Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2016 från World Soccer

ARITZ ADURIZ Became the first player in Europa League history to score five goals in a single game. He scored all of Athletic Bilbao’s goals in their 5-3 win against Genk, including a hattrick of penalties against the Belgians. SEBASTIAN ABREU The Uruguayan striker set a world record by sealing the 28th transfer of his career when he joined Brazilian club Bangu. ROCHDALE The English third-tier side named five-year-old Joshua McCormack as a sub for a Checkatrade Trophy game against Hartlepool, even though the youngster, who has a terminal brain tumour, was not well enough to attend the game. MOISE KEAN The 16-year-old Juventus striker became the first player born in 2000 to feature in Serie A as his side beat Pescara 3-0. THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION Bournemouth striker Benik Afobe’s…

Tradition appeals but money talks for 2030 Uruguay has a strong case to host the centenary World Cup in 2030 but big-spending China also has hopes. Tradition is important in football, yet while that is one of the strengths of the World Cup, it is also a challenge, with tradition and romance matched against the commercialism that is essential to finance both progress and continuance. FIFA Council, meeting in Zurich in January, will almost certainly rubberstamp president Gianni Infantino’s demand for an expansion of the World Cup finals to 40, or even 48, teams in 2026. Then there will be no going back. The same package will be repeated for 2030 at least. The catch for FIFA is that very few countries possess the infrastructure to cope. Intimidatory and inevitable…

Leipzig and Nagelsmann: the new face of the Bundesliga Football fairy tales come dressed in different costumes. The traditional one is Leicester City; an underdog team of unheralded players, guided by a lovable manager who defied the odds to win the Premier League. But there are other kinds of fairy tale as well, as this season’s Bundesliga is proving. Take RB Leipzig, the new club from the old East Germany, where football was pulverised by the unification of the nation, who are flying high alongside Bayern Munich in their first campaign in the top flight. Few outsiders seem to love them or their story. Having been transformed from obscure amateur club SSV Markranstaedt into dynamic Bundesliga challengers playing in a fabulous new stadium, they have been dubbed the “most hated”…

Towards the end of Brazil’s 3-0 win over Argentina, the crowd in Belo Horizonte broke into song, and Eduardo Tironi of the sports daily Lance!, wrote of the occasion: “The exhibition against our biggest rival turned into such a massacre that the fans were chanting the name of...Tite.” By Brazilian standards this is rare indeed. Success is seen as the merit of the individual flair of the players, while the coach usually comes in for special attention only when someone is blamed for disappointments. This case is different. As Tironi continued: “It was a recognition of the importance of the man who found a group in pieces, and in a short period of time has given the team a pattern and made them competitive.” This time it really is impossible…

There is, perhaps, no country in the Western Hemisphere more tragic than Haiti. In addition to seemingly ubiquitous political unrest and dire levels of poverty are the natural disasters which continue to batter the island nation’s already precarious state, the latest of which, Hurricane Matthew, left more than 1,000 dead in October. In 2010, a devastating earthquake claimed the lives of anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 people, including more than 30 who perished inside the Haitian Football Federation building. In such circumstances, the fortunes of the national football team hardly matter for Haitians who have much bigger issues to confront. And yet, in some ways, the struggles of a proud populace are mirrored by those of Les Grenadiers, whose own battles against the odds often act as a kind of…

On May 2, 2009, Leicester City played Crewe Alexandra on the final day of the League One season in front of a crowd of 6,982 at Gresty Road. They were promoted to the Championship as champions. Seven years later, they celebrated winning a first-ever Premier League title following an extraordinary campaign where everything fell into place, to the delight of neutrals everywhere. Leicester are the first English champions to win World Soccer’s World Team of the Year award since Manchester United in 1999 and only the third to win the accolade, along with Everton in 1985. A perfect storm of factors combined to deliver the title to Leicester. Claudio Ranieri’s tactics – “Italian defence, England attack” as he called them - made perfect use of the players at his disposal.…

Scorers of the winning goal in European Championship Finals are assured of a place in the game’s history books and, more often than not, they have gone on to enjoy considerable success at club level. Michel Platini (France, 1984) and Marco Van Basten (Holland, 1988) were both named as World Soccer’s World Player of the Year in the months following their respective international triumphs. Oliver Bierhoff (Germany, 1996) and David Trezeguet (France, 2000) went on to enjoy lengthy and successful careers with Milan and Juventus respectively. However, Euro 2016 has not yet proved to be a springboard for the career of Eder. The scorer of Portugal’s extra-time winner against France ended the year locked in a relegation battle at Lille, with memories of that famous night last summer fading fast.…

There was some surprise in the summer of 2015 when Guangzhou Evergrande paid £15million to Tottenham Hotspur for the services of Paulinho. The team that had won the previous four Chinese Super League (CSL) titles and the 2013 Asian Champions League were doing just fine without the Brazilian. And then there was the fact that he had hardly set England alight during his time in the Premier League, playing 45 times and scoring six goals. After arriving at White Hart Lane in a blaze of publicity there was little – bar the occasional flash of talent – to write home to South America about. But now relocated to southern China, the midfielder has rediscovered his mojo after what he says was a lost time in Europe. He was the first…

Only three European countries ended the year with 100 per cent records in the World Cup qualifiers: Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. World champions Germany thrashed San Marino 8-0 in their most recent qualifier, even though coach Joachim Low rested several key players and gave starts to a number of fringe players, including 21-year-old Serge Gnabry, who scored a first-half hat-trick. The ease of Germany’s victory prompted midfielder Thomas Muller to question the wisdom of playing lesser sides such as San Marino. “I do not understand the meaning of games such as these, more so with such a busy schedule,” he said. “I understand it for them, especially playing against the world champions, I also understand that we can only defend with hard work. “Precisely for this reason, however, I wonder…

Nigeria might not be appearing in January’s African Nations Cup finals but the Super Eagles are already pencilling in a return to the World Cup, as redemption for missing out on Gabon 2017 looks quick in coming. A convincing 3-1 home win over Algeria in their second Group B game puts them ahead of the chasing pack in what was expected to be a closely contested battle for a trip to Russia. They began the group phase with a 2-1 away win over Zambia in a first match under new coach Gernot Rohr, whose appointment initially drew howls of derision from within Nigeria. “A positive attitude has helped us thus far,” said the 63-year-old German after the latest success. “The mental strength is also there, because if you have to…

age 21 (10.02.95), RB Leipzig & Guinea In a sentence An instant hit on moving from Austria to newly promoted Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig this summer, the diminutive Guinea international has every chance of becoming one of best box-to-box midfielders in Europe and a true African standard-bearer. “He’s a real prospect, an Iniesta. He’s very intelligent and makes it all look so easy” Ex-Guinea coach Luis Fernandez What they say RB Leipzig sports director Ralf Rangnick: “Despite receiving offers from leading Champions League sides, Naby chose to continue his development with us in Leipzig and we are delighted he did so. With his dynamism, outstanding technical and tactical qualities, and good character, he fits our young team perfectly.” RB Leipzig defender Bernardo: “He has amazing potential and is very level-headed.…

Jeonbuk Motors lifted the 2016 Asian Champions League title, defeating Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 3-2 on aggregate, to give South Korea an 11th continental championship in total. Motors, who won in 2006, just about shaded it in terms of the scoreline and the performance. The best team in Korea took the home leg 2-1, although Al Ain – the winners of the inaugural Champions League in 2003 – opened the scoring through Colombian winger Danilo Asprilla after 64 minutes. Within 10 minutes, however, two goals – the first a curler into the top corner from outside the area – from Leonardo put Jeonbuk in the driving seat. The Brazilian’s second goal, from the penalty spot, was his 10th in this year’s tournament. Both teams left Jeonju World…

Congratulations to Cristiano Ronaldo, World Soccer’s World Player of the Year for 2016 (page 36). There were many strong contenders this year, the 34th year of our Awards, but Ronaldo’s success with club and country tipped the balance in his favour . He now has the chance to end the year with further silverware as European champions Real Madrid head to Japan for the Club World Cup (page 76). The tournament will garner precious little coverage in Europe, outside of Spain, though it is still held in high regard in South America by a footballing public that have always viewed the competition as one of the few opportunities for their region to compete with Europeans on a level playing field. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, in his latest attempt to out-Blatter…

“I am not interested in football at all. I do not follow it at all. I thought Robin Van Persie was an ordinary Sunday league player” Dr Mehmet Ozen on treating Fenerbahce’s Dutch striker, who tore an eyelid against akhisar belediyespor 1 MESUT OZIL Arsenal v Ludogorets Beats the offside trap and flicks the ball over the onrushing keeper, before leaving two defenders on their backs and walking the ball into an empty net. 2 THOMAS MEUNIER Paris Saint-Germain v Basle Shows great technique to volley into the top corner from outside the penalty area following a cross by Adrien Rabiot. 3 MOussa sOw Fenerbahce v Man United Acrobatic overhead kick in the second minute of the Europa League tie that gave goalkeeper David De Gea no chance in goal.…

Harold Mayne-Nicholls did an honest job as leader of the FIFA inspection commission for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. Yes, he made a silly mistake in inquiring whether, at his own expense, he could send two young relatives to the Aspire Academy in Qatar, but he was not seeking favours and his report was bluntly honest about the problems of a summer World Cup in Qatar. If the members of the FIFA executive committee had cast their votes on the basis of that report, Qatar would have been competing with Australia to go out in the first round of voting. However, in July 2015, Mayne-Nicholls was banned from football for seven years. You see, in the meantime he had committed a second, even more serious offence, and talked…

“I tried everything to help him. the reality is, though, that he plays in a championship which is not especially important” Italy boss giampiero Ventura (left) on ignoring toronto striker sebastian giovinco EUROPE STEFANO PIOLI, who was sacked by Lazio in April, replaced Frank De Boer as coach of Serie A rivals Internazionale. WALTER SAMUEL, who won the treble with the club in 2010, joined his backroom staff. MAIK WALPURGIS replaced Markus Kauczinski as coach of Ingolstadt after they started the Bundesliga season with a run of 10 games without a win. BERNARD CASONI replaced Sylvain Ripoll as coach of Lorient, who were bottom of Ligue 1. JOAQUIN CAPARROS was appointed coach of La Liga strugglers Osasuna, taking over from Enrique Martin. VICTOR SANCHEZ replaced Gus Poyet at Real Betis.…

“We are not considering bringing in a psychologist,” said Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza three days after the 3-0 loss to Brazil. The defeat in Belo Horizonte compounded the situation in a faltering World Cup qualification campaign which left Argentina out of the four automatic qualification spots. It also added to the cumulative frustration of three lost Finals in three years that still weigh heavy on the national team. A very public and national enquiry began over how such a talented group of players was failing to perform. For now, though, the answer will not come from a psychologist, but from within. “Qualification is in our own hands,” says Bauza. “This is the worst point for the national team in a long time” Lionel Messi For some observers, this is partly…

This was the year when Claudio Ranieri, football’s nearly man, had the last laugh. After a coaching career spanning almost 30 years, he finally won a major league title. The Italian, of course, played a central role in Leicester City’s astonishing Premier League success. His mix of pragmatic tactics and laidback leadership style helped keep the Foxes on track for the title as pundit after pundit predicted they would drop out of the race. Typically, Ranieri was back in Italy, celebrating his mother’s 96th birthday, on the day that Leicester’s title victory was confirmed by a draw between Chelsea and closest challengers Tottenham Hotspur. There had been successes before for Ranieri: second-division titles at Cagliari, Fiorentina and Monaco, the Copa del Rey and UEFA Super Cup at Valencia, the Coppa…

Six action-packed rounds and a third of South America’s World Cup qualification campaign, were crammed into two-and-a-half months between early September and mid-November. And by the end there was only two significant changes to the table: Brazil’s spectacular rise from sixth to first and Argentina’s slide from third to fifth. There is, however, an explanation to Argentina’s fall beyond the problems that Edgardo Bauza’s men are going through on the pitch, at least when Lionel Messi is absent through injury. Back in September, Bolivia beat Peru 2-0 and held Chile to a goalless draw. It appears, though, that they fielded an ineligible player. In the last few minutes of both games, centre-back Nelson Cabrera made an appearance. A Paraguayan, he was given Bolivian citizenship this year and played in June’s…

Opening the final stage of the World Cup qualifiers with a 2-1 home loss to Mexico and a 4-0 thrashing in Costa Rica was too much for US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, who summarily fired coach Jurgen Klinsmann. It was a difficult move for Gulati, who had invested much faith in the German, and made him one of the world’s toppaid coaches, with an income estimated at $4million. US coach for five years, Klinsmann had picked up even further responsibility in 2013 when he added the title of Technical Director, giving him supervision of all the federation’s development programmes. But while his record of 55 wins, 28 losses and 15 draws, was not bad, the one thing Klinsmann never did was produce a solid, winning team. The US record…

A re-run of the Olympic Final and a host of derby matches are the highlights of a Euro 2017 draw that whet the appetite for next summer’s tournament. Germany, seeking a seventh successive Women’s European Championship title, open their campaign against Sweden, who they beat 2-1 to take gold in Rio. Meanwhile, hosts Holland were paired with Belgium, England with Scotland, Spain with Portugal, and Switzerland with two Alpine neighbours. That Germany’s tie with Sweden is as early as the second day is a fillip for the tournament, but not necessarily for the two contestants. “It’s a classic, but it’s coming way too early,” said SteffiJones, who took over as German coach after the Olympic Final. Sweden also lost to Germany in the 2015 World Cup and in the Euro…

ATLETICO NACIONAL Carl Worswick THE STORY SO FAR It did not take long for the plundering to begin. Nacional won their first Libertadores Cup in 27 years with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Independiente del Valle, but the team soon broke up. Left-winger Jonathan Copete was swept off to Brazil by Santos; loans for Colombia internationals Alex Mejia and Victor Ibaro expired; and a $10million transfer was put in place for tournament sensation Marlos Moreno to join Manchester City. Within a couple of weeks, one-time Arsenal trialist Sebastian Perez and young centre-back Davinson Sanchez had followed them out of the door. But despite the departures, the success has continued on a number of fronts. Reserving his best XI for the Sudamericana Cup, coach Reinaldo Rueda has frequently utilised a second…

It’s almost 60 years since Shamrock Rovers became the first League of Ireland club to play in Europe. Along the way, there have been some good nights and some bad nights – but nothing quite compares to the achievements of Dundalk, who made history this season by becoming the first Irish club to win a game in the Europa League group stage. The first club from outside Dublin to win the national title, in 1933, Dundalk were also the first League of Ireland club to win an away game in Europe when they beat Zurich in 1963. But after a 1-1 draw away to Dutch side AZ in September, they raised the standard for other Irish clubs by beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 at Tallaght Stadium in South Dublin. With…

2018 World cup qualifiers AFRICA section • 5 finals places available 3rd round Group a Nov 11 - Algiers, Algeria Libya 0 Tunisia 1 (Khazri pen 50) HT: 0-0. ref: Omweno (Ken) libya: Nashnoush - Sabbou, S Al Warfali, Salama, Al Gamal, Fetori, Al Musrati, Mounir (Khumaj 74), Benali (Al Tubal 60), Elhouni, Saltou (Zubya 62). Sent off: Salama 49. Tunisia: A Mathlouthi - Nagguez, Mohsni, Dhaouadi, Abdennour, Maaloul, Ben Amor, Sassi, Ben-Hatira (Sliti 46), Khazri (Bguir 84), Khenissi (Harbaoui 90+2). Nov 13 - Conakry Guinea 1 (S Soumah pen 23) DR congo 2 (Kebano 54, Bolasie 56) HT: 1-0. ref: Alioum (Cam) Guinea: N Yattara - Alseny Bangoura, F Camara, I Conde, Issiaga Sylla (Kante 65), N Keita, S Diallo, Mara (Sankoh 78), S Soumah (Alhassane Bangoura 65), Idrissa…

Keepers on a collision course with the law Vincent Kompany’s latest misfortune, a head injury, came from a collision with his own keeper, Manchester City’s Claudio Bravo. That is how it was repeatedly described in some 40 English-language reports that I read – a collision, with a few modifications; the collision was heavy or sickening or painful or awkward. Yes, it was all of those things. But was it legal? The question was never asked. Not once, did I find any questioning of Bravo’s role. Yet Bravo was the man who, by rushing out of his goal and jumping high into a group of players, supplied the violent force that did the damage. TV commentator Davie Provan explained, calmly and confidently, that Bravo “does what you expect of your goalkeeper...he…

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 ESM – EUROPEAN SPORTS MEDIA The members of ESM are: A Bola (Portugal), Elf (Holland), Fanatik (Turkey), Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung (Germany), Goal News (Greece), Kicker (Germany), Marca (Spain), Nemzeti Sport (Hungary), So Foot (France), Sport (Belgium), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Holland), TIPSbladet (Denmark), World Soccer (England). More details of votes at worldsoccer.com/esm11…

Rooney’s boozing undermined uninspiring Southgate Arguably, the real victim of Wayne Rooney’s boozing indiscipline in England’s hotel was Gareth Southgate. It seems that he had satisfied himself that Rooney would be going to bed at a reasonable hour before going there himself. Instead, as we now so well know, Rooney stayed drinking in the hotel bar with a group of wedding guests, accompanied by a clutch of sycophantic FA hangers-on. Rooney’s behaviour was self-indulgent and boorish to a degree, but what it surely did was undermine the authority of Southgate, on the verge of being named the full-time England manager. Rooney effectively defied him, shrugged him off as though he didn’t matter. It would almost, you would feel, have been better had Rooney gone out with the rest of the…

Macedonian football has endured some dark days, but there are brighter times on the horizon. In June, the under-21s will take part in the European Championship in Poland – the first time the country has qualified for the finals of a major continental championship. Then, in August, the national stadium – the Philip II Arena in Skopje – will host the UEFA Super Cup between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League. After finishing last in their qualifying group for both the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, the senior national side is currently at rock bottom. And the bad results have continued in the 2018 World Cup campaign, with four defeats in their opening four games and a slump to an all-time low of 155th in…

Some time after the end of the European Championship Final, Cristiano Ronaldo stood barechested before his international teammates in the Stade de France dressing room and delivered a speech. It began with him thanking the coach and pointing around the room, at everyone in there, the people who had made history with him. “No one in Portugal believed, but we made it: all of us,” he said. “I am so very happy; happy, happy, happy, happy,” Ronaldo told them. “I could repeat it a hundred times. I am so happy.” It was a moving speech, genuine and emotional, and the fondness surrounding him is clear. It is a speech in which he called that day one of the happiest of his life, the most important moment. “I have already cried…

Europe has waited 42 years to get its hands back on the levers of power at FIFA, but it was never supposed to happen quite like this, with “only” its general-secretary setting up redirection from Nyon to Zurich. The mistake made by too many people along the way was to underestimate Gianni Infantino and misread the 46-year-old. He may have presented a picture of a man in administrative lockdown during his neardecade at UEFA, but his greatest qualities turned out to be the patience and ambition to seize the moment. Little more than a year ago Infantino was not in the presidential frame. At the time, UEFA president Michel Platini remained arrogantly confident that his mere name and playing aura would blind ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert and audit chair Domenico…

Caledonian wonder kid Oliver Burke, currently featuring in RB Leipzig’s astonishing emergence as a Bundesliga force, is doubly unique – both an explosive right-winger of rare ability and refreshingly nonconformist in his career path. Thanks to his dazzling performances in the English second tier with Nottingham Forest last season, the teenage Scottish international was romanced by some of the continent’s biggest clubs, a rich list containing such names as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. But, on weighing up his options, he eventually plumped for a less conventional destination, agreeing in late August to a €15million switch to the newly promoted Leipziger. While the vast majority of British players continue to be reluctant to try their luck in mainland Europe, Burke leapt at the opportunity to broaden…

In 30 months, from 2012 to 2014, Marcello Lippi had nothing but success in China, winning three Super League titles and the AFC Champions League with Guangzhou Evergrande. But life in charge of the national team will certainly prove more of a challenge for the 68-year-old Italian. With just a solitary appearance at a World Cup finals, in 2002, and failure to reach the last round of qualifiers in their last three attempts, China are just happy to still be in with a shout of reaching Russia 2018 this time round. But despite the massive investment in domestic club football, the national team is in much need of some hard work and patience. Having replaced Gao Hongbo, who resigned in October, Lippi is contracted until the end of the Asian…

Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, Roma, Sevilla, Wales, Serbia, Italy, Spain. The list of teams who have played with a back three at some point this season is long, varied and growing. In the Premier League, playing three at the back has spread with extraordinary speed since Chelsea manager Antonio Conte reacted to his side’s defeat at Arsenal by returning to the shape he had favoured with Juventus and Italy. Conte has long been a devotee of the back three, but the shape had largely gone out of fashion with other coaches for reasons that were readily understandable. Between roughly 1930 and 1960, the vast majority of teams played with a back three in some variation of the W-M formation (3-2-2-3). But in Hungary and Brazil it became…

Macau’s shock run to the Final of the AFC Solidarity Cup in Malaysia was no surprise to the club owners who are trying to transform football in the former Portuguese colony. “We want to bring the standard of Macau football up and the Solidarity Cup shows we have done that,” says Duarte Alves, the commercial manager at reigning domestic champions Benfica, who had seven players at the tournament. A brace from Benfica’s Niki Torrao saw off Mongolia 2-1 in the opener and the South African-born striker doubled his tally in a 4-1 thrashing of Laos, which took Macau into the semi-finals. Torrao missed the last group game with an injured hand but featured in a semi-final victory on penalties over Brunei and in the Final, which Nepal dominated and deservedly…