That said, it's amazing that FIFA will not rethink it's ban in the use of video technology. Even though the referee and his assistant running the line were so blind they could not pick up a ball two feet inside the goal line, most of those in the stadium and the TV cameras certainly did. I also read today that FIFA now agrees there is a problem with their new ball.

 

I am becoming very disenchanted with the world cup. Weird ball, bad officials, and an organization that makes a tons of money, but no one knows exactly where it goes or what it is spent for. This is clearly a case where someone, or should I say some country, needs to start their own version of the world cup. I am very surprised that no one hasn't done that already. I suspect that if football (soccer) becomes more popular in the USA that some American group will do so. Look at it this way, it would be hard for an American group to do a worse job.

I got it, we can call it the world's Soccer cup, to distinquish it from the real game of football.

Zutag Amerika, bis morgan Der Englander.

 

Heute die Amerikaner, morgen die Engl

This is clearly a case where someone, or should I say some country, needs to start their own version of the world cup. I am very surprised that no one hasn't done that already.

I agree, but it is unfortunately a near impossibility. The game of soccer is organised by a vast number of local associations who vote for national associations who vote for international associations, all of whom vote for a favoured few delegates who then become FIFA's main board - or at least I believe that is what happens. Whenever major decisions have to be made, many involving hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars, there is always a huge amount of horse-trading (did I hear someone mention"corruption"? )

 

For example, everyone expected the 2006 World Cup to be awarded to South Africa, even the bloated Mr. Blatter. Yet it went to Germany, only because the 78 year-old New Zealander representing the Oceania Federation, Claude Dempsey, having been instructed by his national association to vote for South Africa if the bid by England failed (as it did), changed his mind and abstained. Germany then won the final ballot by 12 votes to 11. The near octogenarian, whose Federation had rarely found itself with a nation in a World Cup Finals, claimed he had come under "unsustainable pressure" regarding his vote - i.e. he had been offered substantial bribes. His lack of nerve embarrassed the entire world of soccer, to say nothing of his country. New Zealand's Minister for Sport said the whole country was shocked and embarrassed by Mr Dempsey's failure to discharge his responsibilities. South African President Thabo Mbeki described the outcome as a tragedy for the African continent. "Next time we will win," he added. How did he know? Because Blatter had promised it!

 

So FIFA is essentially a bunch of amateurs controlled by puppet-master Blatter. Even he was the subject of very serious allegations by his former Chief Executive who produced a 30-page dossier alleging financial irregularities and mismanagement within FIFA just prior to the 2002 World Cup in Japan/Korea. For a time some assumed Blatter would not win re-election, but Blatter had made a huge effort to curry favour from the African and South American delegates by promising them more World Cup Finals. He won - and he's still there.

 

The Olympic Committee went through a period of angst when corruption was discovered to be rife during the time of Juan Antonio Samaranch. I wish investigators would now go through FIFA's books with a fine toothcomb. But who is going to call them in?

I agree, but it is unfortunately a near impossibility.

 

Very informative, Thank you.

Here's some more information about Herr Blatter.

 

In the early 1970s, he was elected president of the World Society of Friends of Suspenders, an organisation which tried to stop women replacing suspender belts with pantyhose! I kid you not! As Britain's Guardian newspaper said 4 years ago, "that probably is where he should have stayed."

 

Even in South Africa, the man is being lampooned in the website transparencyinsport.

 

News of Blatter’s demand for the most luxurious suite in Africa at Joburg’s five-star Michaelangelo Hotel provoked rage and satire. The Afrikaans tabloid in the Cape, the Daily Voice, mocks Blatter’s demand for an ‘African-themed’ bathroom. He seems to neither know nor care that millions of citizens put up with earth closets in wooden or tin huts.

 

South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper is fighting a heroic battle in the courts to publish information about tendering for World Cup contracts. The 2010 South African Local Organising Committee (LOC) claim they are running a private event and so are not bound by Freedom of Information laws. FIFA claims football is the people’s game. But the money and who gets it is secret. Already the journalists have scored a great coup. They have forced Danny Jordaan, chief blazer at the LOC, to disclose the 198-page secret legal agreement between FIFA and the South African Football Association.

Full details at - http://www.transparencyinsport.org/Now_South_African_press_dumps_on_Blatter/south_african_press_dumps_on_blatter.html

 

If you look at the box 3rd down on the left, you will be able to download both parts of the full FIFA/South Africa contract. Interesting!

 

Roll on Mr. Honda! We need to see these long balls again to relieve the gloom and doom.

As a supporter of Manchester City football club since my schooldays, I was less than thrilled to see that the Brazilian player Robinho was deemed to have been man of the match in his team's defeat of Chile. (By the way, I was quite impressed with Chile - they would have beaten England IMO - but then which of the teams left in the tournament wouldn't!)

 

This is the same Robinho who signed for Man City and after a few decent games became such a liability for the team that in his last game the manager, who had sent him on as a substitute, then substituted him in turn! My opinion is that this guy is a shyster:

 

Taken from the Merriam Webster's on line dictionary:

 

Etymology: probably from German Scheisser, literally, defecator

Date: 1844

 

: a person who is professionally unscrupulous especially in the practice of law or politics :

 

I haven't paid to go and watch a football match for 20 years. I am very disillusioned by the direction the game has taken in England. The Robinho fiasco well summarises my disenchantment.

I had my drink and snack at the ready at 9:00pm last night ready for another World Cup match - and only then realised there will be none till Friday! I can't say I really felt deprived. With just a few exceptions, most of the matches I have seen have been pretty mediocre. Japan should have beaten Paraguay, but instead of attacking from the get-go as they did against Denmark, they sat back for much of the match waiting to counter-attack, and then paid the price at the penalty shoot-out. So farewell Mr. Honda I'm more interested in Wimbledon now!

Interesting piece on today

A little nugget from the guardian.co.uk. Many hundreds of readers of the site have been rating their best and worst players based on performances in the tournament. Best player performance so far is our man Keisuke Honda who gets a 9.08 rating for the match against Denmark. YEAH!!

 

Not surprisingly, the 10 worst performance list includes 4 England players with Wayne Rooney being listed twice.

 

Details at World Cup 2010: Player ratings - the best and worst performances | Football | guardian.co.uk

At last a match truly worthy of the World Cup! Germany not only tore Argentine apart, they made the feared South Americans look horribly ordinary. If there is one strange thread over the past few weeks it is that the great world stars of soccer have almost completely failed to shine. Along with the pundits, I expected this to be 'World Player of the Year' Messi's tournament. The German team of young, relatively 'unknown' payers made him look ordinary. They play fast, fluid, exciting football. I hope they go on to win.

I was very sad to see Brazil get out of the running. The only one I am not rooting for is Spain.

Spain v Germany tonight at 7.30pm UK time ( 1.30am Thai time) for a place in the final to face Holland.

 

I will be neutral in tonight's game. Normally I would be desperately hoping Spain will beat Germany, as England and Germany have a great rivalry. However, after England's awful football in their 4-1 defeat by Germany in an earlier round, I accept Germany are far superior and deserve to have got this far. (see Fountainhall's earlier post re Germany's demolition of Argentina).

 

Last night Holland beat Uruguay 3-2. It looked like Holland were coasting to an easy win, but then Uruguay scored in the final few minutes and just needed one more goal to take the match into extra time. The Dutch held out however and deserved their victory. I feel there is some doubt about their chances of beating Spain or Germany. Certainly if Germany win against Spain, they must be clear favourites to win the World Cup.

Seems like the major refereeing mistakes at the World Cup may have finally prompted FiFa to change the system.

 

Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke told the BBC that TV replays showing Frank Lampard scoring a goal against Germany was a "bad day" for organisers. And Valcke suggested changes will be made before the 2014 World Cup.

 

"We're talking about a goal not seen by the referee which is why we are talking about new technology," said Valcke.

 

Fifa's general secretary also suggested that the use of two extra referees positioned on the goal-line - a system trialled last season in the Europa League and set to be used in the Champions League this coming season - might be used in future World Cups.

 

"Let's see if this system will help or whether giving the referee an additional four eyes will give him the comfort and make duty easier to perform," added Valcke. "I would say that it is the final World Cup with the current refereeing system."

 

Although Valcke's comments will be interpreted as a change of policy by Fifa following the International Football Association Board's decision to reject goal-line technology and other aids for referees in March, the Fifa general secretary wants the whole approach to refereeing to be reformed.

 

"The teams and the players are so strong and so fast. The game is different and the referees are older than all the players," said Valcke.

 

"The game is so fast, the ball is flying so quickly, we have to help them and we have to do something and that's why I say it is the last World Cup under the current system."

BBC Sport - Football - Fifa to make refereeing changes for future World Cups

Spain will win the World Cup - it's official!

 

An octopus credited with psychic powers has predicted that Spain will defeat the Netherlands in the World Cup final . . . the tip for Spain was his first for a game not involving Germany. He predicts by choosing a mussel from one of two boxes bearing the flags of the competing nations.

 

The two-year-old cephalopod has become an international celebrity.

 

His prognosis of South Africa's World Cup final, made from his tank in the Sea Life Aquarium in the western German city of Oberhausen, has been relayed on satellite TV around the world.

 

He correctly predicted all of Germany's World Cup games, including a shock defeat by Serbia in the group stages and the ousting by Spain on Wednesday.

Now you know

 

BBC News - 'Psychic' octopus predicts Spain to win World Cup

Spain will win the World Cup - it's official!

Unbelievable! That octopus got it right again! That's seven correct results in seven matches. I wonder what price he'd fetch if he was auctioned off now.

After a pretty poor world cup final yesterday, I was much more interested to find out about future plans for Paul - I don't know how long octopuses live, but I for one hope, in the fullness of time, he will return!

 

One of the stars of the 2010 World Cup has announced his shock retirement after a flawless tournament - Paul the Octopus.

 

The psychic cephalopod became a global sensation by correctly predicting the result of every Germany game at the World Cup. He signed off with a perfect eight out of eight record by picking Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final

 

A spokesman for the German aquarium where he is kept said Paul would: "Go into retirement and do what he likes to do best: play with his handlers and delight children who come to visit him."

 

World Cup 2010 - Octopus Paul retires - Yahoo! Eurosport

I don't know how long octopuses live, but I for one hope, in the fullness of time, he will return!

Wouldn't you know it! Paul the octopus is not what we think he is, according to London's Daily Mirror newspapr in a banner headline -

 

Paul the psychic World Cup octopus 'is a fraud'

 

World Cup octopus Paul has been accused of having a slippery past after his trainer said he is Italian not British and is younger than his aquarium have claimed. The tentacled oracle correctly tipped Spain as the winners and had a stunning winning streak of picking eight successive correct results at odds of 300-1.

 

His official biography says he was born in Weymouth, Dorset, three years ago and moved to his tank at the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen, western Germany. But Paul’s trainer Verena Bartsch claimed she caught him off the Italian island of Elba in April.

 

She said: “I caught him with my bare hands. He was only a few weeks old.”

 

Miss Bartsch added that she had taken Paul first to a sea life centre in the German town of Coburg before moving him to his current home. It was not clear why she had waited so long before speaking out.

 

Her claims also raise the possibility that a different octopus predicted the Euro 2008 results, when Paul was said to have had an 80% success rate at the start of his career.

 

Italian newspaper La Repubblica said: “Octopus gets it right again but his real name is Paolo.”

 

Italian opposition MP Andrea Sarubbi said: “I have just read the shocking news that the famous predicting octopus Paul is not English as was believed but in fact from Italy.

 

“I have written to the director of the German Sea Life centre and asked that he be repatriated as soon as possible because never has our country ever needed someone to make clear and decisive judgements such as now.”

Whether British or Italian, both countries are economic disaster zones and both need his services!

The footballing team won and the thugs finished second. A good result for football.

 

An even worse thug team finished second in the Champions League final too. In that case it was good to see the team that apparently tried to cripple it's opponents in two of the knockout rounds was beaten in the final.

The footballing team won and the thugs finished second. A good result for football.

So right! I can remember the golden age of Dutch football in the 1970s. They more or less invented the quick-passing free-flowing game we love today. I agree with the scathing comments of Dutchman Johann Cruyff, the undisputed star in that galaxy of 1970s talent, when he accused his 2010 compatriots of playing "anti-football".

Now the World Cup is over, attention has turned (at least in England) to what kit the players will be wearing next season. You might never before have associated Chang beer with bubblegum, but take a look at the shirt below, unveiled recently as the away strip for Everton FC.