Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2018 i World Soccer

Congratulations to Cristiano Ronaldo, World Soccer’s World Player of the Year for a record fifth time after his role in Real Madrid’s successes over the past 12 months – successes that have rightly earned his club and their coach, Zinedine Zidane, our Team of the Year and Manager of the Year awards. Amid all the plaudits for Ronaldo, it’s easy to overlook Lionel Messi’s outstanding performances over the past 12 months: he was the top club scorer in Europe and instrumental in rescuing Argentina’s World Cup qualifying campaign. In the summer, Ronaldo and Messi have a chance to cement their place in history by winning the World Cup In the summer, Ronaldo and Messi have a chance to cement their place in history by winning the World Cup. Not all…

“I’m really tired when I get home and I don’t have the energy to be playing with him all day. I just go in goal” Real Madrid’s Marcelo on his eight-year-old son, Enzo, who plays as a forward for one of the club’s junior teams One of the world’s most influential players of the past 15 years, Kaka has announced his retirement at the age of 35 after ending his third season with MLS side Orlando City. The Brazilian, who was World Soccer’s World Player of the Year in 2007 after winning the Champions League with Milan, played 92 times for his country, scoring 29 goals and starring in Brazil’s 2009 Confederations Cup triumph. “I needed time to think and take a very calm decision; very calm and very aware…

Rugby and gridiron football and wrestling are contact sports…the rules allow it, indeed, contact is at the heart of those sports. Football is not like that The myth of “going down too easily” A favourite cliche of British TV gurus is “he went down too easily”. And it is a cliche that the gurus bring up too easily. There is bias at work here; my own, for a start. I’m talking here strictly about the attitude of EPL commentators, so it’s hardly a global look at “going down too easily” – let’s call it GDTE, for simplicity’s sake. But it is one that makes sense because, as I see it, it is the Brits who are most attached to the GDTE accusation. Many of the gurus were defenders in their…

“While we were winning, I never had a secure feeling. It was always fragile” Borussia dortmund Ceo, hans-Joachim Watzke (left) on why Peter Bosz was sacked Desperate times call for desperate measures. How else to describe Borussia Dortmund’s decision to sack Dutch coach Peter Bosz, who had not won in the Bundesliga since late September, and replace him with Peter Stoger, who prior to being axed by Cologne a matter of days earlier, had picked up just two points from the first 13 games of the season? Bosz, whose last game in charge was a 2-1 capitulation at lowly Werder Bremen, simply ran out of road and time. Dortmund set themselves the highest of standards and a disastrous streak of just one win in 14 competitive fixtures was bound to…

Supporters of Caen do not like to be reminded of the time, five years ago, when they allowed future global hot-shot Kylian Mbappe – then just a 14-year-old kid – to slip through their fingers. Back in the spring of 2012, Caen must have thought they had the winning lottery ticket in their back pocket. After several years of building up a relationship with the much-coveted front-line prodigy and his family, a deal was in place for him to come on board the following year, on a three-season apprenticeship which would segue into a three-campaign first professional contract. But all too quickly that arrangement began to unravel, with Caen slipping out of the top flight and coach/general manager Franck Dumas, an instrumental figure in the charm offensive, leaving the club.…

Soon to lead Iceland as they make their first-ever World Cup appearance, the 50-yearold Heimir Hallgrimsson does not only pick the team and choose the tactics; he is also the heart and soul of his nation’s football culture. He is the guardian of what the game stands for on a collection of volcanic rock in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. Whereas his entire squad is made up of overseas-based players, he has never worked outside of his homeland and draws extensively on that unbroken connection in his job, forever promoting what he sees as Iceland’s unique sporting virtues: their discipline, unity, industry, power in one-on-one duels, humility and undaunted spirit. These are the seams Hallgrimsson looks to mine for his marginal gains. Characteristics, which in business parlance, are…

BALZAN Backed by Anton Tagliaferro, they were runners-up last season and entered this term’s Europa League qualifiers, where they lost 5-3 on aggregate to Hungary’s Videoton under new coach Marco Micovic. BIRKIRKARA From Malta’s most populous town, the club won four titles, the last of which was in 2013. Frank Zarb took over as president in June 2017 after his predecessor, lawyer Adrian Delia, went into politics. FLORIANA Winner of 25 titles and run by Riccardo Gaucci, the son of Luciano, the former owner of Catania and Perugia. Ex-Palermo coach Giovanni Tedesco took over in 2016 and they held Red Star Belgrade 3-3 at home in this year’s Europa League qualifiers. GZIRA UNITED Returned to the Premier League last season after winning the First Division in 2016. The chairman is…

Real Madrid managed to maintain their stranglehold on the FIFA Club World Cup at an uncertain time for the world federation’s sole underwhelming venture into the club game. Zinedine Zidane’s champions of Europe and Spain retained their grip on the world title and were triumphant for a third time in four years, beating South American title-holders Gremio of Brazil more comfortably in Abu Dhabi than the 1-0 scoreline might suggest. Outclassed South America sides have now won only one of the last 11 Finals. However, a continuing lack of enthusiasm from Europe and its broadcasters raises questions about FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s idea of an expanded club world championship, one that may perhaps be held every four years as a replacement for the equally dubious Confederations Cup. Ultimately, football competitions…

Gremio became the first Brazilian winners of the Libertadores Cup since 2013, beating Lanus of Argentina home and away to record a 3-1 aggregate win. Lanus, from the southern suburbs of Buenos Aires, style themselves as the biggest neighbourhood club in the world and were making their debut in the Final, while Gremio are a traditional giant who had two previous titles to their credit. Gremio, from Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil, have a traditional reputation for rugged football. However, the current side are a ball-playing team, built around the talents of support striker Luan, who operates with elegant intelligence in the space between opposing lines, and little midfielder Arthur, who has emerged this year as a prototype Andres Iniesta. And with 10 wins and just two defeats…

After the social unrest that claimed more than 5,000 lives in 2014 alone, football is once again edging towards normality in the Central African Republic, even though problems still remain. As infighting gripped the country, a domestic league that began in 1968 was abandoned in 2014 and 2015. But, with tentative peace restored, the game has returned, although only clubs from the capital, Bangui, are able to play in the league due to what national coach Raoul Savoy describes as “conflicts and insecurity in the provinces”. Swiss-born Savoy, who has also coached the national sides of Ethiopia, Swaziland and Gambia, is now in his second spell with CAR. “I fell in love with this country and its people,” he says. “After a short break in The Gambia, I came back…

HOW IT WORKS Every month, journalists from each member of the European Sports Media group select their first Xl based on the best individual performances from Europe’s top competitions. For details of how each ESM member voted, visit worldsoccer.com/esm11 SEASON RANKINGS Cumulative votes through the season GOALKEEPERS Marc-Andre TER STEGEN (Barcelona) 14 David DE GEA (Manchester United) 9 Jan OBLAK (Atletico Madrid) 5 EDERSON (Manchester City) 4 Samir HANDANOVIC (Internazionale) 2 Alphonse AREOLA (Paris Saint-Germain) 1 Thibaut COURTOIS (Chelsea) 1 NETO (Valencia) 1 Sven ULREICH (Bayern Munich) 1 DEFENDERS Nicolas OTAMENDI (Manchester City) 11 Joshua KIMMICH (Bayern Munich) 10 Jordi ALBA (Barcelona) 9 Dani ALVES (Paris Saint-Germain) 8 Gerard PIQUE (Barcelona) 8 Milan SKRINIAR (Internazionale) 8 Kyle WALKER (Manchester City) 8 Kalidou KOULIBALY (Napoli) 7 John STONES (Manchester City) 7…

PEP GUARDIOLA Following Manchester City’s 4-0 win away at Swansea City, their manager now holds the record for consecutive league victories in the Premier League (15), Bundesliga (19, with Bayern Munich) and La Liga (16, Barcelona). ESSAM EL HADARY The 45-year-old Al Ahly keeper scored the second goal of his career – a 98th-minute penalty against Al Taawun of Saudi Arabia – 16 years after his first. JAN OBLAK The Atletico Madrid and Slovenia goalkeeper launched a charity to help children with special needs in his home town of Skofja Loka. KENGO NAKAMURA Eventually won J.League title with Kawasaki Frontale after being a seven-time runner-up. EDWIN CARDONA The Colombia midfielder was banned for five games for making a discriminatory gesture with his eyes towards a South Korean opponent during a…

The rise of the goalscoring wide boys At the start of December, Mohamed Salah was the leading scorer in the Premier League with 12 goals, while Raheem Sterling was joint-third with nine. There are still plenty of centreforwards who score goals in the English top flight – Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku – but there appears to be a new stage in a trend that has been developing for perhaps a decade: the emergence of the wide man as less of a traditional winger and more as a goalscorer. Football has become used to players scoring from wide positions, but for a long time Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi blurred the picture. They are so exceptional as to defy categorisation, scoring from wherever they happen to be…

1 WHY THE LONG FACE? Former England striker Michael Owen finished second on his debut as a jockey in a charity horse race at Ascot. The 37-year-old rode Calder Prince in a seven-furlong Flat race, finishing behind Golden Wedding. “I’m home in one piece and had the time of my life,” said Owen who breeds and owns racehorses but only got in the saddle for the first time in 2017. 2 MESSI STATUE VANDALISED AGAIN A statue of Lionel Messi on the “walk of fame” in Buenos Aires has been severely vandalised. It is the second time since the unveiling of the statue in 2016 that this has happened. This time the Argentinian hero was cut off at the ankles, just leaving the cast of his boot chasing the football…

“God took his time but never forgot” Milan striker Carlos Bacca (right) on the sacking of the coach Vincenzo Montella, who he fell out with last season EUROPE Juventus confirmed they will pay the agreed €46million to turn Brazil winger DOUGLAS COSTA’s loan deal from Bayern Munich into a permanent move in July. Former England boss SAM ALLARDYCE took charge at Everton, while ALAN PARDEWreplaced Tony Pulis at West Bromwich Albion. ABELARDO FERNANDEZ replaced Gianni De Biasi as coach of La Liga strugglers Alaves. Barcelona’s director of football RAUL SANLLEHI will join Arsenal as head of football relations in February. Former Chelsea technical director MICHAEL EMENALO joined Monaco as sporting director. TOMAZ KAVCIC replaced Srecko Katanec as coach of Slovenia. Rino takes charge GENNARO GATTUSO, who won the Champions League…

There must have been times over the past year when officials at The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) looked at the success of their women’s team, and then the failures of the men’s, and wondered what would happen if they asked the architect behind the former to revive the latter. It will not happen, though, because the coach of the Women’s European Championship winners is a woman. Sarina Wiegman has coached men, having spent a year on the staff at Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam, but even in a liberal country like Holland, the idea of appointing a female as men’s national coach is inconceivable. Which is a shame, because the team that won Euro 2017 did so playing a classic Dutch 4-3-3 of the type the men still aspire to…

It was all going so well. England’s women had finished third at the 2015 World Cup in Canada and in July 2017 they reached the semi-finals of the Euros. But then the bubble was punctured in the most unlikely fashion, with a parliamentary inquiry at the House of Commons. The outcome of a hearing into the treatment of England striker Eniola Aluko left the FA matching the popular perception of being dysfunctional and out-of-touch as well as years short of progress towards diversity comprehension and administrative reform. Exposing the need for progress within the governing body may ultimately prove an even more significant achievement by Aluko than her 33 goals in 102 games for an England team from which she was dropped controversially in 2016. England’s manager Mark Sampson, who…

MALTA Fighting the fixers New moves to clean up the Maltese game From an infamous Euro 84 qualifier in which Spain needed to win by 11 goals to qualify and beat Malta 12-1, to a 2007 game with Norway after which midfielder Kevin Sammut was handed a lifetime ban, Maltese football has been dogged by allegations of corruption and matchfixing for years. Although nothing was ever proven about the Spain rout, the Malta Football Association (MFA) decided to take action and compiled a 500-page dossier, after conducting more than 30 interviews, and this was instrumental in Sammut’s ban. But when the problems persisted, MFA integrity officer Franz Tabone decided to call out the fixers. In 2015, in his regular newsletter, Tabone wrote: “Match-fixing, in which some individuals in our football…

Kansas City scored the very first goal in the National Women’s Soccer League, with a left-footed, near-post shot from 22-year-old Mexican international Renae Cuellar just three minutes into the opening game at Shawnee Mission High School Stadium, Kansas. That was back in April 2013 and the location was indicative of the baby steps that were taken in an effort to ensure America’s third attempt at establishing a national women’s competition was more sustainable than the previous two. That goal has been achieved, with NWSL having just completed its fifth season and outlasting its failed predecessors. City’s opponents that day, Portland Thorns, have gone on to establish the best-supported women’s team in the world and are the current NWSL champions. Kansas themselves won the title in 2014 and 2015. There have,…

Viewed by many as only the fourth-best team in their own state – behind Palmeiras, Santos and Sao Paulo – Corinthians won a title that few would have predicted at the start of 2017. With the burden of still paying for a stadium that was built for the 2014 World Cup, financial problems meant that no big-name coach was available, so Fabio Carille was left to head up a campaign that promised little. However, after the Sao Paulo state title in May, Corinthians took a newfound confidence into the national championship and built up a big lead by the halfway mark in a season of extraordinary consistency. Having taken charge in September 2016, Carille inherited a club that – under predecessors Mano Menezes and, before him, current national-team boss Tite…

The German national side may be preparing for the World Cup finals in Russia as one of the favourites, but the country’s club football suffered a series of setbacks in the group stage of this season’s European competitions. Bayern Munich were the only Bundesliga side to reach the knockout phase of the Champions League, with Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig dropping into the Europa League. German teams also fared poorly in the secondary competition, with Cologne, Hertha Berlin and Hoffenheim all failing to make it to the last 32. In contrast, all five English sides reached the Champions League round of 16 – the first time five teams from one country have reached the knockout stage of the European Cup. Dortmund were one of the big casualties of the group…

It has been said that Japanese teams, due to the strength of the J.League, may choose to prioritise domestic football over continental competition. But while this is often used as an excuse for poor performances in the AFC Champions League, there were no such arguments this year as Urawa Red Diamonds became the country’s first Asian champions since 2008. And Urawa are now the only Japanese side to have won the tournament twice, following a 3-1 aggregate victory over Sepahan of Iran in the 2007 Final. Yuke Abe played in that victorious side a decade ago and was captain this time around as Reds saw off Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 2-1 over the two legs. The Saudi hosts were clearly on top in the opening game in Riyadh but found…

EAST ASIAN CUP FINALS Played in Japan Dec 9 - Tokyo South Korea 2 (Kim Shin-wook 12, Lee Jae-sung 19) China 2 (Wei Shihao 9, Yu Dabao 76) HT: 2-1. Att: 9,103. Ref: Al Marri (Qat) S Korea: Kim Jin-hyeon - Choi Chul-soon (Go Yo-han 59), Jang Hyun-soo, Kwon Kyung-won, Kim Jin-su, Ju Se-jong, Jung Woo-young, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Myung-joo (Lee Chang-min 80), Yeom Ki-hun, Kim Shin-wook. China: Yan Junling - Deng Hanwen, Gao Zhunyi, Liu Yiming, Zheng Zheng, He Chao, Zhao Xuri, Wu Xi (Yin Hongbo 73), Yang Liyu (Xiao Zhi 65), Yu Dabao, Wei Shihao (Li Xuepeng 46). Dec 9 - Tokyo Japan 1 (Ideguchi 90+3) North Korea 0 HT: 0-0. Att: 20,806. Ref: Beath (Aus) Japan: Nakamura - Muroya, Taniguchi, Shoji, Kurumaya, Ideguchi, Konno, Kobayashi, Takahagi (Ito…

“I’m the best player in history, in the good moments and the bad ones. No footballer can do the things I can. There’s no player more complete than me” Cristiano Ronaldo makes a modest declaration 1 ALBERTO BRIGNOLI Benevento v Milan The goalkeeper launches himself at a free-kick in the fifth minute of added time to head home an equaliser. 2 MILAN SKRINIAR Internazionale v Chievo Runs the length of the field, from his centre-back position, to meet a cross by Antonio Candreva with a diving header. 3 JEFFERSON FARFAN Lokomotiv Moscow v Zlin Deftly chips the advancing goalkeeper when through on goal. 4 MAXIMILIANO MEZA Independiente v Flamengo Drills home a low volley from the edge of the penalty area, following a superb cross by Ezequiel Barco, in the…

JANN-FIETE ARP (Hamburg) The Germany under-17 striker is attracting interest from Europe’s leading clubs after becoming Hamburg’s youngest-ever debutant and the first player born in the 21st century to score a goal in the Bundesliga. YANN BISSECK (Cologne) Standing 6ft 4in at the age of 16 years and 362 days, the centre-back became the second youngest player in Bundesliga history (after Nuri Sahin) when making his debut against Hertha Berlin. OMAR KHRIBIN (Al Hilal) The 23-year-old Syria forward was named the AFC’s Player of the Year after an exceptional 12 months in which he starred in his country’s run to the World Cup qualifying play-offs and his club’s appearance in the Asian Champions League Final. KWASI OKYERE WRIEDT (Bayern Munich) On making his Bundesliga debut for Bayern, away at Borussia…

“Having become so toxic and synonymous with corruption, the only way for FIFA to recover will be to change the brand”Sports marketeer, Patrick Nally A solution to detoxify FIFA: change the name Patrick Nally knows more about World Cup business than anyone else in the game. He was the original “super salesman” who devised the sponsor/broadcasting exclusivity matrix for FIFA in the late 1970s and it is the formula commonplace now for everything from sports events to conferences and concerts. Nally has since watched with increasing despair as his brainchild has been battered by officials who saw the opportunity to feather the nests of both their sports and their own personal lifestyles. The world football federation has weathered its full share of crises down the years, from the savings losses…

Southgate does not deserve FA indulgence If Belgium fully express their great talents, if Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne strike form on the day, I cannot see the England defence resisting them in the World Cup. They are beyond doubt the star figures in a talented Belgian side, but there are several other accomplished players in the squad, and Christian Benteke on his day can be a menace in the air. For reasons which utterly elude me, the FA has assured Gareth Southgate that whatever England’s results in Russia he will remain in charge of the team. All being well, though it is however unlikely, England will have an impressive run in Russia. But if they don’t, how can a decision on Southgate’s future possibly be taken before a…

On a pleasant, sunny Saturday afternoon in July, Ajax and Werder Bremen met in a pre-season friendly in the village of Hippach in the Tyrol region of western Austria. Some 20 minutes from time, with the ball on the other side of the pitch, Ajax attacking midfielder Abdelhak Nouri suddenly fell to the floor. Medics rushed to his aid, administering CPR, before the 20-year-old was airlifted to hospital in nearby Innsbruck. At first, the medical bulletin was reassuring, with Ajax announcing that he had been successfully resuscitated after suffering cardiac arrhythmias (heartrhythm problems) and was “out of danger”. But four days later, the tragic truth would emerge: a life-changing diagnosis of extensive, permanent brain damage, due to a shortage of oxygen during the initial incident. “He cannot walk, cannot talk,…

FRANZ TABONE Integrity officer at the MFA and a controversial figure in Maltese football for his efforts in tackling the match-fixers. DAVID AGIUS The son of a FIFA referee, he formed a task force on corruption. Is the shadow minister for sport after his Nationalist Party lost this summer’s election. CARLO MAMO Former international defender who is now general-secretary of the players’ union. TOM SAINTFIET Much-travelled Belgian who took over as Malta’s national coach in October 2017. MICHAEL MIFSUD Veteran international striker who played for Kaiserslautern, Coventry City and Barnsley. Back in Malta with Valletta after a spell in Australia’s A-League.…

YOUTH MOVE FOR SUNDHAGE Having stepped down from coaching Sweden, Pia Sundhage is to work with the country’s youth teams. Sundhage won Olympic gold twice with the US and led Sweden to the 2016 Final. Elsewhere, Londoner Tony Readings has stood down as coach to New Zealand. NEYMAR AND 1,693 WOMEN The first edition of the Global Sports Salaries Survey to include sportswomen revealed just under one per cent of the world professional footballers were female, an estimated total of 1,287. The survey suggested Feminine Division 1, bolstered by salaries paid by Lyon (€162,000-a-year on average) and Paris Saint-Germain, was the best paid league (€42,188/US$49,782), though many players at other teams are amateur. The French competition was followed by those of Germany, England (£26,752/$35,355), USA ($27,054), Sweden, Australia and Mexico…

Can things really keep on getting better and better for MLS? Every year commissioner Don Garber delivers an upbeat State of the League report, every year he tells of new teams, new stadiums, more sponsors, increased TV viewing and record-breaking attendance. Two new teams, Minnesota United and Atlanta United, were added in 2017, two new stadiums have been opened, MLS was a pioneer with its adoption of VAR and a new attendance record was set with an average of 22,000 fans per game. And then, surely, the unarguable proof that MLS is making it big-time, with the respected money magazine Forbes rating an average MLS team as worth $225million, which is 20 per cent higher than last year’s rating. But all of that is nothing but stats. Behind each of…

Not only did the 2017 J.League season go to the final day, it also produced a first-time champion who hadn’t been top of the table all term. That club was Kawasaki Frontale, one of the giants of Japanese football during the past decade whose imposing form has, until now, been matched only by their astonishing dearth of trophies. This time, Kawasaki got it right and gave their long-suffering fans the best possible finish to what had begun to look like another terribly disappointing campaign. But then they produced a 15-game unbeaten run, from July to the last round of matches, and managed to leapfrog Kashima Antlers at the last moment with a 5-0 win over Omiya Ardija. A hat-trick from Kawasaki captain Yu Kobayashi also took him to the top…

WORLD CLUB WORLD CUP Played in United Arab Emirates 1st round Dec 6 - Al Ain Al Jazira (UAE) 1 (Romarinho 37) Auckland City (NZ) 0 HT: 1-0. Att: 4,246. Ref: Diedhiou (Sen) 2nd round Dec 9 - Abu Dhabi Pachuca (Mex) 1 (Guzman 111) Wydad Casablanca (Mor) 0 Aet. HT: 0-0. 90mins: 0-0. Att: 12,488. Ref: Irmatov (Uzb) Sent off: Nekkach (Wydad) 68 Dec 9 - Abu Dhabi Al Jazira 1 (Mabkhout 51) Urawa Red Diamonds (Jap) 0 HT: 0-0. Att: 15,593. Ref: Ramos (Mex) l Pachuca & Al Jazira qualified for the semi-finals, which Gremio & Real Madrid entered directly; Wydad Casablanca & Urawa Red Diamonds went into the 5th-place match 5th-place match Dec 12 - Al Ain Wydad Casablanca 2 (El Haddad 21, Hajhouj pen 90+4) Urawa Red…