Today's news in the world of Jedi Soccer is about trial baloons. Our first tidbit comes from the Land of Rumour: according to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Argentine soccer legend Maradonna is planning a visit to Iran with an eye towards accepting an offer to coach the Iranian national soccer team. If this is true (and remember, Ahmadinejad has a history of transparent lies), then it would seem that the Argentine soccer great will do anything for enough money. Worryingly, Maradonna has done or said nothing to discourage the speculation surrounding his alleged pending visit to Iran.
Why Maradonna would even think about working for this disgusting regime is unfathomable. Perhaps the Iranian's have developed a new process for snorting uranium. We shall have to see.
Meanwhile, in an altogether more positive development, today FIFA announced its short list of candidates for the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) & FIFA Player of the Year award. On the list are no less than three Barca players: Lionel Messi (again, of course), and also Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.
This is only the second time that three players from a single team have been nominated for the same award-- the last time this happened was in 1989 when AC Milan was in its glory days. This year will also be the first time that the French Golden Ball award and the Player of the Year award are merged and given as a single trophy. Although he deserves it, Messi Wan Kenobi was last year's Player of the Year winner, and so it is unlikely he will be voted the award twice in a row. However, both Xavi and Iniesta are deserving candidates, given their prowess with Barca and their successful World Cup campaign. Having never received the award before, Xavi is probably the odds-on favorite.
So there you have today's trial ballons: Maradona to coach Iran, and Xavi Hernandez for FIFA Player of the Year. Too bad there isn't an award for 'Biggest Sellout," because I know at least one former great player who is a candidate for that award too, depending on who he decides to take his paycheck from. We shall see.
“LIKE A JEDI KNIGHT— no, better than that— A TEMPLAR KNIGHT. This is a FLASH OF PURE INSPIRATION, and let me tip my hat to the genesis of this goal: Ibarra. Lionel only absolutely LIGHTS IT UP here, he LIFTS OFF IT, FLAMETHROWERS IT PAST poor Reny Vega. It’s just as well Reny didn’t get a hand to that because it would have TAKEN IT OFF HIS WRIST. Superlative football and an out of this world BERNINI SCULPTURE of a finish." GOL TV Commentator Ray Hudson
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
More Bitching About Qatar
Now that another 24 hours has passed since the news that FIFA has selected Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, more details are beginning to emerge. And as the details are coming out, the decision to go with Qatar seems even more incomprehensible.
First, I serve up this: FIFA's internal survey of the Qatar bid, was classified as 'High Risk' AFTER the FIFA inspectors had visited Qatar. And yet despite the 'High Risk' classification of the Qatar bid, they got the nod anyway.
Second, FIFA's internal reports also indicated that an American-hosted World Cup-- with all of our sports infrastructure already in place, and the extensive media assets across North America-- would likely result in the most profitable World Cup ever held. But still Qatar got the bid.
Third, we now learn that a HUGE part of Qatar's bid was based on the concept of modular, pre-fabricated air-conditioned stadiums, to be strategically placed around the Connecticut-sized country for the event. This is TOTALLY UNPROVEN TECHNOLOGY and yet FIFA is betting their Flagship Event that Qatar can actually pull this off, even though they have never hosted a world-class sporting event EVER.
How is this going to work, really? I mean, are we going to see England vs. Argentina being held in Modular Stadium C-3 at the 38 Kilometer marker outside of some little desert settlement of perhaps 30,000 people? It's beginning to look that way. Make sure the air conditioning in the rental car you got in Doha is working smoothly.
And then there is this, from the Associated Press:
"Qatar, with a population of 841,000, has not only never hosted a World Cup but not even played in one. FIFA inspectors who toured the country, which is half the size of Israel and slightly smaller than Connecticut, cautioned that the intense heat in summer, when the tournament will be played, posed a potential health risk for players and fans.
Qatar allayed the fears of some — but not all — FIFA voters by promising that stadiums, training venues and areas for fans to party will be cooled with solar-powered air conditioning. But it has yet to be proven that the technology will work on such a broad scale, which prompted the American on FIFA's committee, Chuck Blazer, to quip: "I don't see how you can air-condition an entire country."
"Air-conditioning an entire country." Indeed. You can air-condition a stadium (maybe!), but you can't air-condition the Middle East in July. Prepare for massive visitor bitching about the heat. And what happens if Israel qualifies for this now-scheduled middle east world cup? Think they might have a go at it? Not a crazy thought; the Israeli leagues are good and getting better. If you want a security nightmare, just wait 'till it's Israel vs. Iran in Qatar 2022. Will Qatar really work with Israeli security to ensure the safety of the team, if the Israelis qualify? Is it unreasonable to assume that some religious loonies on the Arabian peninsula might not think this is a great chance to do Allah's work by doing you-know-what to the drunken Infidels on our sacred land? Oy gevalt, my head hurts thinking about it. This is the sort of thing that makes this choice by FIFA a self-assessed 'High Risk' selection.
Given all that and plus the social and religious restrictions in Qatar that will certainly rub against western social mores, and I must predict that this could be one of the worst-attended World Cup events ever. Maybe it would be better simply to plan not to go at all.
Look, I know that Sepp Blatter wanted to bring the World Cup to new lands. I actually support that. So OK, you chose Russia. Wonderful. The Russians at least have thrown this kind of Really Big Sports Party before, so I have confidence they can do it. Good pick. Mission Accomplished-- that is new ground for FIFA. There-- you've brought the World Cup to a new country. Congratulations.
But Qatar? Really? Having already picked Russia as your "new country," to follow that up with Qatar really looks like FIFA is dissing the USSF. Given the overwhelming strength of the American bid to host the World Cup, and all of the dramatic negatives associated with Qatar's bid, and I can only conclude this:
Sepp Blatter & FIFA would rather send the world to the high desert in mid-July to play in modular pre-fabricated stadiums near little desert villages, rather than give the Americans another shot at this event.
I'm sorry, but this looks like an expensive and yet petty display of anti-Americanism by the FIFA bid selection committee. Someone please prove me wrong.
First, I serve up this: FIFA's internal survey of the Qatar bid, was classified as 'High Risk' AFTER the FIFA inspectors had visited Qatar. And yet despite the 'High Risk' classification of the Qatar bid, they got the nod anyway.
Second, FIFA's internal reports also indicated that an American-hosted World Cup-- with all of our sports infrastructure already in place, and the extensive media assets across North America-- would likely result in the most profitable World Cup ever held. But still Qatar got the bid.
Third, we now learn that a HUGE part of Qatar's bid was based on the concept of modular, pre-fabricated air-conditioned stadiums, to be strategically placed around the Connecticut-sized country for the event. This is TOTALLY UNPROVEN TECHNOLOGY and yet FIFA is betting their Flagship Event that Qatar can actually pull this off, even though they have never hosted a world-class sporting event EVER.
How is this going to work, really? I mean, are we going to see England vs. Argentina being held in Modular Stadium C-3 at the 38 Kilometer marker outside of some little desert settlement of perhaps 30,000 people? It's beginning to look that way. Make sure the air conditioning in the rental car you got in Doha is working smoothly.
And then there is this, from the Associated Press:
"Qatar, with a population of 841,000, has not only never hosted a World Cup but not even played in one. FIFA inspectors who toured the country, which is half the size of Israel and slightly smaller than Connecticut, cautioned that the intense heat in summer, when the tournament will be played, posed a potential health risk for players and fans.
Qatar allayed the fears of some — but not all — FIFA voters by promising that stadiums, training venues and areas for fans to party will be cooled with solar-powered air conditioning. But it has yet to be proven that the technology will work on such a broad scale, which prompted the American on FIFA's committee, Chuck Blazer, to quip: "I don't see how you can air-condition an entire country."
"Air-conditioning an entire country." Indeed. You can air-condition a stadium (maybe!), but you can't air-condition the Middle East in July. Prepare for massive visitor bitching about the heat. And what happens if Israel qualifies for this now-scheduled middle east world cup? Think they might have a go at it? Not a crazy thought; the Israeli leagues are good and getting better. If you want a security nightmare, just wait 'till it's Israel vs. Iran in Qatar 2022. Will Qatar really work with Israeli security to ensure the safety of the team, if the Israelis qualify? Is it unreasonable to assume that some religious loonies on the Arabian peninsula might not think this is a great chance to do Allah's work by doing you-know-what to the drunken Infidels on our sacred land? Oy gevalt, my head hurts thinking about it. This is the sort of thing that makes this choice by FIFA a self-assessed 'High Risk' selection.
Given all that and plus the social and religious restrictions in Qatar that will certainly rub against western social mores, and I must predict that this could be one of the worst-attended World Cup events ever. Maybe it would be better simply to plan not to go at all.
Look, I know that Sepp Blatter wanted to bring the World Cup to new lands. I actually support that. So OK, you chose Russia. Wonderful. The Russians at least have thrown this kind of Really Big Sports Party before, so I have confidence they can do it. Good pick. Mission Accomplished-- that is new ground for FIFA. There-- you've brought the World Cup to a new country. Congratulations.
But Qatar? Really? Having already picked Russia as your "new country," to follow that up with Qatar really looks like FIFA is dissing the USSF. Given the overwhelming strength of the American bid to host the World Cup, and all of the dramatic negatives associated with Qatar's bid, and I can only conclude this:
Sepp Blatter & FIFA would rather send the world to the high desert in mid-July to play in modular pre-fabricated stadiums near little desert villages, rather than give the Americans another shot at this event.
I'm sorry, but this looks like an expensive and yet petty display of anti-Americanism by the FIFA bid selection committee. Someone please prove me wrong.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
FIFA Taps Qatar for 2022 Cup
Today's announcement by FIFA boss Sepp Blatter has finally ended the American bid to host the World Cup once again, in 2022. By vote of the World Cup organizing committee, the 2018 World Cup will go to Russia-- which I think is a good choice-- and the 2022 World Cup goes to Qatar, which I think is a terrible choice.
Why is awarding the bid to Qatar such a bad idea? Let me count the ways:
1. Qatar is ranked # 113 in the world rankings-- the lowest any host nation has ever been ranked, at the time they were awarded the World Cup. Basically, they have no soccer tradition; almost every other country in the Middle East, including Israel, has a more fully developed soccer tradition than Qatar does. This win by Qatar gives hope to Futbol powerhouses like Fiji and the Seychelles, that one day they too can host the World Cup.
2. Qatar is really small! About the size of Connecticut. The US Air Force could cover the whole place with outdoor carpeting in less than 24 hours. When FIFA awarded the World Cup to Japan and Korea, it was as a joint bid and both of these countries are significantly larger than Qatar, and they still had to work hard to make it work. Same for South Africa. But Qatar? There is ONLY ONE CITY in the whole country-- Doha. The bid would make more sense if it was co-hosted by the nearby United Arab Emirates (UAE), which would instantly add the large cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai to the mix. That would make more sense. But no-- it seems to be all Qatar. Look for state-of-the-art football stadiums to be built in the middle of the desert, near smallish desert settlements surrounded only by hot sand, camels and vast parking lots.
3. The country is REALLY hot! It's a desert, for crying out loud! Temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius are not unheard of. Allegedly, Qatar has plans in their bid to ensure that vast air-conditioning systems are installed in the World Cup stadiums; but considering that none of this infrastructure has been built yet, I think that FIFA is totally rolling the dice on having The Most Unpleasant World Cup Ever. If that happens, it will also be the World Cup with the lowest attendance as well.
4. Qatar is in the Middle East. To state it plainly: VISITING TARGETS. The security at this World Cup is going to be a nightmare. Sure, the citizens of Qatar are fairly modern and progressive people; but who else from the Middle East will be visiting?
Furthermore... although the Persian Gulf countries have a more progressive reputation than the rest of the Middle East, it is also true that their social mores are more... restrictive than, say, Brazil. Women are not even allowed to bare their shoulders in public. So what happens when all those people from other countries want to Par-Tay, World Cup style, according to their own traditions and mores? Is this the part where we see Qatari police go nuts and lock up Brazilian women because of bare shoulders or a tit that accidentally popped out of a blouse while she was cheering? What about the English lads who want a pint after the match? Or the Spaniards swilling Sangria after La Furia Roja wins? Oh yeah, this is either going to be the most repressive World Cup ever... or it will disgust the rest of the pious Middle East, if Qatar lightens up a bit on the social mores for the Cup. Either way, someone is going to be unhappy.
I understand why FIFA gave it to Qatar-- they want to award the Middle East for the growth of soccer there, and encourage its further development in the Middle East. Given this basic motive, choosing one of the Gulf states was really the only option-- places like Saudi Arabia or Syria are out of the question (multiply all the concerns above x 3), and anyway they did not bid. Further, Qatar is the richest nation on earth, on a per-capita basis. So they have the money to spend on building oodles of stadiums, which is necessary for a successful bid. Before this is over, Qatar will have more soccer stadiums than cities of over 40,000 people.
So, to me this looks like a square-peg / round-hole situation. Qatar is too small, too hot, too restrictive, and too Middle East, to host this event with the degree of internationalism it deserves. The decision to give the 2018 games to Russia is comprehensible-- the Russians have the size and the soccer tradition and the money to do a fine job. They've hosted the Olympic games before, quite successfully. No concerns there.
But QATAR?
I appreciate FIFA's committment to "spreading the wealth," but this was ridiculous.
This is the worst Host nation selection in the history of the World Cup.
Why is awarding the bid to Qatar such a bad idea? Let me count the ways:
1. Qatar is ranked # 113 in the world rankings-- the lowest any host nation has ever been ranked, at the time they were awarded the World Cup. Basically, they have no soccer tradition; almost every other country in the Middle East, including Israel, has a more fully developed soccer tradition than Qatar does. This win by Qatar gives hope to Futbol powerhouses like Fiji and the Seychelles, that one day they too can host the World Cup.
2. Qatar is really small! About the size of Connecticut. The US Air Force could cover the whole place with outdoor carpeting in less than 24 hours. When FIFA awarded the World Cup to Japan and Korea, it was as a joint bid and both of these countries are significantly larger than Qatar, and they still had to work hard to make it work. Same for South Africa. But Qatar? There is ONLY ONE CITY in the whole country-- Doha. The bid would make more sense if it was co-hosted by the nearby United Arab Emirates (UAE), which would instantly add the large cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai to the mix. That would make more sense. But no-- it seems to be all Qatar. Look for state-of-the-art football stadiums to be built in the middle of the desert, near smallish desert settlements surrounded only by hot sand, camels and vast parking lots.
3. The country is REALLY hot! It's a desert, for crying out loud! Temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius are not unheard of. Allegedly, Qatar has plans in their bid to ensure that vast air-conditioning systems are installed in the World Cup stadiums; but considering that none of this infrastructure has been built yet, I think that FIFA is totally rolling the dice on having The Most Unpleasant World Cup Ever. If that happens, it will also be the World Cup with the lowest attendance as well.
4. Qatar is in the Middle East. To state it plainly: VISITING TARGETS. The security at this World Cup is going to be a nightmare. Sure, the citizens of Qatar are fairly modern and progressive people; but who else from the Middle East will be visiting?
Furthermore... although the Persian Gulf countries have a more progressive reputation than the rest of the Middle East, it is also true that their social mores are more... restrictive than, say, Brazil. Women are not even allowed to bare their shoulders in public. So what happens when all those people from other countries want to Par-Tay, World Cup style, according to their own traditions and mores? Is this the part where we see Qatari police go nuts and lock up Brazilian women because of bare shoulders or a tit that accidentally popped out of a blouse while she was cheering? What about the English lads who want a pint after the match? Or the Spaniards swilling Sangria after La Furia Roja wins? Oh yeah, this is either going to be the most repressive World Cup ever... or it will disgust the rest of the pious Middle East, if Qatar lightens up a bit on the social mores for the Cup. Either way, someone is going to be unhappy.
I understand why FIFA gave it to Qatar-- they want to award the Middle East for the growth of soccer there, and encourage its further development in the Middle East. Given this basic motive, choosing one of the Gulf states was really the only option-- places like Saudi Arabia or Syria are out of the question (multiply all the concerns above x 3), and anyway they did not bid. Further, Qatar is the richest nation on earth, on a per-capita basis. So they have the money to spend on building oodles of stadiums, which is necessary for a successful bid. Before this is over, Qatar will have more soccer stadiums than cities of over 40,000 people.
So, to me this looks like a square-peg / round-hole situation. Qatar is too small, too hot, too restrictive, and too Middle East, to host this event with the degree of internationalism it deserves. The decision to give the 2018 games to Russia is comprehensible-- the Russians have the size and the soccer tradition and the money to do a fine job. They've hosted the Olympic games before, quite successfully. No concerns there.
But QATAR?
I appreciate FIFA's committment to "spreading the wealth," but this was ridiculous.
This is the worst Host nation selection in the history of the World Cup.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
DC United Taps Olsen
In one of the most surprising developments in American professional soccer recently, this past weekend DC United formally named interim coach and former United standout Ben Olsen, as the team's newest head coach. This is now the seventh head coach in the history of DC United and, more tellingly, United's third head coach in less than a full calendar year. Ben Olsen now becomes the youngest head coach in the history of Major League Soccer.
I didn't think that Olsen was ready for the job and I have said as much in previous posts. He is without a doubt a real fan favorite, and he is clearly popular with the team; but he was thrust into the role of being the caretaker of a train wreck season that was not of his own making, and that is trying even for experienced coaches, much less a rookie coach. More to the point, over the last several months DC United President Kevin Payne has stated on many occassions, that Olsen was just the interim coach and that he was not ready for the job.
So... what changed? First, negotiations with coach Lucien Favre, the former boss of Hertha Berlin in the Budesliga, completely broke down. Then negotiations with coach Caleb Porter from the University of Akron also broke down... and suddenly, United was without a leading candidate. As the team has continued to search for a new head coach, all the liabilities that currently plague the franchise kicked in to sour interest from potential candidates: no stadium deal in the works, no franchise player now that Moreno has retired; no clear committment on the team's part to spend the money to turn this around; and a recent history of expensive trades that have failed to produce on the field. Given all these negatives, its no surprise that United had a hard time finding a world-class coach who was interested.
And that is truly pitiful, because there was a time, not so long ago, when almost ANY American soccer coach, and a great many European coaches as well, would have lept at a chance to coach DC United, the most successful soccer franchise in North America. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
And so... Ben Olsen gets the job by default. The team has publicly made the right noises about how he was the best choice, how he knows DC United better than any outsider, how the players like and respect him, etc. and so forth. All true, I suppose.
But this much is clear: Olsen has a HUGE task ahead of him, trying to turn this team around. Without a stadium deal, without a franchise player, without a fat budget for talent acquisition, and working for a team ownership and front office that is proving itself to be rather inept at managing a sports franchise.
And THAT is the real problem here. Good luck to Ben Olsen. I like him, and if he succeeds I'll happily eat my words. But what I really think, is that the people running the franchise, are not football people-- William Chang is a successful venture capitalist with a proven eye for funding promising new tech companies, but I do not think either that or his Harvard education, necessarily prepares him to oversee a football operation. It makes me pine for the days when the franchise was run by the Anschutz Entertainment Group. At least we were winning when Anschutz ran the franchise.
Anyway, maybe I'm wrong about the inept front office too; but if so, someone please prove me wrong by winning.
So, Good Luck coach... I've had my doubts, but now that you have the job, I'll be pulling for you. And since all the fans really do like you, you'll probably get the benefit of the doubt if things go south next season. But lets hope that it does not come to that.
I didn't think that Olsen was ready for the job and I have said as much in previous posts. He is without a doubt a real fan favorite, and he is clearly popular with the team; but he was thrust into the role of being the caretaker of a train wreck season that was not of his own making, and that is trying even for experienced coaches, much less a rookie coach. More to the point, over the last several months DC United President Kevin Payne has stated on many occassions, that Olsen was just the interim coach and that he was not ready for the job.
So... what changed? First, negotiations with coach Lucien Favre, the former boss of Hertha Berlin in the Budesliga, completely broke down. Then negotiations with coach Caleb Porter from the University of Akron also broke down... and suddenly, United was without a leading candidate. As the team has continued to search for a new head coach, all the liabilities that currently plague the franchise kicked in to sour interest from potential candidates: no stadium deal in the works, no franchise player now that Moreno has retired; no clear committment on the team's part to spend the money to turn this around; and a recent history of expensive trades that have failed to produce on the field. Given all these negatives, its no surprise that United had a hard time finding a world-class coach who was interested.
And that is truly pitiful, because there was a time, not so long ago, when almost ANY American soccer coach, and a great many European coaches as well, would have lept at a chance to coach DC United, the most successful soccer franchise in North America. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
And so... Ben Olsen gets the job by default. The team has publicly made the right noises about how he was the best choice, how he knows DC United better than any outsider, how the players like and respect him, etc. and so forth. All true, I suppose.
But this much is clear: Olsen has a HUGE task ahead of him, trying to turn this team around. Without a stadium deal, without a franchise player, without a fat budget for talent acquisition, and working for a team ownership and front office that is proving itself to be rather inept at managing a sports franchise.
And THAT is the real problem here. Good luck to Ben Olsen. I like him, and if he succeeds I'll happily eat my words. But what I really think, is that the people running the franchise, are not football people-- William Chang is a successful venture capitalist with a proven eye for funding promising new tech companies, but I do not think either that or his Harvard education, necessarily prepares him to oversee a football operation. It makes me pine for the days when the franchise was run by the Anschutz Entertainment Group. At least we were winning when Anschutz ran the franchise.
Anyway, maybe I'm wrong about the inept front office too; but if so, someone please prove me wrong by winning.
So, Good Luck coach... I've had my doubts, but now that you have the job, I'll be pulling for you. And since all the fans really do like you, you'll probably get the benefit of the doubt if things go south next season. But lets hope that it does not come to that.
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