28 November 2006

Iran Cleared to Play in Asian Games

A statement on FIFA's website read as follows :

FIFA have granted Iran's U-23 team exceptional authorisation to play at the 2006
Asian Games after the country's Ministry for Physical Education sent
correspondence to FIFA committing themselves and the IRIFF (Islamic Republic of
Iran Football Federation) to fulfil all the requirements outlined by the FIFA
Emergency Committee on 23 November 2006.

The FIFA Emergency Committee took the decision to suspend Iran after determining
that the IRIFF was not adhering to the principles of the FIFA Statutes regarding
the independence of member associations, the independence of the decision-making
process of the football governing body in each country and the way in which
changes in the leadership of associations are brought about.


27 November 2006

Cannavaro Wins Ballon D'or

Italy's World Cup winning captain, Fabio Cannavaro, has been named European
Footballer of the year, succeeding Ronaldinho. award, based on the votes of
European journalists. The former Juventus defender, outstanding at the World Cup
but awful for Real Madrid this season said :

"I want to thank Real president Raman Calderon and my team-mates from Juve and
the national team who had an important part to play in my winning this award.
It has a double importance because it's given to the greatest players and as a
defender it's rare to have this honour. The World Cup in Germany was perfect for
a defender. I remember in particular the semi-final against Germany."

Cannavaro was a controversial choice for the Ballon D'or (Golden Ball) with
France coach Raymond Domenech commenting :

"Fabio Cannavaro is a good player but he's not the Ballon D'or. Thierry Henry
was much more decisive throughout the season. I don't understand it. For me the
true Ballon D'or is elected on December 18 by FIFA (The FIFA World Player of the
year award) and for me it's evidently Thierry Henry. He's above everyone."

And another Frenchman, Lyon coach Gerard Houllier adding :

"Compared to other players he certainly didn't deserve to win. He played a great
World Cup but not a great season. Personally I would have given it to Gianluigi
Buffon (Italy and Juventus goalkeeper). It's a scandal and the thing that
bothers me most is that Thierry Henry, a player who has been scoring 20 goals a
season for years now and appeared in two finals in the last season, was not even
taken into consideration, there was a negative campaign around him."

"As to Cannavaro, you only need to look at what John Carew managed to do against
him in the Champions League, watching that game you understand that Cannavaro's
win is an abominable result."

This years top ten :

1) Fabio Cannavaro (Italy & Juventus/Real Madrid) 173
2) Gianluigi Buffon (Italy & Juventus) 124
3) Thierry Henry (France & Arsenal) 121
4) Ronaldinho (Brazil & Barcelona) 73
5) Zinedine Zidane (France & Real Madrid) 71
6) Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon & Barcelona) 67
7) Miroslav Klose (Germany & Bremen) 29
8) Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast & Chelsea) 25
9) Andrea Pirlo (Italy & Milan) 17
10) Jens Lehmann (Germany & Arsenal) 13


24 November 2006

Marquez Granted Spanish Citizenship

Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez has been granted Spanish citizenship freeing
another spot for a non EU player, thought to be the club's 18 year old Brazilian
striker Giovanni dos Santos.

Police Shoot Dead PSG Supporter

A plan clothes policeman, Antoine Granomort, shot dead one man and injured
another after firing his gun into an angry crowd of PSG supporters while trying
to protect a Hapoel Tel Aviv supporter. The Israeli club had defeated PSG in
Thursday's UEFA Cup match at the Parc des Prince.

Joaquin Masanet of the UNSA-police union said :

"A fan asked for help and this Caribbean colleague of ours (Antoine Granomort)
came to his assistance. He took refuge in a McDonald's restaurant and saw this
horde of savages come at him. I am sorry that there is a dead PSG fan but one
has to say that these people are racists who attacked a police officer because
he was a man of colour."


23 November 2006

FIFA Suspend Iran

A statement released on FIFA's website read as follows :

The FIFA Emergency Committee, composed of the FIFA President and one
representative of each of the six confederations, yesterday (22 November 2006)
decided to suspend the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation from all
international activity due to government interference in football matters and
violation of Article 17 of the FIFA Statutes


21 November 2006

Maldini Hints At Retirement

"Everything's going well at the moment. I'm enjoying my job. For the moment I've
got no problem with the idea of a contract extension but if the month of June
was now, I would consider stopping. In saying that I'm keeping my options open.
A lot of things can happen but as things stand right now, that's what I'm
thinking about. I'll be 39 years old in June, and that's past the retirement age
for a player but I don't want to start thinking about things, whether its a
contract extension or retirement."

Magnusson's West Ham Take Over Approved

Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnusson, who is head of the Iceland FA and a UEFA
executive-committee member, had had his €125.59 million bid to buy West Ham
accepted. Magnusson's consortium will also take on board the clubs debt of
€33.23 million. Magnusson said :

"I am both delighted and honoured that (chairman) Terry Brown and his colleagues
wish to support our offer for West Ham. We can now end the uncertainty of recent
weeks and move forward into the next phase of development of this great club,
with Alan Pardew leading our efforts on the pitch. I will be continuing talks
with Alan Pardew on how he sees the future on the playing side. This is very
much his domain and he has my full confidence and support. He already knows that
funds will be made available for the January transfer window but we need to
discuss his needs and the investment that might be required to strengthen the
squad."

"In terms of the club's location we are buying what we see, which is West Ham
United at Upton Park. However, if there is an opportunity to discuss a long-term
move to the Olympic Stadium I would like to explore that, recognising that there
will also need to be an athletics legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games."

The takeover has been bankrolled by financier Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson.


20 November 2006

Wenger's VT Frustration

"When the referee makes a wrong decision the bench checks the television to see
if the decision is right or not. That increases the frustration on the bench
because before you knew you could not have access to the media during the game
and would have to check it after the game. At least the game was a bit smoother
for the referee."

"That is the case I have made for a long time but some people refuse
progress. I just think its like saying you don't want to play with electricity,
you want to stick to playing night games with torches. I feel its difficult to
refuse progress. You want the right decision to be taken and every week now,
every game is detailed. Every decision of the referee is on television and
analysed and the only one in the whole game who has no access to the video and
the right image and right picture is the referee. I don't find it right.
But what is even more surprising that the referee does not want to use it. It's
amazing I just say that the biggest surprise to me."

Man United Planning Tribute to 'Holy Trinity'

Manchester United have commissioned sculptor Philip Jackson to create a statue
honouring the holy trinity of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, three
of the clubs greatest ever players. The clubs chief executive David Gill said :

"Too often, we feel we have to wait until our heroes have passed away to
recognise their talent. So we are very excited that this statue will honour the
efforts not only of George Best, whose death came tragically early in his life,
but also two of the game's finest forwards - Denis Law and Bobby Charlton.
Manchester United is proud of its heritage and we believe that this statue will
be evidence of that. The fact it will be on Sir Matt Busby Way could not be more
appropriate."


17 November 2006

Puskas Dies Aged 79

Legendary Real Madrid and Hungary striker Ferenc Puskas has died due to
respiratory and circulatory failure.

Puskas was the star of the Hungarian national team of the 1950s, considered to
the best team in the World during that era, winning the Olympic football
tournament in 1952 and losing to what's thought to have been a chemically
fuelled West Germany in the 1954 World Cup final.

Nicknamed the "Galloping Major" Puskas was famed for his cannon of a left foot
and scored 83 goals in 84 international matches between 1945-1956 including a
hat-trick in Hungary's historic 6-3 victory over England at Wembley stadium in
1953, the first team England had ever lost to a team from overseas.

In 1958 he was banned for a year for seeking exile in Spain after Soviet Union
tanks drove into Hungary to stop a rebellion and spent the following year out of
work after his weight had ballooned. He was picked up by Real Madrid in 1960.

His scoring feats included :

357 goals in 354 league games for Kipesti and Honved
154 goals in 179 league games for Real Madrid
35 goals in 41 games for Real Madrid in the Champions League
4 goals in Real Madrid's 7-3 European Cup final victory over Eintracht Frankfurt
3 goals in Real Madrid's 5-3 European Cup final loss to Benfica

He won a total of 11 league titles, 3 European Cups and finished top scorer
eight times in his career.

Family spokesman Guorgy Szollosi said :

"The Puskas family thanks the condolences and encouraging words that have poured
in from around the world. The phone does not cease to ring. Among the first to
express their condolences were Real Madrid, the Hungarian Football Association
and of course the countless friends from around the world."

Thuram Anger At Racist Outburst

France and Barcelona defender Lilian Thuram has joined the chorus of criticism
levelled at French socialist leader Georges Freche for his comments on the
French national team :

"On this team, there are nine blacks out of the 11. Normally, there should only
be three or four. That would be a reflection of our society but if there are so
many, it's because the whites are useless."

Thuram, who is now the countries most capped player, said :

"What's unhealthy in what Freche and others have said is that they question the
number of blacks on the France team to pit blacks against whites. This racist
talk is extremely dangerous especially in a social situation where people are
choking economically. We can ask the question but you have to understand two
things. For a long time the great footballers have come from the most
disadvantaged backgrounds and as, in France, a large part of those who live in
the most disadvantaged areas are black, it's only normal to find a lot of them
on the France team."

"The second important point is the message conveyed to the black population,
with the social enhancement sport gives. Subconsciously we are preparing these
people to follow this path."

Controversial Chinese Commentator Sacked

Huang Jianxiang has been sacked by China Central Television (CCTV) for offending
his colleagues. During Italy's World Cup match against Australia, Huang screamed
"Don't give the Australians a chance" and also shouted "Forza Italia" on several
occasions.

Xinhua news agency said Huang "has gained everything he wants from CCTV while
offending almost all of his colleagues."

Huang made the news himself last year after a relationship with a pop star lead
to his divorce. He also criticised a fellow CCTV presenter during a talk show.

The 38 year old, who made his debut for the 1995 Copa America, was suspended for
several months for comments he made during China's World Cup qualifying match
against Qatar in 2001. In his blog entry following his dismissal he wrote :

"Now I am an unemployed middle-aged person. Don't ask why."


16 November 2006

FIFA Reject Galatasaray Claim for Compensation

FIFA have rejected a request for €10 million in compensation from Galatasaray
following after French midfielder Franck Ribery left the club over three months
of unpaid wages.


15 November 2006

Real Madrid Sign Record TV Deal

Real Madrid have signed the most lucrative television contract for a sports team
in history with Catalan based Mediapro. The €1.1 billion deal will bring the
club €157.14 million per season over seven years starting from 2008-2009.


13 November 2006

Dowie Sacked

Charlton have sacked coach Ian Dowie. His assistant, Les Reed, will take over as
first team coach. A statement issued on the clubs website by chairman Richard
Murray read :

"One of the key features of our club during my time as chairman has been
stability. It is something I feel is essential in all successful businesses.
It goes without saying, therefore, how hard it was after only 12 Premiership
matches to reach the decision we have. Over the past two weeks we have conducted
a review of the structure we put in place during the summer which involved all
senior football management staff. The results of this review have, we believe,
left us with little option but to act in the manner we have. Crucially we had to
consider whether we believed our current situation would improve and we
reluctantly came to the conclusion that it would not. In the situation we find
ourselves in, it is also vital that everyone works as a team. Unfortunately,
I have to say that has not been the case."

"By committing some £11.20 million (€16.52 million) on new players in the summer
we believe we demonstrated our support for Iain Dowie, as we have also done by
backing him with the malicious legal action initiated against him by (Crystal
Palace chairman) Simon Jordan. What we need at this time is as little disruption
as possible and accordingly the club has promoted Les Reed to head coach and
Mark Robson to assistant head coach. Both have a solid Charlton pedigree and I
am confident they will do everything within their power, together with the
players, to turn our season around."

Evra Compains About Food & Weather but Loves United

Patrice Evra made the following comments ahead of France's international
friendly against Greece. Speaking on his move from Monaco to Manchester :

"When I left Monaco in January the first six months in Manchester were really
difficult. I never expected that. It was hard for my family, my wife. I was in a
hotel for half a year, I didn't speak the language. The food is truly
catastrophic, and it rains all the time. For my wife and my kids it's not easy.
When there's no training, when there's no match, it's a DVD under the quilt to
keep warm."

Despite this Evra added :

"Life here is so fantastic. Each day I thank God to be playing in a club like
this. How many people would dream of being in my place?"

On the differences of playing in England and France :

"Physically if you're not tough you can't play in England. I hadn't understood
that when I first arrived. I turned up with my skill but here you have to be
first tough, then you learn to play the ball. In France I had time to lift my
head. Here, as soon as you get the ball you're being attacked at full pelt by
the midfielder or striker."


8 November 2006

Rummenigge Blasts UEFA Coefficient System

Bayern Munich vice-chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has rightly criticised UEFA's
give year coefficient system after results in recent years threaten Germany's
four Champions League places :

"If wins in the UEFA Cup gather the same points as in the Champions League then
I have to say the points system is unfair and something needs to be done about
it. I cannot accept that Romania are a danger to the Bundesliga because they
collect their points in the UEFA Cup. It is a joke."

German clubs are under serious threat from both Portugal and Romania in the five
year coefficient rankings system.


7 November 2006

Amauri Open to Italy Call-Up

"I am Brazilian and my dream is to wear the shirt of the national team but
seven years ago Italy opened its doors to me and allowed me to become the player
I am today. If Brazil don't value me, just as they didn't value me when I was
younger, I would have strong thoughts about playing for Italy." - Palermo
striker Amauri

Serie A Attendances At 40 Year Low

Italian newspaper Repubblica has reported that the average attendance for a
Serie A match this season is 19,361, a 40 year low. Many factors are blamed on
the low attendances - television, high ticket prices, poor stadia and
hooliganism.

Italy's deputy Sports Minister Giovanni Lolli said :

"We are working on an extensive project to radically change the situation."

It's hoped if Italy are successful in their bid to host the 2012 European
Championships, the government would be forced to upgrade stadia and tackle the
hooligan problem.


4 November 2006

Capello - Ronaldo Needs to Lose Weight

"He (Ronaldo) is getting better every day in training and is starting to
rediscover an acceptable physical condition. He's not yet at his best, he still
needs to lose a few more pounds but he doesn't seem too bad to me. He's lost a
lot of weight but he still needs to lose more to become the player that everyone
knows. For him, losing weight is important." - Fabio Capello


3 November 2006

Ferguson Celebrates 20 Years At United

Speaking at a press conference 63 year old Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson
hit back at suggestions that he should retire :

"I will carry on and keep working because I enjoy working and that is the
important thing. I just think it is scandalous that people are saying it is time
for me to retire because it is none of their bloody business. I think I have
every right to work hard. Some people in this life don't want to work, so I
don't think you should decry people who want to work. It disgusts me that people
think that way, but laws have been changed about retirement dates and I am going
to continue working. There has been criticism, people telling me it is time to
retire and hang up my boots. They don't have a right to tell me to do that.
People are entitled to work and if I want to work, I will just continue working.
In America, there is no retirement age and if people are fit, just like some of
the referees who are as fit as fiddles but told to retire at 48, you should look
at the individual circumstances and how the person feels themselves."

Reflecting on his 20 years in which the club won 18 trophies, he added :

"You are judged by the trophies you win, there is no doubt about that. If you
don't win your trophies, then you won't be at a club for 20 years, that's for
sure but the way we have done it has been the right way. We have done it the
Manchester United way by playing good football. Sometimes you can get carried
away with your attacking play, but it is better to die gloriously than go the
other way. There is great pride in me at what has been achieved in those 20
years, though, but in terms of the future, you just look at winning game by
game. You cannot focus on one event or trophy like they do in athletics perhaps.
Football is too emotional a game to look at it like that."