com
Young blood
Western Sydney Wanderers were only founded
two years ago, yet last weekend the club won
the AFC Champions League, while Saudi
Arabian opponents Al Hilal were unable to find
a decisive goal in front of their formidable home
crowd. David Winner and Alan Schweingruber’s
report sheds more light on the winners and
losers of this hotly contested final.
South America
10 members
www.conmebol.com
Rainer Bonhof
In our interview, the 1974 world champion
discusses Mario Gotze, zonal marking and
Borussia Monchengladbach’s success.
23
S epp Blatter
“Real life closely resembles events on the field
of play,” says the FIFA President. “You only
target the man in possession. And as FIFA
President I am by definition the man on the ball.”
37
Turning Point
In 2010, an assassination attempt almost
cost Paraguayan international Salvador
Cabanas his life.
24
The Wanderers’ faithful
Our cover picture was taken on
25 October 2014 at the Parramatta
Stadium in Sydney, where Western
Sydney Wanderers defeated Al Hilal
1-0 in the first leg of the AFC
Champions League final.
Mexico
Amputee footballers are building
confidence playing for Guerreros
Aztecas.
Brendon Thorne / Getty Images
17
The number of teams taking part in the final competition has
been fixed at 24, to be apportioned among the confederations
as follows:
AFC: 5 Teams, CAF: 3 Teams, CONCACAF: 3,5 Teams*,
CONMEBOL: 2,5 Teams*, OFC: 1 Team, UEFA: 8 Teams,
Host: Canada
*The fourth-ranked team from the CONCACAF preliminary competition will
compete in a play-off (home and away) against the third-ranked team from
the CONMEBOL preliminary competition for a slot in the final competition.
2
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
Qualified
Costa Rica
Mexico
USA
Qualified
Brazil
Colombia
Play-off (Second Leg) 2 December 2014
Trinidad and Tobago – Ecuador
Play-off (First Leg) 8 November 2014
Ecuador – Trinidad and Tobago
Canada (Host)
Bénédicte Desrus, imago, Getty Images
Venezuela
Champions Zamora
are now struggling to
win a game.
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
16
Croatia
Dinamo Zagreb’s
championship charge is
seemingly unstoppable.
28
History
A history of World Cup
emblems, including
Chile 1962, Italy 1990
and Brazil 2014.
The FIFA Weekly Magazine App
The FIFA Weekly Magazine is available in
four languages as an e-Magazine and on
your tablet every Friday.
http://www.fifa.com/mobile
Qualified
Germany
England
France
Norway
Sweden
Switzerland
Spain
+ Playoff Winner
Qualified
Côte d’Ivoire
Cameroon
Nigeria
Qualified
Australia
China PR
Japan
Korea Republic
Thailand
Qualified
New Zealand
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
3
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instinct
takes over
#predatorinstinct
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UNCOVERED
Mission accomplished Western Sydney Wanderers fans take to their city’s streets to celebrate their AFC Champions League triumph.
Wonders and Wanderers
A
couple of days ago, Western Sydney Wanderers proved something remarkable – namely, that it is possible for a club to win the AFC Champions League
just two years after being founded. From page six onwards, David Winner
and Alan Schweingruber take a closer look at both Australia’s newest top club
and the passionate fans and clear strategy that have brought them success both
on and off the pitch, as well as their opponents in the final of Asia’s most prestigious club competition, Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal.
A
fter having an arm or leg removed, many amputees find they not only have
to deal with a physical handicap but must also struggle for social acceptance.
Football is now helping those affected to overcome these challenges.
Tim Smyth (text) and Benedicte Desrus (photos) visited Guerreros Azteca’s
self-assured amputee players in Mexico City to learn more, and their report can
be found on page 24.
“I
Saeed Khan / AFP
n my 40 years with FIFA I have learned to live with hostility and resentment,”
writes FIFA President Sepp Blatter in his weekly column on page 23. “However, as the German-language proverb puts it, sympathy is free, but envy
must be earned.” Å
Perikles Monioudis
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
5
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Halfway there
Wanderers players
celebrate victory in
the first leg of the final.
6
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
YOUNG
BLOOD
Western Sydney Wanderers won the AFC Champions League
just two years after the team was founded, but the club’s fan
culture is just as phenomenal.
David Winner and Alan Schweingruber
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
7
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
“It happened!”
Sydney players sink to
their knees after the
second-leg 0-0 draw.
A
“It happened!”
Wanderers’ achievement uncannily recalled one of the
most remarkable moments of modern sport. Twenty
8
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
years ago heavyweight boxer George Foreman ­regained
his world title at the ripe old age of 45. At the end of
that fight in Las Vegas, he too fell to his knees in
prayer while the TV commentator yelled “It happened!
It happened!”
Weirdly, the iconic moment of both unlikely triumphs featured a strong right hand. Foreman used his
to knock out Michael Moorer. On Saturday, Ante Covic knocked the stuffing out of Al Hilal with an impossible-seeming, late, one-handed save from star striker
Yasser Al Qahtani.
But the backstories were different. One victory
looked to the past, the other points to the future. In
1994 Foreman was a born-again Christian preacher
searching for – and finding – redemption from his legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ defeat by Muhammad
Ali in 1974.
The Wanderers, created in 2012 as a franchise by
Football Federation Australia to fill a gap in the fledgling A-League, like to portray themselves as custodians of an ancient football lineage. In the 80th minute
of every match, for instance, fans commemorate the
first football game played in Sydney, in 1880. In fact
the club is doing something thrillingly new. Wanderers are the first Australian team to win the Asian
Champions’ League, have boosted their country’s
sporting reputation and done wonders for the cause
of football at home.
Red and Black Bloc
They overcame much richer, long-established
teams including Sanfrecce Hiroshima, last season’s
AFC runners-up Seoul FC, and defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande coached by Marcello
Lippi, architect of Italy’s World Cup ­v ictory in
2006.
AP
Just 14
Wanderers
fans were at
the game, but
back home in
Parramatta
5,000 stayed
up all night to
watch.
t the final whistle in Riyadh some of the
Australian heroes sank to their knees
in grateful prayer while a TV commentator shouted “the miracle has happened!” Western Sydney Wanderers, a
club created just two years ago, defended like Spartans at Thermopylae, drew
0-0 with hot favourites Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and found themselves
crowned champions of Asia.
The second leg of the AFC Champions
League final was hotly contested at the
King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. For 90 minutes Wanderers withstood enormous ­pressure from the
home side in front of 65,000 passionate Al Hilal fans
constantly seeking to irritate goalkeeper Ante Covic.
Al Hilal have been Asian champions twice and are
backed by the wealth of the Saudi royal family. Home
fans believed their coach Laurentiu Reghecampf
when he dismissed Wanderers as a ‘small’ team’ and
promised to overturn the 0-1 deficit from the first leg.
But the hard-working Australians earned their
luck as Al Hilal wasted a string of chances and Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura waved away three certain-seeming Saudi penalties.
Just 14 Wanderers fans were at the game but back
home in Parramatta 5,000 stayed up all night to watch
on giant screen in Centenary Square – and erupted in
a wild party at the final whistle.
Next up is the Club World Cup in Morocco - and
the chance for the Aussie underdogs to pit themselves
against Real Madrid.
Salah Malkawi / Getty Images
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
In a class of
his own
Sydney
goalkeeper
Ante Covic.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
9
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
“Nobody saw Western Sydney
Wanderers coming”
Holger Osieck, in 2007 you won the
AFC Champions League with Urawa Red
Diamonds. What sort of status does the
tournament have?
Holger Osieck: Its standing has grown
over the years and it’s becoming increas­
ingly attractive. In 2007 Urawa played the
second leg of the final in Saitama against
Iranian side Sepahan in front of almost
60,000 spectators. It was a huge event and
the fans were very proud that a Japanese
club won such a major title for the first
time, and that they qualified for the FIFA
Club World Cup in the process.
What are the challenges of playing in the
AFC Champions League?
Travelling through Asia isn’t easy.
There aren’t always direct flight connec­
tions, while moving between time zones
and to different climates also has a big
impact. Winning the competition is far
from easy.
You worked as Australia national team
coach. What do you make of Western
Sydney Wanderers winning the AFC
Champions League, despite the club
only being founded in 2012?
I witnessed the club starting out first
hand and what’s happened there is a
fairytale. The team was set up virtually
overnight. They quickly found their feet
and managed to build momentum by
winning game after game. It was a surprise
and nobody saw it coming. In my opinion
the majority of their success is down to
their coach Tony Popovic, who I respect a
great deal. He had everything under con­
trol right from the start. He’s got a good
eye for spotting players and made the right
signings, for example Shinji Ono, who was
a massive influence in shaping the team.
Furthermore, a lot of players’ performances
improved dramatically under Popovic.
I’m delighted for him that he’s had such
success.
The Wanderers are famed for having very
vocal fans. Where has such huge support
come from?
The region to the west of Sydney is
kind of a melting pot where lots of people
with different – often European – back­
grounds come together. In most other
areas of Australia sports such as Austra­
lian Rules Football and rugby are more
popular, but there football is number one.
Western Sydney Wanderers have a big fan
base, their supporters are enthusiastic and
emotional and stand firmly behind their
team. There’s a great atmosphere in the
stadium – I went to a lot of their home
games and I always liked it there.
How far can the Wanderers go at the
Club World Cup in Morocco?
They’re incredibly disciplined, well
organised and have a good structure.
I hope that their fighting spirit will help
them do well there.
Holger Osieck was speaking to
Tim Pfeifer.
Name
Holger Osieck
Date and place of birth
31 August 1948, Homberg
Clubs coached
Canada (assistant coach), Germany (assistant
coach), Olympique Marseille (assistant coach),
Bochum, Fenerbahce, Urawa Red Diamonds,
Kocaelispor, Canada, Australia
World Cup winner 1990
Turkish cup winner 1997
CONCACAF Gold Cup winner 2000
AFC Champions League winner 2007
Silverware collector Holger Osieck holds the AFC Champions League trophy aloft after his triumph with
Urawa Red Diamonds in 2007.
10
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
UPI Photo / imago
Major honours
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Halfway to
Morocco
Western
Sydney
Wanderers
celebrate their
crucial goal.
Steve Cristo / Corbis
Perhaps more importantly, Wanderers have given
a sense of identity to the sprawling suburbs traditionally looked down upon by the richer, more fashionable
areas of Sydney.
Their 41-year-old coach Tony Popovic, once of
Crystal Palace in England, now likely to be in demand
across the world, has assembled a squad of huge-hearted players including youngsters like Tomi Juric, who
scored the first leg winner, and veterans like captain
Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
But the club’s fans have had no less a dramatic impact, emerging as a show in their own right with passionate support from every section of one of Australia’s
most ethnically diverse communities. Western Sydney
is one of Australia’s few traditional soccer hotspots,
largely because the area has been home to immigrants
from South America and southern Europe. In early
2012, local people were asked for their opinions on colours, name and even playing style for the new team.
The process helped spawn the Red and Black
Bloc [RBB] an unusual supporters’ group which mixes men and women, young and old and every ethnicity. An integral part of the club’s DNA from the
start, the RBB went on to electrify the A-League
with their noisy, passionate, joyful displays and nonstop singing.
A refreshing concept
Drawing from influences from fan cultures around
the world, they’ve forged a vibrant, distinctively Australian culture of their own with trademark Poznans,
elaborately choreographed tifos and pre-match
marches to the stadium led by a band.
One song-cum-chant has fans on one side of the
stadium asking ‘Who do we sing for?’ to which their
mates on another thunder the answer: ‘We sing for
Wanderers!’ The deafening dialogue lasts for several
minutes at a time. After victories, the players sometimes join in too.
Australia is a sports-mad country but fans of other codes never developed anything quite like this. Just
before the first leg of the AFC Final, journalist Michael Visontay, supporter of local rivals Sydney FC,
argued that the Wanderers and their fans had done
what decades of interventions by politicians had
failed to do – building a “conscience of their place”.
The Wanderers style on the pitch may be a “modest,
solid brand of football built on defensive discipline,
grinding the opposition down”, he argued. But, crucially, many of their players are local so “they stand
for triumph against the odds and a sense of players
truly representing their own heartland.”
Mike Ticher, co-founder of the English football
magazine When Saturday Comes who now lives in
Australia, says the Wanderers phenomenon may have
an impact further afield where commercialisation and
mega-salaries have eroded traditional bonds between
clubs, players and fans.
“There’s a real connection between the supporters
and the players and the people who run the club and
the wider community. In big European football that’s
gone by the wayside to a large extent, so this is heartening and impressive, even for people like me who
aren’t supporters of the team. The concept is fantastic. It’s really refreshing.”
CAF
Champions
League
Algerian side ES Setif won the
CAF Champions League for the
second time in their history, completing the line-up for the 2014
Club World Cup in Morocco in
the process. Africa’s most prestigious club competition was
known as the African Cup of
Champions Clubs from 1964 until 1996.
Egyptian top-flight side Al-Ahly
SC are the competition’s most
successful club on eight wins,
followed by Cairo neighbours
and rivals Al Zamalek SC (5) and
T.P. Mazembe (4) from Congo
DR. Egypt has provided easily
the most Champions League winners since the competition was
introduced with 14, followed by
Morocco, Congo DR, Algeria and
Cameroon all on five apiece.
North African clubs have dominated the CAF Champions League down the years with 26
Al Hilal’s royal approval
Even Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is a great believer in
fan culture. Although he is a member of Al Hilal’s
board, the Saudi Arabian prince is renowned for gladly taking on major challenges and seeing them
through, parting with plenty of funds along the way.
wins in the 34 editions of the
tournament. (dek)
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
11
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Man of the
moment
Victorious coach
Tony Popovic.
The FIFA Club World Cup 2014 contenders
Real Madrid CF
Western Sydney
Wanderers FC
Moghreb Tétouan
Moroccan champions Moghreb Athletic de Tetouan will represent the host
nation at the FIFA Club World Cup 2014. The remaining contenders at
the global showdown in December are the six continental champions:
ES Setif (CAF Champions League winners), Western Sydney Wanderers
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
ES Sétif
Cruz Azul
San Lorenzo de Almagro
12
that fans could enjoy free entry to the match. What’s
more, the prince announced to his 2.45 million Twitter
followers that he would give the club’s players and
staff a bonus of 100,000 Saudi riyals (approximately
$26,000) should they emerge victorious. As we now
know, it was not enough to prevent defeat.
Although the atmosphere in the imposing King
Fahd International Stadium was good, it threatened
to turn sour at any moment. This was in no small part
due to the home side’s many wasted goalscoring opportunities and the remarkable shift put in by 39-yearold Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic, but also because of several contentious moments in the
Auckland City FC
(AFC Champions League winners), Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League
winners), Cruz Azul Futbol Club (CONCACAF Champions League winners),
Auckland City FC (OFC Champions League winners) and CA San Lorenzo
(CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores winners).
tnt-graphics (Infografik), AP
When it
comes to
Al Hilal,
King
Abdullah’s
nephew is
eager to
invest.
In 2005, he spent one billion US dollars acquiring an
interest in 15 American companies, including heavyweights such as McDonalds and the Walt Disney Company. The prince’s impressive financial ventures have
made him one of the world’s most respected investors.
King Abdullah’s nephew is equally eager to invest
when it comes to Al Hilal. He loves the club and even
offers the team use of his private plane to travel to
away matches such as the Champions League final,
where the Saudi side lost 1-0 in Sydney despite playing
well. This result seems to have distressed Al-Waleed
bin Talal, who decided to purchase all 67,000 seats for
the return leg at the team’s home ground in Riyadh so
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
A decisive
1-0 loss
Al Hilal fans look
on during the
first leg.
Australians’ penalty area. Al Hilal appealed for four
spot-kicks during the course of the match and, three
days after the match ended 0-0, demanded that the
Asian Football Confederation launch an official investigation into the refereeing over both legs.
AFC
Champions League
The Asian Champions League
Brendon Thorne / Getty Images
has existed in its current form
Calderon: “On the right track”
In contrast to Sydney's young upstarts, Al Hilal have
a long history behind them. The club was founded
back in 1957, when the prince was just 18 months old.
Their first taste of success came when they won the
domestic King’s Cup competition four years later,
but this was just the start of a glittering honours list
encompassing some 54 titles. ‘The Boss’ established
themselves as an Asian football institution, winning
the continent’s most prestigious club competition in
1991 and 2000. Despite this illustrious record, the
club still longs for an AFC Champions League title,
having not lifted this particular trophy since it was
introduced in 2003 (see Box), not to mention the
fact that 14 years is too long a wait for a club of
Al Hilal’s pedigree.
Former Real Betis coach Gabriel Calderon is well
acquainted with Saudi Arabian football, having previously coached the country's national team and two
of its clubs, including Al Hilal. “I had a wonderful time
in Saudi Arabia,” the Argentinian said. “It’s amazing
how intensely and enthusiastically the competitions
are contested there. It’s difficult to say whether they’re
strong enough to hold their own with Europe’s elite
yet, but Saudi Arabia is on the right track.”
When you consider that Calderon is a contemporary of Diego Maradona who featured at the 1982 and
1990 World Cups and played in eight different countries during his career, this is a very encouraging
­assessment indeed. Å
since 2003, having been preceded by the Asian Champion Club
Tournament from 1967 until
1971 and the Asian Club Championship from 1985 until 2002.
Australian teams have been eligible to take part in the competition since leaving the Oceania
Football Confederation to join its
equivalent in Asia. Saudi Arabian
side Al-Hilal have made more final appearances than any other
team, reaching the tournament
finale five times and winning
twice. The most successful team
in AFC Champions League history are Pohang Steelers from
South Korea, who have lifted the
trophy on each of the three occasions they have reached the final.
South Korean teams have won
the competition ten times, putting them far ahead of Japan and
Saudi Arabia, who have provided
champions five and four times
respectively. (dek)
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
13
IN BRIEF
M
arcello Lippi’s players threw him into the air and chanted his name after he led Guangzhou Evergrande to their latest championship title.
The Southern China Tigers have now won four successive league crowns, the past three of which were secured with the 2006 World Cup winning
coach at the helm. A 1-1 draw with Shandong Luneng on the final day of the season was all Guangzhou needed to defend their title, and true to
the motto “quit while you’re ahead”, Lippi announced his resignation immediately after his latest triumph. Although the former defender explained
his decision by saying: “I’ll be 67 years old in the near future, and I do not want to be the head coach anymore,” he is not yet ready to bid the footballing world farewell just yet, opting instead to become the Chinese champions’ technical director. Lippi celebrated arguably his greatest success
with Guangzhou Evergrande by guiding them to AFC Champions League glory in 2013. Å
Tim Pfeifer
AFP
A
nd he can score goals too! It is unlikely that even Shkodran
Mustafi himself can fully comprehend what has happened to him
over the past few months. Few had heard of the Sampdoria
­defender when Germany coach Joachim Low handed him a surprise
World Cup call-up this summer. Mustafi only made the trip to Brazil
after Marco Reus sustained a serious injury in his team’s final warmup match, and even then many struggled to understand why a
­defender had been picked to replace a striker. Despite suffering a
torn thigh muscle in Germany’s Round of 16 match against Algeria,
the 22-year-old joined the boisterous celebrations on the Maracana
pitch after the Final. Then, in the summer Mustafi signed a lucrative
contract with Valencia and has long since recovered from his injury
to become a regular starter for the Spanish club. Having scored just
one goal in 50 appearances for Sampdoria, he has already found the
net three times in six matches for his new side, including a brace in
a 3-1 win at Villareal last Sunday. Partly thanks to their new surprise
package, Valencia now lie second in Spain’s Primera Division, ahead
of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Å
Sven Goldmann
E
steban Ramirez is a pianist from El Paso, a city deep in the Texan desert. Listen to any one of Ramirez’s tunes and it’s hard not
to picture yourself being whisked along remote, sandy streets on
the back of a horse. One of his best known albums is titled “Fly With
Me”, but if you type the name Esteban Ramirez into an internet
search engine - perhaps in the hope of finding an early Christmas
present - you are more likely to stumble upon highlights of a football
match between Club Sport Herediano and Deportivo Saprissa, last
Monday’s top-of-the-table clash in the Costa Rican first division.
That’s because this encounter featured a quite breathtaking goal
from one of Herediano’s forwards, who also happens to be called
Esteban Ramírez. The powerful striker, known for his instinctive
finishing abilities, controls the ball on his chest, takes one more
touch with his head and rifles a dipping volley into the net from
around 20 yards. As spectacular as the goal was, the celebrations
that followed were equally euphoric: Fly with me. The two Estebans
evidently share more than just a name. Å
Alan Schweingruber
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
15
TALK ING POIN T S
T H E
Croatian Nogometna Liga
Dina mo f ly ing solo
Roland Zorn is a Frankfurt-based
I N S I D E
It would therefore be no surprise if this team,
who have won 16 titles since Croatia gained
independence in 1991, were to expand their
trophy collection by adding a tenth successive
championship crown.
football correspondent.
Latvian side Skonto’s fourteen consecutive championship wins between 1991 and
2004 is a record many thought could never be
broken. Although Dinamo Zagreb are still a
few years away from this particular feat, their
tally of nine domestic titles between 2006
and 2014 is impressive enough to suggest that
Croatia’s serial champions can continue their
winning streak.
The signs are already pointing to yet another
season of dominance for the 12-time Croatian
Cup winners. Coach Zoran Mamic’s side are
still unbeaten, with Rijeka and Hajduk Split
trailing by six and 13 points respectively.
Despite having such an impressive record
and 11,000 members, spectator interest in
Zagreb’s largest club is limited. An average of
just 1,697 fans attend the team’s home games
at the Maksimir Stadium, with crowd statistics
placing Dinamo just seventh of the ten sides in
the Prva HNL (Hrvatska Nogometna Liga).
This may have something to do with the
fact that even constant success can become
tiresome, or with the high level of player
turnover at a club whose stars regularly
depart for Europe’s biggest leagues.
Another key factor could be c­ ontroversial
president Zdravko Mamic, brother of
coach Zoran, who has been in charge of
Dinamo since 2003.
Big win, small crowd Dinamo Zagreb seal a 5-1 win over Astra Giurgiu in their Europa League opener.
16
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
As the team rarely use their forays into the
Champions League or Europa League to woo
fans to their home ground, the Blues are
breaking records in an unexpectedly intimate
setting. It really is a pity that so many giants
of European football have left the club over
the years, from Zvonimir Boban and Davor
Suker to current stars such as Luka Modric
and Mario Mandzukic. Å
imago / Pixsell
O N
Rooted to the bottom Reigning Venezuelan champions Zamora and their captain Arles Flores (left).
Ven e z u e l a n Pr i m er a D i v i s i o n
C h a n ge s a fo ot at
“ L a F u r i a”
Sven Goldmann is a leading
football correspondent at Tages­
spiegel newspaper in Berlin.
Zamora FC
There has been no shortage
of drama in the Venezuelan
Primera Division this season. Zamora Futbol
Club, champions in 2013 and 2014, have sunk
like a stone, losing five and drawing six of
their first eleven league encounters. Last time
out the reigning titleholders laboured to a
0-0 home draw with 16th-placed Deportivo
Petare, which kept the hosts rooted to the
foot of the division.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what has
gone wrong at “La Furia”, as the Barinas club
are commonly known. The team that took
to the field against Deportivo is a shadow of
the side that swept all before them over the
previous two campaigns. Certainly, much has
changed since last season’s contentious
two-legged final against Mineros de Guayana,
the effects of which are still felt to this day in
the Zamora camp. Striker Juan Falcon got his
name on the scoresheet in the first leg, but
there was more than a hint of controversy
about the 25-year-old’s goal: Rafael Romo,
the Mineros keeper, had picked up an injury
during an earlier Zamora attack and, relinquishing possession of the ball, signalled to
the bench that he could not continue. Falcon
took no notice, however, picking up the loose
ball and walking it past the stricken goalkeeper into the unguarded net. Chaos erupted
on the pitch and Romo’s opposite number
Alexis Angulo even threw a punch at one of
the Mineros players in the ensuing melee.
Zamora won the match 4-1 and ended up
clinching their second successive title, but
were heavily criticised for their conduct
during the match. Meanwhile, Angulo was
banished to the reserves and eventually
released, as was defender Layneker Zafra
following a horrendous tackle earlier this
term which earned him a straight red card.
Falcon, last season’s top scorer with 19 goals,
has since joined French side FC Metz, while
Pedro Ramirez, Ricardo Clarke and Jonathan
Espana have all joined the exodus. To cap
it all, Noel Sanvicente has also left his post
as head coach to take over the Venezuelan
national team. There is a long road ahead
for Zamora if they are to return to the
­summit of the Venezuelan Primera Division
anytime soon. Å
A minor drama is unfolding
in the Primera Division.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
17
THE INTERVIEW
“Winning the World Cup
stays with you forever”
Rainer Bonhof set up Germany’s winning goal in the 1974 World Cup Final. In this interview, the
former midfielder recalls that historic moment, gives his opinion on Germany’s all-conquering side
at Brazil 2014 and gives an insight into his role as vice-president at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Rainer Bonhof, how did you follow the
World Cup in Brazil?
How does it feel to hold the World Cup Trophy
in your hands as a player?
Rainer Bonhof: At home, while having
barbecues. I didn’t go over there as it would
have been too much for me to travel such a
long way. Aside from that we’d started our
pre-season preparations at Gladbach and
I enjoy being there for that.
It only starts to sink in a couple of weeks
later. On the day itself I realised that I had,
along with the rest of the team, achieved
something great. At the start of the tournament back then we came in for a lot of criticism, just like the team did this year. But we
got back on our feet, gritted our teeth and
won the World Cup in Germany, which certainly wasn’t easy. You only truly become
aware of the joy at having accomplished
something extraordinary, and the scale of
it all, one, two, three or even four years later
because your name is always mentioned in
the same breath as that World Cup title.
I believe it’ll be a similar process for the
current side and it’ll stay with all of the
players for the rest of their lives.
Did watching the tournament in Brazil stir
up memories of your triumphant campaign
in 1974?
No, because every World Cup has its own
character and there are very different players
out on the pitch now, 40 years later. The game
as a whole has changed, it’s developed, especially in terms of the speed it’s played at and
the systems employed. Media coverage has
also got bigger. The memories came up when
I was watching the Final, with my Germany
shirt on, cheering the team on. I knew it
would be a close game, just like it was 40
years ago in Munich against the Netherlands.
It’s because you know what a match like that
feels like. Things could easily have turned out
differently. Manuel Neuer had a great day and
we couldn’t have had any complaints if we’d
conceded a goal or two, but Mario Gotze made
sure it was us who were crowned champions.
Did Gotze’s strike remind you of the decisive
goal you set up in the 1974 Final?
His goal was actually a mirror image of
that one. Andre Schurrle went down the left,
Mario controlled the ball superbly and put
it in. It was similar to the goal I created.
There was a huge gap in the Dutch defence
and Jurgen Grabowski played me the ball.
I saw a white shirt in the penalty area and I
thought: you need to play it to him.
Gerd Muller then put it in the net. When I’m
with friends having a beer and a sausage they
ask me what it felt like. I was actually just
really happy that Mario Gotze finally took
the title of the youngest ever German World
Cup winner from me and that we became
world champions.
18
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
What does winning the 2014 World Cup mean
for German football?
I think we were at a completely different
level in Germany even before the competition
started. In 1974 there was also a lot of euphoria but there weren’t the same opportunities
to develop younger players. In my opinion
the German Football Association [DFB] has
done outstanding work in expanding the
number of training centres from the 12 set
up by Berti Vogts to almost 400 throughout
Germany. In those facilities talented players
are trained by expert coaches.
How has football changed over the last
few decades?
To answer that you need to look at the
tactics used in any given era. At the end of
the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s the first
teams started appearing with a four-man
backline and using zonal marking. In Ger­
many, Hamburg made excellent use of that
under coach Ernst Happel. Before then
man-marking had been always been employed
and you had to keep an eye on your man
throughout the 90 minutes, even if you went
on the attack. Then all of a sudden there were
countless variations, from a 4-4-2 formation
to a 4-2-4 or 4-3-3, and they all proved very
successful during different periods. At the
2014 World Cup sometimes the midfields
played in a diamond formation and at other
times with a deep-lying attacking player.
Players have to adjust to what the different
systems require. That’s a sign that they’re not
only technically but also tactically extremely
well trained from a very early age.
When you were a player Borussia Monchen­
gladbach were one of the top teams both in
Germany and Europe. Are Gladbach currently
on the way back to the top?
That’s what we’re working on every day.
It was a wonderful time back then and we
were always among the top few clubs. In 1995
we won the DFB Cup again but after that
there was a real drought, which was partly
due to the antiquated stadium we had. The
opening of the new Borussia-Park stadium
has created more opportunities thanks to
greater gate revenues.
In 2011 Gladbach were almost relegated.
Going through the relegation play-off
in 2011 was an awful experience. After we
survived that, a jolt went through the team
and the people involved said to themselves:
‘we don’t want to go through that again.’
We’ve become a lot more stable. When
you look at the clubs in Germany a few
of them are financially better off than us,
but that doesn’t mean we can’t compete in
footballing terms. Å
Rainer Bonhof was speaking
to Andres de Kartzow
Name
Rainer Bonhof
Date and place of birth
29 March 1952, Emmerich
Clubs
1970 – 1978 Monchengladbach
1978 – 1980 Valencia
1980 – 1983 Cologne
1983 Hertha Berlin
Christian Grund / 13 Photo
Clubs coached
1990 – 1998 Germany (assistant coach)
1998 Germany U-21s
1998 – 1999 Monchengladbach
2002 – 2005 Scotland U-21s
Germany national team
53 caps, 9 goals
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
19
20
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
First Love
Place: Kampala, Uganda
Date: 26 October 2012
Time: 4.44 p.m.
Christian Bobst / 13 Photo
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
21
Connecting every fan
of the game
Make new friends and discover shared passions
in the Emirates A380 Onboard Lounge.
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Hello Tomorrow
PRE SEN TAT ION
PRESIDENTIAL NOTE
Envy must
be earned
Fundamental values Football can promote respect, discipline, morale and teamwork.
Football’s school of life
In a presentation to mark the 75th anniversary of the
Academic Sports Association Zurich (ASVZ), FIFA President
Blatter spoke about the values football can impart.
Andrea Schneider
“S
port and spirit do not contradict one
another,” Sepp Blatter declared during a
one-hour presentation at ETH Zurich.
The FIFA President described football as a
‘school of life’ and an important factor in social
integration before highlighting FIFA’s role in
providing development assistance and supporting underprivileged regions. Blatter cited
Football for Hope, Football for Health and 11
for Health as examples of football-based programmes that can make a positive contribution
to social change on a global level by dealing
with the urgent issues within a community.
“Football cannot solve all problems, but it can
contribute significantly towards finding solutions,” the FIFA President emphasised.
Blatter also spoke about FIFA’s strong
neighbourly relationship with ASVZ, Switzerland’s largest cantonal sports association with
75,000 members and a sports complex,
the Sport Center Fluntern, adjacent to the
Home of FIFA. Quoting German poet Wilhelm
Busch, Blatter said: “Even the most devout person cannot live in peace if his nasty neighbour
won’t allow it.”
Included in the 250-strong audience were
ASVZ president Egon Franck as well as Association director Lorenz Ursprung. Blatter fielded
questions on a range of topics in the subsequent Q&A session and gave each questioner
a detailed response.
Indeed, the FIFA President had an answer
prepared for everything. At the end of the
­session, someone asked if he could have the
World Cup ball displayed on the lectern,
prompting Blatter to stand up and throw the
Brazuca over the heads of the amused audience
into the hands of the excited enquirer. Å
T
he ball is round and the game lasts 90 minutes, as Sepp Herberger famously said. But
the ball is rolling more than ever nowadays,
and emotions are spiraling faster and faster.
However, objectivity is often forgotten, especially when it comes to FIFA (and its President).
Occasionally, it seems to me that I am being
held to blame for all the ills of the world: the
destruction of the rainforests, the rail strike in
Germany, frequent volcanic eruptions in Iceland, and – it goes without saying - fluctuations
on the world’s stock markets.
I must assume I was also responsible for the
miserable weather in Switzerland this summer,
although one ought to be even-handed about
this and at least give me credit for the wonderful autumn.
One has to live with criticism in my position. But the principle of fair play should come
before everything else. If the boundary is
breached and fair play becomes foul, one must
be allowed to defend oneself, and that includes
against journalists. If you forget that losing is
always a possibility in football, you are in the
wrong place. Certain people appear to lack this
knowledge.
In my 40 years with FIFA I have learned to
live with hostility and resentment. However, as
the German-language proverb puts it, sympathy is free, but envy must be earned.
At the end of the day real life closely resembles events on the field of play: you only target
the man in possession. And as FIFA President
I am by definition the man on the ball.
Best wishes, Sepp Blatter
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
23
MEXICO
Keep moving
The Guerreros Aztecas are
amputee footballers in
Mexico City. Football helps
to keep their heads held high.
Tim Smyth (text), Bénédicte Desrus (photos), Mexico City
E
ighteen-year-old Baruch is one
of Mexico’s best young footballers. His mother is in charge of
keeping his press clippings and
here he is in one action shot,
holding himself suspended between his two crutches to smash a
stinging volley past the goalkeeper.
Two years ago, Baruch’s left leg
was amputated to halt the spread
of a malignant tumour. “Nothing
changed when they took the leg,”
Baruch shrugs, flicking on through
the plastic envelopes. “I’m better with
my right one anyway.” Baruch is the
captain of Guerreros Aztecas, a
Ready for training
Three players from Mexico City
team Guerreros Azteca.
24
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
MEXICO
Captain Fantastic
Eighteen-year-old Baruch receives
hearty congratulations.
Group photo
The Guerreros Azteca team pose for a
picture with a Mexican wrestler.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
25
MEXICO
Star player
25-year-old Rodrigo Fernandez Loya.
­ olunteer-run team of amputee footv
ballers whose ages, backgrounds and
professions cover the full sweep of
Mexican society.
From a government lawyer to a
one-armed waiter at one of the city’s
best cantinas, from a 25-year-old
high-school student to a 42-year-old
ex-quarterback, their stories are no
less varied. One of their midfielders
lost a leg saving a girl from an onrushing train. Their goalie lost his
arm in an industrial laundry.
Together, their experiences shed
light on one of Mexico’s most vulnerable populations: men of working age
who are missing a limb. Only 25% are
in employment or study.
“I’m trying to
use what I’ve
learned from
football”
23-man squad
In a city where accidents and illness
force 1,500 male amputees out of work
every year, Guerreros Aztecas is as
much about winning back dignity and
masculine identity as it is about winning games. And they are winning.
Founded one year ago by five players,
they now have a squad of twenty-three. Seven of them have made the
national team’s shortlist to represent
Mexico at this December’s Amputee
Soccer World Cup in Sinaloa.
One of them would have been Baruch. Expelled from school for missing
too many classes during his chemotherapy, Guerreros Aztecas has filled a
big gap in his life. “It’s my dream to
represent the guys, because they’re
like family to me, but my breath’s
­k illing me these days,” he says.
While his mother and grandmother have kept him in the dark
about the latest metastasis, he’s been
Googling his symptoms – the coughing, the spitting, the hot, coin-sized
26
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
MEXICO
discus of pain in his back. “I’m trying
to use what I’ve learned from football
– how to stay cool when things are
hard, how to focus on the present, all
that stuff.”
As Baruch’s team-mates gather to
help him face the biggest challenge of
his short life, we talk to them about
how they use their humour, their
­camaraderie and above all their football to keep their heads held high.
New perspectives
We also talked with Rodrigo Fernandez Loya, 25, one of the team’s biggest hopes for the World Cup. Having
been involved in a local 'barrio’ gang
for a lengthy period, he says that the
self-discipline he has developed during his time with Guerreros Aztecas
has helped him turn his life around
and swap the street-corner for the
classroom of his local high school.
“After the accident, I spent a year
saying ‘I can’t, I can’t’. It seemed like
too much to go on. Then I joined the
team. They welcomed me, hugged me,
made me feel part of it all, and didn’t
ask any questions about who I was
before. Now I look down and see my
missing leg, and I think ‘Whatever, it
happened. Keep moving’.” Å
Football for Hope
in Sierra Leone
Press-ups aplenty
Upper body training is essential.
Six outfield players
The seventh team-mate, the goalkeeper,
is not allowed to leave the penalty box.
No prosthetics allowed
Players prepare
for a training session.
Since 2005, FIFA’s Football for Hope initiative has been supporting programmes across the globe that combine football with social development.
The Single Leg Amputee Sports Association (SLASA) in Sierra Leone looks after
victims of war and is one of 107 programmes supported by Football for
Hope in 2014. It organises nationwide
football tournaments offering training
and advice to amputees while at the
same time enlightening the local population and thus improving integration.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
27
HISTORY
World Cup
emblems
1954 I S W I T Z E R L A ND
1958 I S W E DE N
1962 I C HIL E
1966 I E NGL A ND
1970 I ME X IC O
From the Eiffel Tower to a presidential palace and the International
Space Station, official World Cup emblems have been unveiled
to the public from some unusual locations. The logo provides each
tournament with its own unique visual identity.
Yvonne Lemmer
1974 I W E S T GE R M A N Y
1978 I A RGE N T IN A
1982 I S PA IN
O
n 28 October 2014, cosmonauts on the
International Space Station ISS unveiled
the emblem for the 2018 World Cup in
Russia, creating a spectacle that surpassed the efforts of all previous tournaments. Not all World Cup logo launches
have been as impressive since emblems – which
used to be known as signets – became part of
World Cup history at the 1954 edition in Switzerland. In the build-up to those finals, the Press
Committee decided that alongside the official
posters that had been used until then, a graphic
design should be created to characterise the
tournament and appear on all the Local Organising Committee’s correspondence and publications. To that end, the LOC held a design competition and involved Swiss artists in the
process. The winning proposal came from Herbert Leupin, a graphic designer from Basel.
Licensing impact
The main objective behind the creation of the
maiden World Cup logo in 1954 was to have a
28
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
visual symbol of the tournament which could
be used on printed material. The purpose
may not be much different nowadays, although there has been one important change
in the intervening years: in 1954 nobody
thought to market the emblem on a wider
scale. The commercial use of a World Cup
logo only began in earnest at England 1966,
although the tournament mascot, a lion
called World Cup Willie, stole the limelight
there. Indeed it was Willie, rather than the
emblem, who was visible on much of the competition merchandise.
Even in those early days the emblem design
was registered as a trademark, a factor that
has become increasingly important in recent
decades because without trademark protection a logo cannot be licensed. Today FIFA invests large sums of money to protect its event
emblems, and World Cup logos are recorded in
trademark registers across the globe so that
they can be used in merchandising and marketing. That also guarantees FIFA, its partners,
HISTORY
sponsors and licensees exclusive rights to use
the emblems, while any infringements by unauthorised parties are not permitted.
Such measures are logical, as by the 1974 World
Cup in Germany merchandising had taken off
on a huge scale for the first time and the emblem, depicting a rolling ball, adorned countless t-shirts, coins, glasses and sports bags
worldwide.
1986 I ME X IC O
Over the years, emblems have therefore
come to represent the visual identity of each
World Cup and are now an indispensible marketing tool. Income from merchandising
­enables FIFA to invest around $606,000 a day
in football development. Å
1990 I I TA LY
1994 I U S A
1998 I F R A NC E
2002 I KOR E A /JA PA N
LOC
Russia 2018
Cosmonauts in
space unveil the
official World
Cup emblem.
Quirinal Palace and the Eiffel Tower
Although the launch of the Russia 2018 emblem outdid everything that had gone before
it, there have nevertheless been memorable
unveiling ceremonies in the past. For instance,
the LOC for Italia ‘90 first revealed the tournament logo in Rome on 13 November 1986 at the
Quirinal Palace – the presidential residence –
in front of the Italian president Francesco Cossiga. Afterwards it was shown to the global
media at the Hotel Excelsior on Via Veneto. The
presence of numerous prominent figures from
the country’s political, economic and religious
circles showed the widespread backing the
tournament received from the Italian public.
France also made use of an iconic landmark to unveil the tournament logo for the
1998 finals. On 20 September 1994 the Local
Organising Committee revealed the emblem in
a public ceremony at the Eiffel Tower – where
else? The design, which shows a ball rising behind the earth like the sun, marked the start
of the World Cup in the country.
2006 I GE R M A N Y
2010 I S OU T H A F R IC A
2014 I BR A Z IL
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
29
EVERY GASP
EVERY SCREAM
EVERY ROAR
EVERY DIVE
EVERY BALL
E V E RY PAS S
EVERY CHANCE
EVERY STRIKE
E V E R Y B E AU T I F U L D E TA I L
SHALL BE SEEN
SHALL BE HEARD
S H A L L B E FE LT
Feel the Beauty
BE MOVED
THE NEW 4K LED TV
“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.
FREE KICK
F I F A ’ S 11
Beach soccer:
The highest-scoring
matches
Ten years
of TV
1
21 goals
Portugal 14-7 Uruguay
Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 Dubai
2
20 goals
Russia 12-8 Brazil
Beach Soccer World Cup 2011 Ravenna
3
18 goals
Brazil 10-8 Nigeria
Beach Soccer World Cup 2011 Ravenna
4
17 goals
Brazil 10-7 Portugal
Beach Soccer World Cup 2007
Rio de Janeiro
17 goals
Solomon Islands 4-13 Portugal
Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 Marseille
6
16 goals
Solomon Islands 2-14 Portugal
Beach Soccer World Cup 2006
Rio de Janeiro
16 goals
Brazil 10-6 USA
Beach Soccer World Cup 2006
Rio de Janeiro
16 goals
Brazil 11-5 Nigeria
Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 Dubai
16 goals
Switzerland 8-8 Senegal
Beach Soccer World Cup 2011 Ravenna
16 goals
Paraguay 10-6 Côte d’Ivoire
Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 Tahiti
11
15 goals
Uruguay 10-5 Solomon Islands
Beach Soccer World Cup 2006
Rio de Janeiro
Alan Schweingruber
S
tatistics suggest that the average central
European spends around 30 years of his life
consuming media, with television viewing
making up one third of that total. The people
behind these statistics could be forgiven for
suggesting that much more practical use could
be made of all those years spent in front of the
box. A walk in the woods can refresh mind and
body, for example, as can telling a bedtime story, baking a cake, listening to the radio, reading
a football magazine, writing a diary, calling a
chimney sweep, cutting a hedge or even taking
a nap. There are myriad reasons to not think
twice about digging that remote control out
from under the sofa cushions.
But there are always exceptions, not least
the 64 football matches played last June and
July that lured even the most ardent of workaholics away from their desks. Or news reports
about the Canadian goalkeeper who left the
country after being at fault for a goal and receiving a red card because he could not bear the
humiliation. Replays of the unofficial goal of
the month from Costa Rica (see page 15) also
make terrific viewing. It is certainly not easy to
leave the television switched off whenever football appears on the schedules.
It would be very interesting to know how
many years people spend waiting, but this figure has not been published. The reason for this
is obvious: there is no longer any such thing as
actual waiting. We usually deal with other
things while hanging around these days, perhaps pawing at a smartphone while standing at
a subway station or giving Mum (or the chimney sweep) a quick call. We might buy something from the vending machine or read an
e-newspaper on a tablet. Back in the days when
communication was still done via actual cables
and wires, we were simply doomed to wait –
even at home. This required great discipline for
a football coach suddenly sacked in the manner
apparently only found in the beautiful game;
after all, going for a woodland walk or cutting
the hedge is not an option when you have (and
want) to remain available for any club bosses
who might call.
Of course, the very best coaches had a Plan
B that was way ahead of its time: make yourself
unavailable. As every teenager learns when
making their first foray into the world of dating, being unavailable makes you interesting.
Today’s great footballing minds have to take a
sabbatical or travel to another continent to
completely cut loose. When Pep Guardiola was
at his most in-demand, he might have based his
decision to spend time in the USA on the fact
that Europeans spend roughly 1.5 years of their
lives on the telephone and the assumption that
New Yorkers must surely spend more than a
decade watching TV. That said, Americans also
have incredibly lengthy baseball games and the
world’s most exciting congressional elections
to hold their attention. Å
The weekly column by our staff
writers
Source: FIFA
(FIFA Documentation, Report:
Highest Scoring Matches FIFA Beach Soccer
World Cup, 04.11.2014)
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
31
MIRROR IMAGE
T
H
E
N
Cheadle, Staffordshire, England
Portuguese international Vicente Lucas pushes team-mate Jose Torres
around the pitch in a wheelbarrow after a training session.
32
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
1966
MIRROR IMAGE
N
O
W
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Serena Taylor / Newcastle United via Getty Images
2014
Newcastle United’s Jack Colback (left) and Ryan Taylor take part in a
‘wheelbarrow race’ during a training session at St. James’ Park.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
33
FIFA WORLD R ANKING
Rank Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
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
46
48
49
50
51
52
52
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
34
http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/index.html
Change in ranking Points
Germany
Argentina
Colombia
Belgium
Netherlands
Brazil
France
Uruguay
Portugal
Spain
0
0
0
1
-1
0
2
-1
2
-2
1669
1565
1420
1388
1375
1307
1191
1184
1175
1119
Italy
Switzerland
Chile
Croatia
Algeria
Costa Rica
Mexico
Greece
Ukraine
England
Romania
Czech Republic
USA
Slovakia
Côte d’Ivoire
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ecuador
Iceland
Austria
Russia
Tunisia
Denmark
Cape Verde Islands
Wales
Ghana
Slovenia
Scotland
Egypt
Sweden
Cameroon
Senegal
Nigeria
Northern Ireland
Poland
Israel
Turkey
Serbia
Albania
Trinidad and Tobago
Hungary
Iran
Japan
Togo
Peru
Guinea
Panama
South Africa
Mali
Bulgaria
Congo DR
Republic of Ireland
Congo
Finland
Montenegro
Uzbekistan
Korea Republic
Gabon
Norway
Honduras
Antigua and Barbuda
Burkina Faso
Guatemala
Libya
Jordan
Armenia
Paraguay
Sierra Leone
2
-2
-1
5
5
-1
-1
-4
5
-2
5
6
-6
16
-3
-1
-6
6
10
-7
0
-5
8
-5
-2
17
-8
23
-7
2
-5
-5
28
26
19
-8
-12
-3
37
4
-7
-4
73
-7
-7
-1
10
1
-13
13
1
-14
2
-21
-7
-3
16
8
-13
10
-23
-15
-5
-5
-23
-16
-2
1064
1063
1060
1002
989
974
954
946
920
919
876
870
862
861
842
837
826
816
810
792
780
763
716
715
685
683
674
658
646
637
635
632
625
621
615
614
614
604
598
561
560
559
559
558
552
546
542
533
532
521
519
512
510
504
498
496
487
481
480
478
469
466
440
434
432
423
421
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
Ranking 05 / 2014
06 / 2014
07 / 2014
08 / 2014
09 / 2014
10 / 2014
1
-40
-80
-120
-160
-200
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
88
88
88
92
93
94
95
96
97
97
99
99
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
113
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
126
128
129
130
131
132
132
134
134
136
137
138
138
140
141
142
143
144
Top spot Biggest climber Zambia
United Arab Emirates
Dominican Republic
Iraq
El Salvador
Oman
Uganda
Venezuela
Benin
Angola
Estonia
China PR
Morocco
Qatar
Lithuania
Haiti
Australia
Rwanda
Cyprus
Mozambique
Saudi Arabia
FYR Macedonia
Latvia
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Bolivia
Bahrain
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Belarus
Sudan
Palestine
Malawi
Tanzania
Ethiopia
Cuba
Namibia
Jamaica
St Kitts and Nevis
Kenya
Georgia
Lesotho
Moldova
Kuwait
Niger
Canada
Liberia
Lebanon
Equatorial Guinea
Azerbaijan
Luxembourg
Burundi
Philippines
Guinea-Bissau
New Zealand
Kazakhstan
Aruba
Tajikistan
Afghanistan
Vietnam
Myanmar
Turkmenistan
St Lucia
Mauritania
Chad
Maldives
Madagascar
Central African Republic
10
-6
27
9
-10
-7
-5
-19
-8
14
-7
9
-1
8
11
26
-10
-2
-11
12
-15
13
0
-9
-11
-9
0
1
-17
26
-6
-11
5
21
10
0
-13
2
-5
-7
-3
-14
4
-14
-2
3
-3
-11
-31
1
2
5
0
-13
-5
-3
2
1
6
6
3
-15
0
3
3
3
-7
Biggest faller
418
413
405
393
392
391
389
388
375
373
369
369
369
369
364
360
359
356
348
341
341
340
340
330
323
310
308
302
301
298
297
292
291
289
286
284
284
279
273
271
266
262
261
258
251
249
246
238
233
233
232
229
226
225
218
218
214
214
208
207
197
197
195
194
183
180
178
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
157
159
159
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
168
170
171
172
172
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
180
182
182
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
194
194
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
203
205
205
207
208
208
Grenada
Barbados
Curaçao
Korea DPR
Suriname
Kyrgyzstan
Syria
Guyana
New Caledonia
Laos
Liechtenstein
Malaysia
Indonesia
Malta
Puerto Rico
India
Singapore
Guam
Hong Kong
Swaziland
Thailand
Tahiti
Belize
Gambia
Nicaragua
Montserrat
Seychelles
Bermuda
Comoros
Sri Lanka
São Tomé e Príncipe
Bangladesh
Turks and Caicos Islands
Yemen
Nepal
Solomon Islands
Dominica
Pakistan
Timor-Leste
Macau
Cambodia
South Sudan
Faroe Islands
Chinese Taipei
Samoa
Vanuatu
Mauritius
Fiji
Mongolia
Bahamas
American Samoa
Tonga
US Virgin Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Papua New Guinea
Eritrea
Cayman Islands
Andorra
Somalia
British Virgin Islands
Djibouti
Cook Islands
Anguilla
Bhutan
San Marino
-8
15
1
2
-2
1
1
1
-16
15
17
-2
-1
-2
-2
-1
-12
2
1
-4
-7
-4
-4
-2
2
-2
1
-2
2
2
2
5
3
6
4
2
-13
-7
11
2
14
-1
-8
-10
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-1
-1
-1
-5
-5
0
2
-3
1
1
-4
0
0
0
0
0
176
172
171
168
167
158
154
148
142
141
136
134
129
129
119
119
115
111
109
103
102
100
99
90
90
86
81
80
80
76
72
68
66
62
61
53
53
51
51
49
46
43
42
39
37
33
32
30
29
26
26
26
20
15
13
11
10
9
8
8
6
6
2
0
0
THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL
Goleador with a golden voice
Hans Krankl’s footballing triumphs tend to overshadow
a lively and colourful singing career.
Hanspeter Kuenzler
Sion Ap Tomos
Y
ou would never have imagined Hans Krankl was suffering quite so much: “I’m all on my own today”, he wails
with utter conviction, “no-one likes me / I’m reduced to
tears / and waiting for you”. Fully in keeping with the pathos
in the song the nightingale of Vienna contrives a distant
resemblance to Freddy Mercury on the sleeve of “Lonely
Boy”, with his neatly-clipped moustache and an expression
of painful longing. Krankl’s song, an adaptation of Paul Anka’s 1958 hit and sung in Austrian German, actually climbed
to second in the Austrian hit parade in 1986. The element of
genius is not in fact the cosy and homely soft rock sound
but in the pseudonym chosen by Krankl, Johann K. Could
this be a subtle reference to Josef K., the storm-tossed leading character in Franz Kafka’s “The Trial”? Or perhaps even
a knowing nod to Scottish New Wave band Josef K, whose
canny influence still reverberates today via bands such as
Franz Ferdinand? Nor was Krankl a one-hit wonder. His first
two singles were released in 1974 when he was playing up
front for Rapid Vienna, although he now says they were
“a musical cardinal sin”. After that, he sang neither about
the “Miracle of Cordoba”, Austria’s victory over Germany at
the 1978 World Cup featuring a Krankl brace, nor indeed
a successful stint with Barcelona which earned him the
reverent nickname of “Goleador”. It was 1984 before he
ventured back to the microphone with “Rostige Flügel”
(literally ‘Rusty Wings’) as a guest with Kottans Kapelle, a
fictional band from a popular Austrian detective series.
Further singles followed, including an adaptation of
J.J. Cale’s enduring hit “Cocaine”, retitled as “Aspirin”. There
were even LPs, including a “Best Of...” collection. And
Krankl is still singing: “If you think Johann K. only guests
with Monti Beton, you’d be wrong,” reads a message on the
website of Vienna band Monti Beton. The name loosely
­refers to Monty Python, and the band specialises in Austrianised versions of songs largely drawn from the canon of
Anglo-Saxon rock classics. “He is a full member of Monti
Beton on vocals and percussion,” the message states. Æ
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
35
Football is a
brotherhood. It’s peace.
© 2014 Visa. All rights reserved.
Oscar Arias
Nobel Peace Laureate
TURNING POINT
“I spoke
to God”
Free-scoring Paraguayan
forward Salvador Cabanas was
poised to play for his country
at South Africa 2010 when he
was shot in the head and left
fighting for his life.
Jorge Adorno / Reuters
T
he 25th of January 2010 was the day
that changed my life forever. It started
with me in a nightclub in Mexico City,
where I’d been playing for America in
the Mexican first division since 2006.
I’d done pretty well there and I’d scored
66 goals in 115 matches for the team up to
that point. I was in the toilet at the nightclub
when a man holding a gun suddenly came up
to me and said: “I’ve been sent to kill, so
you’d better make your last wish now. You’re
robbing the people of Mexico.” Then he shot
me in the head and left me seriously injured.
My feeling is that he did it because I was the
second-highest paid player in the Mexican
league after Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
I lost consciousness and was taken to
hospital. While I was unconscious I heard
the doctors tell my parents to prepare for my
funeral. It was then that I spoke to God, who
told me that my time had not come yet and
that I still had a task to perform on Earth.
My only wish after I woke up was to get
back to playing professional football and
I started rehabilitation as soon as I could.
I did some running, but I spent more time in
the pool than anywhere else, trying to build
up my strength and regain fitness. I also did
some training with the ball.
In February 2011 I had my first training
session with a professional team, Paraguayan first division side Club Libertad. The following year I was given a contract by third
division team 12 de Octubre, the club where
I started my professional career, but I found
it hard to play to my previous standard.
I only played one league game for them, and
Name
Salvador Cabanas
Date and place of birth
5 August 1980, Itaugua
Position played
Striker
Clubs played for
1998 – 2001 12 de Octubre
1999 Guarani (on loan)
2001 – 2003 Audax Italiano
2003 – 2006 Chiapas FC
2006 – 2010 America
Paraguay national team
44 caps, ten goals
I told the directors I would understand if
they felt I couldn’t make it as a professional
player. That’s what happened, and I realised
it for myself after brief spells with General
Caballero in the Paraguayan second division
and fourth-tier Brazilian side Tanabi. I retired from the professional game at the end
of May 2014.
I have seriously impaired vision in my left
eye because the bullet is still lodged behind
my left ear. The doctors couldn’t take it out
because the operation would have been very
risky. Luckily the shooting hasn’t seriously
affected my health in any other way, though
it prevented me from playing for Paraguay at
the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
My six goals in the qualifiers played a big
part in the national team reaching the world
finals, and missing out on an opportunity
like that really hurt. I don’t feel any hate for
the man who shot me, though. I have for­
given him. I’ve never seen him and I’ve never
spoken to him.
Since retiring I’ve been helping my parents
at their bakery in the city of Itaugua in Paraguay. I’m not working right now and I’m living
with my parents. My plan is to carry on working at my football academy in Asuncion. Å
As told to Peter Eggenberger
In Turning Point, personalities reflect
on a decisive moment in their lives.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
37
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FIFA QUIZ CUP
The most remote World Cup event of all time and a legendary goal –
test your knowledge!
1
Rooney and Ronaldo played here in 2014, but which of these stadiums has a capacity
that is the same regardless of whether you read the number backwards or forwards?
(Example: a stadium that holds 123,321 spectators)
President:
Joseph S. Blatter
Secretary General:
Jérôme Valcke
Director of Communications
and Public Affairs:
Walter De Gregorio
B
Chief Editor:
Perikles Monioudis
Staff Writers:
Alan Schweingruber,
Sarah Steiner, Tim Pfeifer
2
H
R
O
L
Picture Editor:
Peggy Knotz
Production:
Hans-Peter Frei
3
Proof Reader:
Nena Morf, Kristina Rotach
F
S
This team recently hosted a World Cup event.
How far away was the nearest inhabited place?
Art Direction:
Catharina Clajus
Layout:
Richie Krönert (Lead),
Tobias Benz, Marianne Bolliger-Crittin,
Susanne Egli, Alissa Rosskopf
C
less than 3 km
3 – 30 km
30 – 300 km
more than 300 km
Which of these teams only played two international matches together –
the semi-final and Final of a World Cup?
Contributors:
Sérgio Xavier Filho, Luigi Garlando,
Sven Goldmann, Hanspeter Kuenzler,
Jordi Punti, Thomas Renggli,
David Winner, Roland Zorn
A
Contributors to this Issue:
Peter Eggenberger,
Andrés de Kartzow, Yvonne Lemmer,
Tim Smyth, Andreas Wilhelm
Editorial Assistant:
Honey Thaljieh
Project Management:
Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub
4
I
O
U
The football world knows this man's name thanks to one very special goal,
but where did he place his shot?
E
B
Translation:
Sportstranslations Limited
www.sportstranslations.com
T
P
Printer:
Zofinger Tagblatt AG
www.ztonline.ch
Contact:
[email protected]
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 HULK
Detailed answers on www.fifa.com/theweekly
Inspiration and implementation: cus
Send your answer by 12 November 2014 to [email protected].
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
39
L A S T W E E K’S P O L L R E S U LT S
T HIS WEEK’S POLL
Which of the last six editions was
the best FIFA World Cup?
49+15+131175
7%
Which of the following quarter-finalists are
your favourites to win the 2014 – 2015
CONCACAF Champions League?
5%
11%
49%
13%
15%
≠ ≠ ≠ Brazil 2014
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
≠ ≠ ≠ France 1998
Korea / Japan 2002
USA 1994
Choose from the following:
· Alajuelense (CRC)
· America (MEX)
· D.C. United (USA)
· Herediano (CRC)
· Montreal Impact (CAN)
· Olimpia (HON)
· Pachuca (MEX)
· Saprissa (CRC)
Cast your votes at:
Fifa.com/newscentre
“I had the luck of seeing him from another perspective. He is very polite, relaxed, gentle.
He is not only interested in the footballer, but in the person and his family.”
Dutch defender Paul Verhaegh on
former national team coach Louis van Gaal
ing; the first
56
time since 1970
goal and 45 home games unbeat-
international goals was the tally
that such a run
en against Celta Vigo were the
that established Lotta Schelin as
has been strung
sequences that came to a shock
the record scorer for Sweden’s
together. Manchester
end for Barcelona. Having not
women’s national team. Hanna
City’s latest victory
won at the Camp Nou in 73
Ljungberg had held the national
established them as
years, Celta emerged with a
record since 2008, but was
just the second team,
hard-earned 1-0 scoreline and
eclipsed when her former
after Liverpool, to inflict
became the first visiting La
team-mate scored the
four straight defeats on
Liga team to register a shutout
opener in a 2-1 defeat to
Manchester United in
against the Catalans since
Germany.
the Premier League era.
Sevilla in 2011.
4
successive Manchester derbies have
now ended with
the blue half of
the city celebrat-
successive home league matches
in which they scored at least one
Orlando Sierra / AFP, Getty Images (2), imago
73
WEEK IN NUMBERS