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ISSUE 1/2015, 9 JANUARY 2015
ENGLISH EDITION
Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904
FIFA Ballon d’Or 2014 in Zurich
SHOWDOWN
ARGENTINA
CITIES GRIPPED BY
FIVE-A-SIDE FEVER
VIETNAM
FRESH START FOR
HOANG ANH GIA LAI
LUCAS RADEBE
MY MUM’S MOMENT
OF INSPIRATION
W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY
THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL
6
North and
Central America
35 members
www.concacaf.com
Let the show begin
Cables have been laid, spotlights set up, glasses
polished – and even the golden trophy is ready
and waiting. As the Kongresshaus gears up for
theFIFA Ballon d’Or Gala on 12 January 2015,
join Alan Schweingruber on a walk around
wintry Zurich.
23
S epp Blatter
The FIFA President discusses the Ballon d’Or
2014 and why individual awards are important
and appropriate, even in team sport.
24
F ive friends are all you need
Whether on rooftops, under motorways or
between high-rise buildings, the ball is the
centre of attention wherever you go in
Buenos Aires.
35
Netzer knows!
“The country must try to introduce reforms,”
says our expert Gunter Netzer when asked what
can be done about Italy’s Serie A.
South America
10 members
www.conmebol.com
37
Lucas Radebe
The South African recalls how
an idea from his mother
sparked his footballing career
into life.
18
Showdown
Our cover picture shows the city of
Zurich in Switzerland, venue for the
Ballon d’Or 2014. The image was
captured on 6 January 2015.
Herve Renard
The Cote d’Ivoire coach wants to
lead his team to victory at the Africa
Cup of Nations and hopes Didier
Drogba might return one day.
Special edition from the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala!
On Monday 12 January 2015, a special edition of The FIFA Weekly
will be published for guests at the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala, right
after the ceremony. This issue will be available as an e-paper via
the FIFA Weekly app on Tuesday.
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T H E F I FA W E E K LY
The FIFA Weekly Magazine App
The FIFA Weekly is available in four
languages as an e-Magazine and on
your tablet every Friday.
http://www.fifa.com/mobile
Getty Images (3), imago (1)
Sophie Stieger
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
17
Vietnamese V-League
Hoang Anh Gia Lai are taking
the league by storm, with help
from Arsenal and a dash of
youthful exuberance.
16
Roberto Carlos
The Brazilian is staying in Turkey
after taking up a new post with
Belediyespor.
CAF Africa Cup of Nations · 17 January to 8 February 2015
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Equatorial Guinea
Zambia
Ghana
Côte d’Ivoire
Burkina Faso
Tunisia
Algeria
Mali
Gabon
Cape Verde Islands
South Africa
Cameroon
Congo
Congo DR
Senegal
Guinea
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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UNCOVERED
Legend status assured Stanley Matthews collects the Ballon d’Or in February 1957.
Golden glamour
M
essi, Neuer or Ronaldo? The entire footballing world – and thus the world in
general – will spend this week asking who will be crowned the world’s best player for the past year. Whatever the outcome, there is no doubt that the recipient
will be a deserving winner – something which applies without exception to all of the
Gala’s nominees. In his weekly column, FIFA President Sepp Blatter reaffirms the
importance of individual accolades in football, and says on page 23: “Especially in an
era where teams are increasingly well organised and tactically astute, outstanding
individuals assume decisive significance.”
I
A
n the build-up to next week’s main event, our reporter Alan Schweingruber visited
Zurich to see how preparations for the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala are coming along and
to sample the mood in Switzerland’s largest city, which becomes the centre of the
footballing world for one evening each year. His report begins on page six.
Offside / L’Équipe
lthough major cities often lack the necessary space to provide football pitches for
their inhabitants, nowhere is this problem more obvious than in a densely populated, football-mad metropolis like Buenos Aires. From page 24, Karen Naundorf
reports on the popularity of the five-a-side game played in small spaces across the
Argentinian capital. Å
Perikles Monioudis
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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F I F A B A L L O N D ’ O R 2 0 14
Global
spectacle
Whenever footballers don their tuxedos,
an important event is about to take place.
We spend a day in Zurich, where the
world’s best players will be honoured
on 12 January 2015.
Getty Images (3)
Alan Schweingruber (text) and
Sophie Stieger (photos), Zurich
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F I F A B A L L O N D ’ O R 2 0 14
Kongresshaus
Stars and fans an hour
before the Gala begins.
Ballon d’Or
The trophy awarded
to the world’s best player.
Reigning champion
Cristiano Ronaldo on the
red carpet (2014).
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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F I F A B A L L O N D ’ O R 2 0 14
Zurich at dusk
The world football elite will gather here on 12 January 2015.
Ballon d’Or 2013 Pep Guardiola
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the Year; a 27-year-old wunderkind-turned-superstar from Argentina, four-time winner of the award; and an athletic 28-year-old
German custodian who has revolutionised goalkeeping. All of them
would stand there smiling.
It is 8 a.m. on Monday morning and of course the world’s three
best players are otherwise engaged, rather than shivering at a prearranged photo shoot with a perfect backdrop. They are probably
drinking an espresso somewhere in Madrid, Barcelona or Munich
before heading to the airport to fly to Zurich. Eight coveted trophies
will be awarded in Switzerland’s largest city at the glamorous FIFA
Ballon d’Or Gala, which concludes at 8 p.m. with the presentation of
the World Player of the Year award. Will it be Ronaldo, Messi or
Lionel Messi
Sophie Stieger/13 Photo
I
t is not difficult to imagine the big three of Cristiano Ronaldo,
Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer standing here in Burkliplatz
square on the banks of Lake Zurich, where passenger ships
pick up and drop off their travellers. That trio posing together
would make quite a picture, especially with the mist hovering
over the water’s surface in the background, the silhouettes
of the nearby Alps clearly visible and the rising sun warming
the subjects’ backs on this cold January morning. It would
only take a couple of minutes for a photograph for all eternity
to be taken of the game’s most influential stars in 2014.
Their warm breath would dissipate in the air. A 29-year-old
expert dribbler from Portugal, the reigning World Player of
F I F A B A L L O N D ’ O R 2 0 14
Getty Images (4)
The Kongresshaus
is sprucing itself up
for a Gala that promises
huge excitement.
Pele
Neuer? National team coaches and captains, as well as select football
journalists, had until 21 November 2014 to cast their votes.
Calm before the storm
The sun burns away the fog and as cars race past Burkliplatz, some
drivers turn their heads to glance at the Kongresshaus and see the
unique atmosphere that is building there, before continuing on to
work. Thick cables are being laid and a British television network
has parked a van next to the bushes. In a couple of hours they will
broadcast live, with their pictures sent out across the globe. A rugged
technician in a pullover still looks a tad sleepy as he gets out of the
vehicle. Memories of his nimble compatriot Stanley Matthews flash
Neymar
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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All you need to know
Who gets to vote for all of these awards?
How does voting for the FIFA Puskás Award work?
Voting for the four players and coaches awards is open to
national team coaches, national team captains and journalists around the world, who are named on a list compiled by
France Football and FIFA. The votes are totted up by an
electronic system monitored by a notary. The coaches, captains and media that vote for the award make three selections, their first, second and third choice for each particular
award with five, three and one points awarded for each
respectively. Each award is given to the person who receives
the highest weighted percentage of votes, in relation to the
other nominees. In the event of a tie, the player or coach with
the most ’five-point’ scores receives the award.
The winner of the FIFA Puskás Award is selected by the
users of FIFA.com and Francefootball.fr, who choose their
favourite goal from an initial shortlist of ten contenders before
the first deadline (on this occasion 1 December 2014). The
three goals receiving the most votes then go forward to the
final round, when the votes cast by the users of both sites are
added to those obtained by each goal in the first round to
decide the overall winner.
Coaches, captains and specialist journalists are informed
of the deadline when they are invited to vote. The deadline for
the 2014 vote was 21 November.
What steps are taken to protect the integrity of the voting
results and compliance with the rules of allocation?
FIFA and France Football have appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as independent observers to supervise and
monitor the award procedures. PwC records the results and
keeps them under lock and key until the evening of the FIFA
Ballon d’Or Gala.
Every FIFPro-affiliated player is free to vote for any active
professional player in the world to make up their ideal XI in
a 4-3-3 formation. FIFPro then counts the votes, with the
FIFA FIFPro World XI finally being revealed on the day of the
FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala.
How are the FIFA Presidential and Fair Play
awards chosen?
The winner of the FIFA Presidential Award is decided on by
the FIFA President himself, while candidates for the FIFA Fair
Play Award are submitted to FIFA by individuals and groups.
The submitted nominations for the Award are reviewed and
finalised by the FIFA CSR Department according to the Rules
of Allocation. The winner is selected by the members of the
FIFA Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility.
Gala The FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala will be broadcast live on television, from 18:30 to 20:00.
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T H E F I FA W E E K LY
Mike Hewitt/FIFA via Getty Images
When is the deadline for voting?
And how is the FIFA FIFPro World XI selected?
F I F A B A L L O N D ’ O R 2 0 14
Sophie Stieger/13 Photo , Getty Images (2)
Not long to wait
All is still calm at the Zurich Kongresshaus on the morning of the event.
to mind, the winner of the inaugural Ballon d’Or back in 1956. Matthews was 41 at the time and beat greats such as Alfredo Di Stefano
and Raymond Kopa to the award, and would continue to play for a
further nine years. The Player of the Year honour was created by
France Football magazine that year and it is a prize steeped in tradition, although it all seems rather distant as the technician yawns and
stretches.
The Zurich Kongresshaus is sprucing itself up for a Ballon d’Or Gala
that promises huge excitement. Should Ronaldo win, it would be
his third triumph, putting him just one behind Messi. It is therefore
probably the Portuguese’s last opportunity to reduce the deficit in
the hope of one day levelling the score with his Argentinian rival, as
he turns 30 in February. Ronaldo stands a good chance of defending
his crown too, having won the Champions League with Real Madrid
and scored an astonishing 25 goals in 15 league matches towards the
end of 2014.
Messi is in similarly good form for Barcelona, although he only
managed to find the net 15 times. However, he did lead Argentina to
the World Cup final and was also voted as the tournament’s best
player, whereas Ronaldo and Portugal returned home from Brazil
after the group stage. Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer has the advantage of having won the World Cup, as well as being able to look back
on almost flawless performances for club and country last year. One
thing that may also count in Neuer’s favour compared to other goal-
Zinedine Zidane
Xavi
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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F I F A B A L L O N D ’ O R 2 0 14
Afternoon
The sun burns through the mist on Lake Zurich.
Steeped in history
Musical greats such as Miles Davis
once played at the Kongresshaus.
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T H E F I FA W E E K LY
F I F A B A L L O N D ’ O R 2 0 14
Nobody could have
predicted just how much
the game would develop.
keepers – the last time a custodian won the prize was back in 1963 – is
that he is also an excellent outfield player, able to help out in defence
if needed. Images of the Gelsenkirchen native’s heroics in helping
Germany beat Algeria in the Round of 16 at Brazil 2014 attracted
worldwide attention last summer.
Sophie Stieger/13 Photo (2), Getty Images (2)
Trophy in Zurich before Christmas
The lake glistens under the midday sun as Asian tourists, wrapped
up in thick jackets, buy tickets for a boat tour on the jetty. In the
Middle Ages, Lake Zurich – which was formed during the last Ice
Age – was an important link in international trade, with metals,
textiles, salt and wine all transported across it. Even today it would
be possible to carry the golden Ballon d’Or trophy, newly minted in
France, across the lake directly to the Kongresshaus. A romantic
notion, perhaps, but it would look wonderful in our imaginary
photograph. The trophy actually arrives at the Home of FIFA in
Zurich before Christmas and is then transferred to the Kongresshaus
by truck.
Celebrities enjoy coming to Zurich because they can stay here
without fear of being constantly disturbed. The Swiss are known for
being reserved and were it not for the cold weather, famous faces
would have no need to hide beneath their hats and coats. Nevertheless, the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala does provide an exception and on the
day of the ceremony there is a huge sense of excitement throughout
the city. After all, it is not often that so many of the game’s elite are
in Switzerland at the same time; around 120 flights are scheduled to
land in Zurich on the morning of the event.
to sit on the steps in a t-shirt and eat a ham sandwich. Behind him,
to the side of the building, a Portuguese journalist looks earnestly
into a camera, only interrupting his report to allow a female colleague
to fix his hair as they rehearse for a live broadcast. On the next street,
close to the red carpet, three young women sit on the pavement,
drinking tea from a thermos flask.
Miles Davis, the legendary musician who passed away in 1991,
once said that all melodies had already been composed somewhere,
implying that music had lost the capacity to reinvent itself. Davis
was a wonderful musician and visionary, but his statement was wide
of the mark: years later Supertramp enjoyed great success, to be
followed followed by Nirvana and Radiohead. Football fans have
experienced a similar process. In the 1950s Alfredo di Stefano left
Argentina for Europe and showed the Old Continent that a new kind
of football was possible. At the time nobody could have predicted just
how much the sport would develop in terms of athleticism and technique. When Johan Cruyff came along in the 1970s, and certainly by
the time Diego Maradona arrived a decade later, journalists ran out
of superlatives to describe their abilities, leading to the creation of
terms such as “wizard” and “god” to describe players’ talents. Whether or not footballers are better now than they were in the days of Di
Stefano, Cruyff or Maradona is irrelevant because the game always
has the capacity to reinvent itself. For example, in the 1990s Zinedine
Zidane demonstrated the kind of touch never before
witnessed in football. Was he the best ever?
Capacity for reinvention
In the afternoon there is greater bustle around the Kongresshaus and
the temperature also rises slightly, enough for the English technician
Pull of the unknown
The Zurich Kongresshaus also has a musical history, with Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr. and Ray Charles among the artists to have performed here, while even Miles Davis is said to have taken to the stage
with his trumpet here in 1960. A wave of melancholy surges with such
nostalgic thoughts while standing on-site, as the protagonists have
long since moved on. However, the desire to come back here never
wanes because the new and the unknown always hold a certain fascination.
Dusk settles over Zurich and the mist returns once more. It is easy
to imagine the big three, Neuer, Ronaldo and Messi, standing here.
Another hour and they will be in their tuxedos, waving on the red
carpet. They will undoubtedly have their picture taken inside the
Kongresshaus - and even without the sun and the Alps in the background, it will still make un unforgettable photograph. Å
Wayne Rooney
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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Italy: Serie A
Hot s t u f f i n
Ja nu a r y
Andreas Jaros is a Vienna-based
freelance writer.
With all manner of drama –
from sensational victories to
back-to-back dismissals and
even a “Wembley goal” – the Italian championship served up plenty of talking points as it
returned from its short winter break.
Andrea Di Marco / Keystone / EPA
The closest rivals to league leaders Juventus,
Roma are now a single point behind the Turin
side after recording a 1-0 win against Udinese
on Tuesday evening. But there was one key
question surrounding the winning goal: did
Davide Astori’s header from a Francesco Totti
free-kick fully cross the line? The referee’s
verdict was a resounding yes as he corrected
the linesman to rule that the ball had
bounced behind the goal line after striking
the underside of the crossbar, but even
slow-motion replays could not offer any
conclusive evidence. In any event, advocates
I N S I D E
Advocates of goal-line
technology in Serie A
received a huge boost.
of goal-line technology in Serie A received a
huge boost during this 6 January encounter.
AC Milan have yet to experience a similar
upswing in fortunes, as a shock 2-1 home
defeat by Sassuolo marked the first time in
17 years that the Rossoneri have lost their
opening game of the New Year. The 18-time
Italian champions made a dream start to the
match when former Sassuolo midfielder
Andrea Poli opened the scoring after just
eight minutes, but this proved to be the high
point of the seventh-placed side’s performance.
Another big name, Parma, have made an even
more catastrophic start to the season than
their Milanese rivals and currently sit 19th in
the Serie A standings. Despite their precarious position, the Crociati gave their fans hope
for 2015 with a 1-0 victory over Fiorentina.
The visitors seemed content to continue
giving gifts a full two weeks after Christmas
as an unsettled Mario Gomez conceded a
penalty while team-mates Gonzalo Rodriguez
and Stefan Savic were both given their
marching orders.
Despite all this excitement, the eyes of a
nation were fixed on the Derby d’Italia.
Champions Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw
by Inter, who signed Lukas Podolski on loan
in time for the world champion to make his
debut as a second-half replacement. Teammate Mauro Icardi scored his fifth goal in
four matches against the Turin side to cancel
out Carlos Tevez’s early strike, while Inter’s
Mateo Kovacic was sent off towards the end
of an intense and heated encounter. Podolski
also provided an entertaining diversion off
the pitch by exchanging digs with former
Inter playmaker Lothar Matthaus. “He tweets
more than he plays. He needs to concentrate
on football,” the 1990 Ballon d’Or winner said
of the 29-year-old striker. The latter opted to
demonstrate his counterattacking skills away
from social media after being brought on as a
54th-minute substitute for his new club. Å
Debut boy Lukas Podolski made his first appearance for
Inter Milan against Juventus.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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Tu r k e y : S ü p e r L i g
Ro b e r to C a r l o s ’
e n d u r i n g Tu r k i s h
l ove a f f a i r
Sven Goldmann is a leading
football correspondent at Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin.
It is next stop Akhisar Bele­
diyespor for Roberto Carlos,
whose association with Turkey is not over just
yet. FIFA World Cup-winner Carlos spent two
seasons playing for Fenerbahce in the twilight
years of his career, before taking up the reins
as coach of Sivasspor in June 2013. Last
summer the Seleção great had spoken of
offers coming in from all over the world.
Clubs in China were apparently interested in
securing his services, and there was talk of a
long-awaited return to Spain. The off-season
duly came and went though, and the legend­
ary full-back stayed with Sivasspor, a provin­
cial club in central Turkey, about as far
removed as one could get from Istanbul’s glitz
and glamour and the famous rivalries be­
tween the nation’s three foremost clubs
Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Galatasaray.
New challenge Roberto Carlos is taking over the reins at Akhisar Belediyespor.
The Brazilian did a commendable job in Sivas,
leading the club to a fifth-placed finish in his
first season. It was a campaign that should
have been the springboard to his next chal­
lenge, but offers of a move to somewhere
bigger and better did not materialise. So
Roberto Carlos stayed, and suffered a case of
second season syndrome as Sivas dropped to
second-bottom in the table. After a 2-0 defeat
against Basaksehirspor shortly before Christ­
mas, the 41-year-old took his leave of the club,
and his Turkish adventure seemed to have
come to an end.
The move represents another challenging step
for the 125-time international. Ostensibly,
Akhisar Belediyespor are in a healthy situation,
sitting 11th in the table, but another glance at
the standings reveals just a three-point cush­
ion over his former employers Sivasspor.
Moreover, Akhisar Belediyespor’s recent form
is cause for alarm. Despite being top of the
league early on this season, they are now
winless in ten matches and their last victory
came in mid-October, a 2-0 success against
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T H E F I FA W E E K LY
This will be Robert Carlos’ third post as a
coach after a playing career that spanned 19
years. Before joining Sivasspor in June 2013,
he had been interim manager of Russian club
Anzhi Makhachkala, taking over from Gadzhi
Muslimovich Gadzhiyev. Å
Despite sitting 11th in the table,
Akhisar Belediyespor are in a
­p recarious position.
imago
As it turned out however, another Süper Lig
side, Akhisar Belediyespor stepped in and
recently announced that the three-time UEFA
Champions League winner had taken the
position of technical director. Roberto Carlos
is reported to have agreed terms with the
club’s directors until the end of this season
with the option of a further 12 months. Carlos
is also said to be in line to become the team’s
new coach, and will start work as the succes­
sor to Mustafa Resit Akcay in the coming
days after being introduced to the players at
the club’s training ground.
Kasimpasa Istanbul. Their final game before
the winter break yielded a 3-1 loss to Bursaspor,
meaning the former Real Madrid stalwart has a
job on his hands to arrest the current slide.
Vietnam: V-League
Yo u t h a n d v i r t u e
Roland Zorn is a Frankfurt-based
football correspondent.
The action has resumed in
the Vietnamese V-League,
with reigning champions
Becamex Binh Duong sending out a clear
statement of intent in their opening game by
thrashing Dong Thap 6-1.
Getty Images
Impressive as that was, however, a different
team stole the headlines in the first round of
matches in the new campaign. The youthful
passion of Hoang Anh Gia Lai has captured
the imagination of a football-crazy nation,
drawing attention away from the experienced
professionals lacing their boots for the
titleholders. The club, based in the city of
Pleiku in the country’s highlands and run by
a Vietnamese conglomerate, are aiming to
reap the rewards of an audacious strategy:
HAGL, as both the company and the team are
known for short, terminated the contracts of
17 players, including a number of internationals, in order to give youth a chance. Hoang
Anh Gia Lai’s youngsters profit from training
at a youth academy which was set up in 2007
with Arsenal’s support and professional
expertise. The most promising of the new
crop of players made their debuts in the
V-League on 4 January and had an instant
impact. In front of a capacity crowd of 10,000
at their home stadium, HAGL recorded a 4-2
victory over Sanna Khan Hoal, newcomers in
the 14-team league, expanded from 12 last
season.
According to company CEO Doang Nguyen
Duc, the triumph of Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s
U-19s should serve as an example of the new
spirit the V-League should aspire to, having
recently suffered from financial problems as
well as corruption and manipulation scandals.
“I’m fighting for the purity of football,” Duc
said prior to the start of the campaign. “To do
so, I’m starting by ensuring our team is clean.
Our fantastic young players are always
hungry for victory, with fair play constantly
in mind.”
Duc’s words leave little room for misinterpretation as he aims to infuse greater honesty
and youthful vigour into the league which
was established in 1980. The club’s fans gave
their enthusiastic backing during the opening
victory and immediately discovered a new
local hero: gifted striker Nguyen Cong
Phuong, who scored two of the precocious
side’s four goals. If the 19-year-old can continue in the same vein, he could well attract
Arsenal’s attention one day. Å
One to watch 19-year-old Nguyen Cong Phuong has a
highly-promising future ahead of him.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
17
THE INTERVIEW
“There can only be one
king per territory”
Just as he did when he was coach of Zambia in 2012, Cote d’Ivoire manager
Herve Renard is aiming to lead the Elephants to victory at the Africa Cup of Nations,
which kicks off on January 17, 2015.
Usually qualification to the Nations Cup is easy
for Cote d’Ivoire but this time you struggled.
Hervé Renard: The players told me, hey, it
was never as difficult for us in the qualifiers
before as it was this time. But maybe it is a
good thing for us because it makes us realise
now we are not the favourites and we are in a
transition between the old players and new
additions, and so that is never easy to make
these changes. You can see it happening in
Europe too with countries like the Netherlands and Spain after the World Cup. It has
been very difficult for them so why wouldn’t
it be the same for an African team.
Do you get a sense the manner of the Ivorian
elimination from the World Cup in Brazil was a
big psychological blow for the Ivorian players
and there is still a bit of a hangover?
Yes and this is the reason they explained
to me why, at the end of the last qualifier
against Cameroon (a 0-0 draw that gave the
Ivorians the point they needed to qualify,
ed.), they held onto the ball so much near the
end of the game without using it effectively.
Kolo Toure told me: “It will always stay in my
mind those last 30 seconds against Greece.
We were almost in the second round but
because we were not disciplined enough, we
got a counter-attack against us, a penalty and
we were out.” So, they did not want to have
the same thing happen again and that’s why
we didn’t get the victory at home at the end
against Cameroon. It was not good the way
the game ended, it was too nervy and we
could have done things better. But for all of
the players, it was the same. They all said: “At
least we have qualified.”
Is there a big difference in terms of pressure
and expectation between your last job in
Africa with Zambia and a top ranked country
like Cote d’Ivoire?
To be honest I can’t see any difference yet.
Maybe now as we go to the Nations Cup it will
be different but everywhere in Africa people
think you need to win all the time. Even in
Zambia when we were not winning, they were
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T H E F I FA W E E K LY
not happy. They quickly forgot what we did in
winning the Nations Cup in 2012. The pressure was always there, even when we went to
play friendly games. Fans wanted you to come
back with a winning result. They would not
accept that sometimes you need matches to
try and build something rather than worry
about the result. I’m sure that had we not
qualified, it may have been terrible for me.
As a coach you always know the rules: if you
do not qualify a team like Cote d’Ivoire for a
tournament, then I don’t think I’d ever be
able to take another step in the country
(laughs). But this is football everywhere.
In 2012 you won the Nations Cup with Zambia
but in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers you found
it hard to freshen up an ageing team and did
not qualify for Brazil. Are the Ivorians in a
similar predicament?
I’d say yes, it’s exactly the same. The
problem in Cote d’Ivoire is the transition and
to find a good team spirit. There is a lot of
skill, a lot of players are playing around the
world for big clubs but maybe we have too
many good players for the same positions. If
you look at the strikers’ position, there is
Wilfried Bony, Didier Drogba, Seydou Doumbia of CSKA Moscow. He’s a Champions
League player who can’t get in the team. It’s
tough to have to choose between them; all of
them want to play and when you leave them
on the bench sometimes it is very difficult for
them to accept. So far I have not had a lot of
problems with that but I know as soon as
possible I have to find the right combination
to make the strongest team possible … and
with a very good team spirit. I don’t think we
are 100 percent right now.
That was one of your successes with Zambia,
a good team spirit born out of consistent
selection. Have you got time to try and achieve
the same with the Elephants?
It will be more difficult because to build a
very good team spirit in football you need a
lot of humility; to forget where you are
coming from during the week. When you
wear the shirt of the national team you have
to forget sometimes about yourself and only
concentrate on playing for the team. When
there is a big squad like we have sometimes,
especially in Africa, when they come back to
their country they think sometimes they are
the king. A lot of them. But usually there can
only be one king per territory. So it can be
difficult (laughs).”
Didier Drogba has not played since you’ve
come on board as Cote d’Ivoire coach but
from what you’ve been able to understand,
how influential was he?
He is a huge loss. When I heard he wanted
to stop (playing international football, ed.) for
these qualifiers it was a big blow. After the
World Cup it was difficult with him as he had
his comeback at Chelsea and wanted to focus
his energies on his club. Maybe not so much
these days in terms of performance, but in
terms of charisma I think he is a huge player
who gets the players behind him. Even if
some are able to do the same, they don’t have
the impact he has. I hope he will be able to
change his mind … but it’s not sure … and I
hope that the other players will accept that he
comes back.
Are you talking to him?
Yes, of course. I’m always talking to him. I
wanted to hear his explanation why and it
was a very honest explanation. I understood
why. But now after some time I hope he’ll
change his mind. Å
Hervé Renard was speaking
to Mark Gleeson
Name
Hervé Renard
Date and place of birth
30 September 1968,
Aix-les-Bains, France
Position
Defender
Clubs played for
1983–1990 AS Cannes
1991–1997 Stade de Vallauris
1997–1998 SC Draguignan
Teams coached (selection)
Brett Davis / USA Today Sports
1999–2001 SC Draguignan
2005–2007 AS Cherbourg
2008–2010, 2011–2013 Zambia
2010 Angola
2013–2014 FC Sochaux
since 2014 Cote d'Ivoire
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
19
First Love
Place: Lima, Peru
Date: 26 December 2008
Time: 6.27 p.m.
20
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
Enrique Castro-Mendivil / Reuters
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
21
Developing football
everywhere and for all
Organising inspiring
tournaments
Caring about society
and the environment
For the Game. For the World.
FIFA is committed to developing football for the benefit of all. Our mission is to:
Develop the game
FIFA’s primary objective is to develop the game of football
in our 209 member associations. The FIFA World Cup™ gives
us the resources we need to invest USD 550,000 per day in
football development across the globe.
Touch the world
FIFA’s aim is to touch the world through its international
football competitions and events, uniting and inspiring
people everywhere.
FIFA.com
Build a better future
Football is much more than just a game. Its universal appeal
gives it a unique power and reach which must be managed
carefully. FIFA believes it has a duty to society that goes
beyond football.
T HE DEBAT E
PRESIDENTIAL NOTE
Personalities comment on the
FIFA Ballon d’Or 2014
Goalkeepers don’t get much recognition and, though Messi and
Cristiano also deserve it for the way they manage to keep their
standards extremely high, I feel that this time a Germany player
should get the award. What’s more, on top of the World Cup,
Neuer won pretty much everything with his club team.
Juan Mónaco, tennis pro, Argentina
I thought Stephanie Roche’s goal was fantastic! I also liked
(Robin) Van Persie’s header because he showed the kind of agility
you need in track and field. In terms of technique, Roche’s goal was
pretty similar to James Rodriguez’s. The sisterhood aside, it would
be great if she won it.
Leryn Franco, javelin thrower, Paraguay
I don’t think there’s much between Ronaldo and Messi in terms
of who’ll win. There are a wealth of other great players out there
too, but it’s no accident that Ronaldo and Messi are up there again
as favourites. They simply remain consistently good throughout
the season and that changes the outcome of games, leagues and
championships.
Rory McIlroy, pro golfer, Northern Ireland
“What Simeone has
achieved with the team is
just extraordinary.”
I think it’ll be Nadine Kessler who wins. She’s one of the three
finalists along with Abby Wambach and Marta, but there were
good names on the preliminary list as well as the final shortlist.
Everyone on there is someone who is a cut above.
Pia Sundhage, coach, Sweden
It’s tough for me to choose. Carlo Ancelotti and Joachim Low won
the two biggest titles of the year, but what Diego Simeone has been
able to do with the team and resources he has is just extraordinary.
He would have won the Champions League had Sergio Ramos not
scored in the last minute. So for me it’s Simeone.
Nikola Karabatic, handball pro, France
Crème de la crème
W
elcome to football’s gala extravaganza in Zurich. Exactly six
months after the World Cup Final in Rio de Janeiro, the game’s
outstanding individuals will be honoured in the FIFA Ballon
d’Or ceremony. The build-up to the vote for the best men’s player has
sparked especially lively debate: will it be Messi, Neuer or Ronaldo,
to name the candidates in alphabetical order?
Could a goalkeeper be named World Player of the Year? It has
only happened once in the 58-year history of the award, back in 1963
when never-to-be-forgotten Soviet keeper Lev Yashin claimed the
prestigious trophy. The man nicknamed the Black Panther after his
favoured shirt colour revolutionised his craft. He was the first keeper to extend the position’s scope beyond the limits of the penalty
area, marshalling his defence and effectively acting as an outfield
player.
Fifty-four years after Yashin and the Soviet Union won the European Championship, Manuel Neuer stood out at the 2014 World Cup
for very similar reasons. “Neuer is an outstanding footballer – and a
decent goalkeeper too,” a German journalist remarked last November
at the ceremony in Berlin where the World Cup-winning squad received the Silver Laurel Leaf, Germany's highest award for achievement in sport.
This Monday in Zurich we will see whether these qualities are
enough to win over the jury comprising the head coaches and captains of FIFA’s 209 member associations plus selected sports writers.
One question remains to be answered: is there much sense to
individual accolades in a team sport? There’s a great deal of sense, in
my opinion. Especially in an era where teams are increasingly well
organised and tactically astute, outstanding individuals assume decisive significance. Barcelona would scarcely have become the gold
standard in European football without Lionel Messi’s 400 goals.
Without Cristiano Ronaldo’s extraordinary skill, Real Madrid would
almost certainly still be waiting for their tenth Champions League
triumph. And Germany could well have come unstuck against Algeria
in the World Cup Round of 16 had it not been for Neuer’s mastery of
the goalkeeping craft. Perhaps more importantly, football would be
deprived of three of its most exceptional exponents and biggest characters. I wish everyone an enjoyable FIFA Ballon d’Or.
We all watched the World Cup, and first of all he’s from the
winning team. He was fantastic. He wasn’t only playing like a
traditional goalkeeper, he was the last man in defence too. He
participated in the possession of the ball, helping his defenders a
lot. He was not only a fantastic goalkeeper, he was fantastic in
everything. All three names are potentially great winners, but my
choice is Neuer.
Andriy Shevchenko, former player, Ukraine
Best wishes, Sepp Blatter
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
23
ARGENTINA
Five friends
are all you need
24
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
ARGENTINA
Argentinians are crazy about
football. But where do you
play when you live in a city
as densely populated as
Buenos Aires? The solution:
by playing on small pitches
wherever space allows!
Karen Naundorf (text) and
Toby Binder (images), Buenos Aires
“M
ago, you go in goal!” shouts one of the lads
as the game begins, but before long, Esteban Fiori – known to everyone simply as
“Mago the Magician” – abandons his post.
He runs to the halfway line, leaving his goal
unguarded, but enjoys a stroke of luck as
the ball strikes the post. A fast-paced match is unfolding
here on the concrete surface of Pitch 7, lit by floodlights
that hang from the white plastered ceiling as the Buenos
Aires traffic rushes along the motorway overhead. Mago
and his friends have been playing here at the Quintino
Futbol club every Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. and Saturday afternoon for ten years now, enjoying a game of
five-a-side, or futbol 5 as it is known in Argentina.
Mago welcomes us before the match, holding the door
open and explaining articulately that friendship is the
most important thing in sport: “If someone isn’t a good
guy, he doesn’t play with us.” He adds that futbol 5 is his
absolute passion – along with magic and women, of
course. At this point, the 43-year-old performs a trick.
He holds three coins in one hand, and after a swift movement, reveals that just two of them remain in the palm
of his hand while the third is now tucked into his wristwatch. Once out on the pitch, Mago the Magician puts
civility to one side, directing his team with a stream of
expletive-laden orders. “Move it! Run! Go!”
Palermo district, Buenos Aires
The Argentinians enjoy their beloved
futbol 5 on pitches sandwiched between
the capital’s houses and highways.
Rooftop footbal
Futbol 5 is wildly popular across the Argentinian capital.
It is played wherever there is enough space, whether on
rooftops, in historic courtyards, between high-rise buildings or under motorways. There is no room for full-size
pitches in a metropolis of 13 million people such as Buenos Aires. “As kids we played on the streets or on wasteland,” says Mago. He has short brown hair and sports a
green shirt teamed with blue shorts. “But the number of
cars means that’s no longer possible, so we meet here
instead.” He explains that he and his friends enjoy playing on small pitches: “It’s fun, plus it’s much easier to get
ten mates together than 22.”
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
25
ARGENTINA
Up on the roof
A fully-fenced pitch in the San Telmo neighbourhood (top left).
Stadium atmosphere
The Colegio San Jose offers an imposing backdrop (bottom left).
Tucked away
Futbol 5 is played beside and under bridges (right).
26
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
ARGENTINA
“It’s much easier
to get ten mates
together than 22.”
Esteban Fiori
Toby Binder/fotogloria
The Argentinian Football Association, the AFA, oversees futbol 5 under the internationally recognised name
of futsal or futebol de salao – indoor football.
The Association has promoted the sport at both
semi-professional and grassroots level for many years
now. “We have signed an agreement with the local government of Buenos Aires to make futsal an integral part
of the school curriculum,” says Damian Dupiellet, president of the AFA’s Futsal Committee. This ensures that
budding stars of the future can learn the official rules at
a young age.
Playing by their own rules
So just how many futbol 5 pitches are there in the Argentinian capital? “It’s difficult to say,” says Dupiellet. “The
five-a-side form of the game is very popular in Argentina,
and it’s growing, but we only count clubs where the sport
is played by FIFA rules.” There are officially 58 futsal
clubs in Buenos Aires alone, plus countless pitches such
as those frequented by Mago and his friends. These playing areas vary in size and have no corner flags, and it is
unlikely that anyone has ever measured to check whether
the penalty spot is actually ten metres from the centre
of the goal line. “Matches between friends are usually
played by their own set of rules,” says Dupiellet.“We play
the way we think is right,” Mago agrees. He invented one
rule himself: if a team is more than six goals behind, the
match is abandoned so that the opponents do not lose
face. “We mix the teams up and start again. Besides, it’s
boring when one team are too strong,” Mago explains. He
watched Brazil’s World Cup semi-final against Germany
with his futbol 5 friends. “Once the score reached 7-1, we
were all in favour of calling it off,” he jokes.
Although the Magician’s team eventually lose by four
goals on this occasion, it is not long before his previous
good mood is fully restored. A small green rubber ball
slides through his hands, disappears without a trace and
then falls suddenly from his trouser leg. Mago laughs
before getting on his bicycle and calling out “Nos vemos
el sabado!” to his friends – “See you on Saturday”! Å
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
27
THIS IS THE ONE
Introducing
Official Mascot for the
FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015
@FIFAcom #Wooliam
/fifau20worldcup
IN BRIEF
T
he ball hits the back of the net, but although the scorer sees the fans celebrating and hugging each other for joy, the stadium remains eerily silent
to him. The shouts of excitement and delight pass him by. He’s as pleased as the fans of course, but the world around him is noiseless – just as it
always will be. Up-and-coming striker Simon Ollert of Unterhaching was born deaf and is currently the only hearing-impaired professional
footballer in Germany. His club, third division Munich suburban outfit Unterhaching, recently offered him terms until 2017. Despite his disability
Simon is rapidly making a name for himself, club president Manfred Schwabl has approvingly commented. Ollert is still only 17, so perhaps he might
one day make the breakthrough at an even higher level, potentially following in the footsteps of hearing-impaired Stefan Markolf who featured in
the German second division for FSV Mainz back in 2007. As so often, football produces a special brand of success story. Å
Dominik Petermann
Getty Images
I
t has long been common knowledge that social networks are
taking on an increasingly important role in professional life, but
for a footballer to use them to look for a new employer is something new entirely. Nevertheless, that is the course Netherlands
international Demy de Zeeuw has decided to take after being left
without a club since last summer. The 31-year-old midfielder is
hardly lacking in experience: he has 27 caps for the Oranje, including a the semi­-final appearance at the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa, and has played in the Europa League and the Champions
League for AZ Alkmaar, Ajax and Spartak Moscow. Yet instead of
relying solely on his agent’s talents to find another team, De Zeeuw
has forged a new path by signing up to LinkedIn – the business
world equivalent of Facebook. Alongside posting a video showcasing his abilities, De Zeeuw’s written profile states: “I’m looking for
a new club in Europe, the Middle East or the MLS. Salary depends
on the city, the club and the country. For more information please
send me a direct message.” Å
Sarah Steiner
E
ager anticipation is one of the most enjoyable emotions, it is said.
But just how enthusiastically should one look forward to something? The event in question should certainly be a realistic proposition, because if it fails to materialise your sense of excited anticipation will fall flat. English fourth-tier club Accrington Stanley
recently met Yeovil Town in an FA Cup replay with a plum tie against
Manchester United on offer to the winners. Stanley lost 2-0, but the
trifling matter of elimination from the cup was not enough to douse
the minnows’ excitement about the hoped-for meeting with Wayne
Rooney and Co. Instead, keen anticipation was converted into a form
of fictional reality. “Man Utd tickets SOLD OUT,” proclaimed the
club, days after their involvement in the knockout competition ended. What happened to enable the sale of tickets for the non-existent
meeting between Accrington Stanley and United? True to their motto “The Club That Wouldn’t Die” Stanley issued 250 tickets at £20 a
throw with the proceeds earmarked for squad strengthening, so that
next time a big name appears on the horizon they might earn the
right to actually face them. As for Yeovil, their cup adventure ended
in a 2-0 defeat to the Red Devils. Å
Perikles Monioudis
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
29
Years of phenomenal growth
FIFA decided to stage the first FIFA
Women’s World Cup™ in 1991 (China PR)
to give the best female players in world
football the opportunity to play on a
world stage, thus marking a milestone for
the growth of women’s football all
around the globe. Around half a million
spectators attended the matches. Since
then, the women’s game has taken huge
strides forward in every aspect, whether
in terms of the players’ technique,
physical fitness and tactics, or the media
coverage, TV viewers and sponsorship
interest.
One of the pillars of FIFA’s mission is to
touch the world through our tournaments. We take great pride in staging
these entertaining and unique
festivals of football across the globe.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ is a
shining example of our commitment to
ensuring that women’s football goes
from strength to strength in the future.
FREE KICK
F I F A ’ S 11
Goals scored by
winning teams at the
Club World Cup
No sausages
please
Alan Schweingruber
W
hen a talented and widely courted footballer decides to open initial discussions
with a team, the club in question springs
into action. Not even the smallest detail can be
allowed to derail a promising deal, which could
mean anything from polishing the number
plate of the Mercedes picking the young lad up
from the airport, to stadium employees writing
the player’s still unfamiliar name on a slip of
paper to ensure they can greet him courteously when his car pulls up outside.
In all honesty, scrubbing a licence plate to
create a positive impression is almost certainly
a wasted effort, while giving a young man the
idea that a passing plumber would already
know his name seems wrong and insincere. So
just how do clubs score points when seeking to
capture a gifted player’s signature?
Rising star Martin Odegaard, widely tipped
to sign for a new club in January, recently paid
a visit to Bayern Munich. There are plenty of
ways in which a team like the German champions could ingratiate themselves with the talented young Norwegian – the area around the
club’s Sabenerstrasse training complex is appealing enough in itself – but because the player in question is only 16 years old, Munich had
to assume that:
a) Martin would not arrive from Norway
alone, and
b) the person accompanying the Stromsgodset attacking midfielder would have influence over his choice of team.
As you may have guessed, these business dealings are similar to those found in many organisations. Being on good terms with the boss’s
secretary means it will only be a matter of time
before you can have that long-awaited discussion about a pay rise.
In Bayern Munich’s case, this would have
meant tackling some strangely specific dilemmas. Is it appropriate to offer fried local Stockwurst sausages to a 40-year-old who has spent
his entire life in Scandinavia? And how cordial
is their relationship with neighbours Sweden?
Should the driver refrain from playing Abba’s
greatest hits album as a relaxing accompaniment to the car journey, even “The Winner
Takes It All”?
Of course, these are all just silly details, as
money may prove to be the key factor in determining where Martin Odegaard ultimately
signs his name. Nevertheless, the power of a
player’s gut feeling about a place should never
be underestimated. Å
The weekly column by our staff
writers
1
Barcelona
Goals scored: 8
Japan 2011
2
Corinthians
Goals scored: 6
Brazil 2000
Manchester United
Goals scored: 6
Japan 2008
Internazionale
Goals scored: 6
United Arab Emirates 2010
Real Madrid
Goals scored: 6
Morocco 2014
6
AC Milan
Goals scored: 5
Japan 2007
Barcelona
Goals scored: 5
Japan 2009
Bayern Munich
Goals scored: 5
Morocco 2013
9
Sao Paulo
Goals scored: 4
Japan 2005
10
Internacional
Goals scored: 3
Japan 2006
11
Corinthians
Goals scored: 2
Japan 2012
Source: FIFA
(FIFA Statistical Kit, 07/01/2015)
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
31
MIRROR IMAGE
T
H
E
N
London, England
Queens Park Rangers boss Gordon Jago puts new signing
Frank McLintock through his paces.
32
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
Popperfoto / Getty Images
1973
MIRROR IMAGE
N
O
W
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Richard Heathcote / Getty Images
2014
England international Jack Wilshere works out at the Forte Sao Joao
military base in the Urca neighbourhood.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
33
MEN’S WORLD R ANKING
Germany (unchanged)
none
none
16 (11 of which were in 2014)
Iraq (4 matches)
Bahrain (up 43 points)
Bahrain (up 12 ranks)
Iraq (down 51 points)
Jordan (down 12 ranks)
Leader
Moves into top ten
Moves out of top ten
Matches played in total
Most matches played
Biggest move by points
Biggest move by ranks
Biggest drop by points
Biggest drop by ranks
Rank Team
+/- Points
Rank Team
+/- Points
Rank Team
+/- Points
Rank Team
+/- Points
1 Germany
0 1725
55 Panama
2
551
109 Ethiopia
2
294
163 Suriname
0
115
2 Argentina
0 1538
55 Trinidad and Tobago
0
551
110 Bahrain
12
292
164 Swaziland
0
113
3 Colombia
0 1450
57 Congo DR
-1
548
111 Namibia
-2
291
165 Bangladesh
0
103
4 Belgium
0 1417
58 Albania
0
543
112 Canada
0
287
166 Tahiti
0
100
5 Netherlands
0 1374
59 Montenegro
0
537
113 Cuba
0
271
167 Guyana
0
92
6 Brazil
0 1316
60 Egypt
0
531
114 Iraq
-11
269
168 Gambia
0
90
7 Portugal
0 1160
61 Congo
0
529
115 Palestine
-2
268
169 Montserrat
0
86
7 France
0 1160
62 Gabon
3
527
115 Liberia
0
268
170 São Tomé e Príncipe
0
84
0 1142
62 Togo
0
527
117 Kenya
-1
262
171 India
0
79
10 Uruguay
9 Spain
0 1135
64 Burkina Faso
-1
523
118 Equatorial Guinea
2
260
172 Sri Lanka
0
78
11 Italy
0 1103
65 Republic of Ireland
-1
519
119 Niger
-3
259
173 Comoros
0
75
12 Switzerland
0 1091
66 Bulgaria
0
506
120 St Kitts and Nevis
-2
258
173 Nicaragua
0
75
13 England
0 1032
67 Norway
0
500
121 St Vincent and the Grenadines
-2
256
175 Belize
0
74
14 Chile
0 1016
68 Rwanda
0
494
122 Lebanon
4
251
176 Yemen
0
67
66
15 Romania
0 1014
69 Korea Republic
0
487
123 Moldova
-2
250
177 Turks and Caicos Islands
0
16 Costa Rica
0
995
70 Finland
0
468
124 Lesotho
-1
245
178 Seychelles
0
61
17 Czech Republic
0
987
71 Uzbekistan
3
464
125 Kuwait
-1
241
179 Bermuda
0
55
18 Algeria
0
948
72 Honduras
-1
460
126 Georgia
-1
239
179 San Marino
0
55
19 Croatia
0
946
73 Guatemala
-1
458
127 Luxembourg
1
230
179 Cambodia
0
55
20 Mexico
0
913
73 Haiti
-1
458
128 Burundi
-1
227
182 Chinese Taipei
0
54
21 Slovakia
0
891
75 Jamaica
0
449
129 Aruba
0
221
183 Solomon Islands
0
53
22 Tunisia
0
873
76 Paraguay
0
442
129 Philippines
1
221
184 Dominica
0
52
23 Austria
0
863
77 Uganda
-1
441
131 Maldives
-1
220
185 Timor-Leste
0
51
24 Greece
0
856
78 Libya
0
437
132 Liechtenstein
0
219
186 Nepal
0
49
25 Ukraine
0
854
79 Armenia
0
436
133 Vietnam
4
218
186 Macau
0
49
26 Ecuador
0
852
80 United Arab Emirates
1
408
133 Guinea-Bissau
0
218
188 Pakistan
0
45
43
27 USA
0
836
81 Angola
-1
404
135 New Zealand
-1
216
189 South Sudan
0
28 Côte d’Ivoire
0
833
82 Morocco
-1
393
136 Azerbaijan
-1
215
190 Mauritius
0
36
29 Bosnia and Herzegovina
0
817
83 Estonia
1
382
136 Tajikistan
-1
215
191 Vanuatu
0
33
30 Denmark
0
804
84 Bolivia
1
375
138 Mauritania
-1
213
192 Fiji
0
30
31 Russia
0
789
85 Sierra Leone
1
374
139 Kazakhstan
0
205
192 Samoa
0
30
32 Israel
0
788
86 Cyprus
1
372
140 St Lucia
0
202
194 Mongolia
0
29
33 Iceland
0
761
87 Venezuela
1
371
141 Myanmar
0
200
195 Bahamas
0
26
34 Wales
0
748
88 Malawi
2
361
142 Afghanistan
1
190
196 Tonga
0
17
35 Senegal
0
734
89 Benin
0
359
143 Barbados
1
183
197 US Virgin Islands
0
16
36 Scotland
0
729
90 El Salvador
0
358
144 Thailand
-2
182
198 Brunei Darussalam
0
15
37 Ghana
0
714
91 Lithuania
1
355
145 Central African Republic
0
178
199 Papua New Guinea
0
13
38 Serbia
0
713
92 Qatar
3
347
146 Chad
0
172
200 American Samoa
0
12
39 Guinea
0
706
93 Oman
0
346
147 Malta
0
166
201 Andorra
0
9
40 Cape Verde Islands
0
693
93 Jordan
-12
346
147 Turkmenistan
0
166
202 British Virgin Islands
0
8
41 Poland
0
680
95 Antigua and Barbuda
-1
344
147 Madagascar
0
166
202 Eritrea
0
8
42 Cameroon
0
665
96 Latvia
0
339
150 Korea DPR
0
157
204 Somalia
0
6
43 Nigeria
0
654
96 China PR
1
339
151 Syria
0
156
205 Cayman Islands
0
5
44 Sweden
0
646
98 Mozambique
0
332
152 Kyrgyzstan
0
146
206 Djibouti
0
4
45 Hungary
0
632
99 Belarus
0
331
153 New Caledonia
0
142
206 Cook Islands
0
4
46 Slovenia
1
622
100 Australia
0
329
154 Malaysia
0
139
208 Anguilla
0
2
47 Northern Ireland
1
615
101 FYR Macedonia
-1
327
155 Grenada
0
137
209 Bhutan
0
0
48 Turkey
1
604
102 Saudi Arabia
0
318
156 Hong Kong
0
134
133
49 Mali
1
603
103 Faroe Islands
1
317
157 Singapore
0
50 Zambia
-4
594
104 Tanzania
1
315
158 Curaçao
0
125
51 Iran
0
588
105 Dominican Republic
1
310
159 Indonesia
0
122
52 South Africa
0
587
106 Botswana
1
308
160 Laos
0
121
53 Peru
0
565
107 Zimbabwe
1
301
161 Guam
0
119
54 Japan
0
563
108 Sudan
2
296
161 Puerto Rico
0
119
http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/index.html
NET ZER KNOWS!
What’s wrong with
Italy’s Serie A?
Question from Corrado Ramperti, Genoa
Backyard kickabout Gunter Netzer all in black.
Sven Simon / Ullstein Bild
T
here’s no point sugarcoating it: Italy’s Serie A has fallen behind its international competitors. A nation that
was once regarded as the promised land of football
can no longer attract the biggest names and is unable to
offer top quality football. England, Spain and Germany
have long been in a league of their own.
That doesn’t mean that Italian football no longer carries any weight, but it has certainly lost some of its appeal.
When football fans aren’t interested in attending matches,
you have a serious problem. In some Italian stadiums you
can feel the wind blowing through every crevice. It’s cold
in there and there isn’t much catering on offer. It should
be the aim of every club to make their supporters feel well
looked after. You have to spoil the fans for them to come
back and spend their hard-earned money. Serving up an
enjoyable football match alone is no longer enough.
The 1990 World Cup was a fantastic tournament and
resulted in a big boom in Italian football (as was the case
in Germany in 1974 and 2006). It was unfortunate for
Italy that the 2012 European Championships were awarded to Poland and Ukraine. That would probably have been
their way out of this crisis. The country must now try to
introduce reforms. The old system is no longer effective.
Modern, fan-friendly stadiums would be a good place to
start. That way, supporters and big-name players will
eventually start to return. Å
What have you always wanted to know
about football? Ask Gunter Netzer:
[email protected]
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
35
TURNING POINT
“Take him
instead”
The former South Africa ­
captain Lucas Radebe on the
day he switched roles with
his brother and subsequently
took up a pro­fessional
footballer’s career.
Jurie Potgieter
I
grew up in Soweto, which was the centre of
the internal anti-Apartheid struggle in
South Africa. Many areas were no-go for
the security forces, with running battles
between comrades and the authorities.
There was almost always smoke and gunshots, and even horrible necklacings, where
suspected collaborators had a tire thrust over
their neck and were set alight.
I was still young and at an impressionable
age when the protests against Apartheid grew
markedly more violent. I used to write down a
lot of the slogans and songs, and I would draw
what I saw outside in the streets. When my
parents saw the notebooks I had filled, they
were so scared the police would find them, that
they destroyed them all. In those days you
could go to jail for just having the initials of
the liberation movement on your coffee mug.
Later as I grew older I went to political meetings and with other teenage boys set up barricades and enforced boycotts. I was swept up in
the dissent of the time, but still conscientious
enough to worry about my schoolwork. My parents were deeply concerned about what would
happen to me as the political situation got
worse, and the government declared a state of
emergency. When the street justice got out of
hand, even I felt I had to get away from Soweto.
My brother Siga had been playing in Lehurutshe, deep in the rural north of the country, for a semi-professional club called ICL
Birds United. “It’s on the farm,” he said as he
came to visit home, and life there was too boring for him. The club sent an official to come
and persuade him to come back, but instead my
mother Emily pointed at me and said to them,
“Hey, this troubled one, take him instead.”
While I had already shown some potential
as a footballer, neither I nor my parents
thought about it as a future for me. But the
official was also the headmaster of a school
and he agreed to take care of me, and oversee
my education. I even went to stay with him. I
was not only going to play football, but be able
to do schooling without any interruption. It
proved to be a crucial and insightful move on
the part of my mother.
It not only helped me to get back to my
books, but also launched me on the path to
playing football more seriously; and led to a
professional career and playing at the World
Cup. Å
As told to Mark Gleeson
Name
Lucas Radebe
Date and place of birth
12 April 1969, Soweto
Playing position
Defender
Career as player
1989–1994 Kaizer Chiefs
1994–2005 Leeds United
South African national team
70 appearances (2 Goals)
In Turning Point, personalities reflect
on a decisive moment in their lives.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY
37
Football is a
brotherhood. It’s peace.
© 2014 Visa. All rights reserved.
Oscar Arias
Nobel Peace Laureate
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39
L A S T W E E K’S P O L L R E S U LT S
41+35+7532
Which of these matches will you be looking
forward to most in the round of 16 of
the 2014/2015 UEFA Champions League?
3%
5%
2%
2%
5%
7%
41%
35%
≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ T HIS WEEK’S POLL
Which of these former champions will go
furthest in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup?
Choose from the following:
· Iran
· Iraq
· Saudi Arabia
· Kuwait
· Korea Republic
· Japan
Cast your votes at:
Fifa.com/newscentre
Manchester City - Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain - Chelsea
Juventus - Borussia Dortmund
Bayer Leverkusen - Atletico Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk - Bayern Munich
Schalke - Real Madrid
Arsenal - Monaco
Basel - Porto
“I wish I’d met Brendan when I was 24 because I think I’d be
sitting here talking about a lot of titles that we’d won together”
Steven Gerrard admitted regret over crossing paths with Brendan Rodgers so late in his career.
successive wins was the club
record streak that came to
5
an end for Real Madrid on
league places stood between Marseille and
Sunday. Valencia were the
Grenoble, but at time up it was the Ligue 1 leaders’
goals were scored by Tottenham Hotspur last
Thursday, and their spree could not have come
team to inflict the European
fourth-tier opponents who were the ones celebrat-
against less likely opponents. Chelsea, after all,
and world champions’ first
ing. That was after Marcelo Bielsa’s high-flying OM
had conceded just three times in their previous
defeat since September,
side crashed out of the Coupe de France 5-4 on
eight Premier League fixtures and, under Jose
emerging with a 2-1 victory
penalties after a pulsating 3-3 draw in which they
Mourinho, had never shipped more than three
at the Mestalla.
conceded a 121st-minute equaliser.
goals in a single game.
imago (2), Getty Images (2)
22 58
WEEK IN NUMBERS