Innehållsförteckning för May-2018 från World Soccer

The introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR) is one of the most profound changes the game has ever seen. Yet FIFA, in its wisdom, is rushing ahead with its implementation at the forthcoming World Cup despite reservations from every trial. In a special feature this month (page 42) we assess the impact of VAR from the leagues around the world that are testing the system. There are no easy answers to how VAR should be introduced. One way to cushion the impact of VAR – a VAR-lite, if you like – would be to give VAR the power to intervene in a match, but not give the pitch referee the power of referral to the VAR, either in the stands, or pitchside. That way, the delays and indecisions on…

“Spain have slapped us” Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli reflects on the 6-1 defeat by Spain which equalled the country’s heaviest loss 1 DELE ALLI Tottenham H v Chelsea A fantastic first touch and near-post finish following a long pass from Eric Dier. 2 LUKA JOVIC Eintracht Frankfurt V Werder Bremen Turns and fires home Kevin-Prince Boateng’s brilliant back-heel assist. 3 ROMARIO IBARRA Universidad Catolica v Delfin Spectacular overhead kick following a cross from the right. 4 ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC LA Galaxy v Los Angeles Stunning, swerving volley from more than 40 yards for his first MLS goal, on his debut, in the Los Angeles derby 5 AGUSTIN CANOBBIO Penarol v Rampla Juniors Makes a late run into the penalty area at a free-kick and scores with a scorpion kick into the…

UNITED 2026 (23 venues to be trimmed to 16) Canada Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto Mexico Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey United states Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Washington DC MOROCCO 2026 (14 venues) New Casablanca Grand Stade, Oujda, Tetouan Redeveloped Agadir, Fez, Marrakech Grand Stade, Rabat, Tangier New modular (with temporary stands) Casablanca II, El Jadida, Marrakech II, Meknes, Nador, Ouarzazate…

“He always called me ‘Big Stuff’ and he called everyone else ‘geezer’. His energy and brightness would light up any room”Terry Butcher on ex-England team-mate Ray Wilkins A total of 84 England caps, between 1976 and 1986, was a measure of the quality and skill of Ray Wilkins at a time before the English game evolved into a less frantic style of football which would have suited him perfectly. His death at 61 prompted heartfelt tributes not only from the clubs he played for but from a host of players who abandoned Twitter’s conformist condolences to tell their personal tales of his humanity amid the hurly-burly. Football was in the family genes, with father George playing professionally for four clubs and being followed into the game by his sons Ray,…

Video technology will be the big story when the World Cup kicks off in Moscow on June 14 – even if everything runs smoothly. In 2014, the debut of goal-line technology in Brazil was no big deal because it is about one simple fact. Video technology involves subjective opinion. And tests undertaken worldwide over the past two years have not merely proved the point but underlined it. This is not to say that football is wrong to follow the video path. Plainly, at the highest level, which demands the fewest possible costly errors, video assistance for the referee is essential. Michel Platini, suspended from the corridors of power and still pressing his innocence to the European Court of Human Rights, remains an opponent. But Platini, and a band of philosophical…

Despite a heritage dating back more than a century, modern women’s football is a youthful sport – and the growing pains were evident as the northern hemisphere moved into spring. There was a significant step forward as Manchester United, arguably the world’s biggest football brand, finally decided to start a professional team for the world’s biggest gender. But there was also a stumble as Gianni Infantino, in a rare setback as president, had his plan for a world league thrown out by FIFA Council. Opposition to Infantino’s proposal came mainly from European nations, and that was in part driven by scheduling issues for clubs. The arrival of Manchester United, following Juventus and Manchester City, and recent investment at Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, has changed the landscape. Outside…

In March, 17-year-old Vinicius Junior came off the bench in a crunch Libertadores Cup game in Ecuador and scored twice to turn probable defeat for Flamengo against Emelec into victory. The following day, Rodrygo of Santos, who is a few months younger than Vinicius Junior, came up with a superb strike of his own against experienced Uruguayan opposition in Nacional. Brazilian football’s capacity to keep unearthing such precocious talent is reason enough to pay attention to the national championship – in spite of the competition’s many faults. One of those problems is the calendar. Bizarre political considerations turn Brazil’s domestic season into a permanent battle to fit three litres into a two-litre bottle; a challenge made all the more acute in a World Cup year, which obliges a month’s pause,…

The path to normality is long and painful for Somali football, but there are signs of progress. With a three-decade-long civil war now confined to the south of the country, CAF president Ahmad visited Mogadishu in April last year and suggested the city could host international football once again. Further evidence came in September when Mogadishu’s Banadir Stadium staged the country’s first floodlit game in 30 years. Built in 1956, the stadium was ruined by the civil war, but FIFA funded a rebuilding programme which included floodlights, and they were switched on for a youth game between Waaberi and Hodan. However, prospects of a first international on home soil since Uganda’s visit in 1988 were set back in October when more than 300 people were killed by a truck bomb…

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) 26David DE GEA (Manchester United) 23ALISSON (Roma) 10EDERSON (Manchester City) 9Jan OBLAK (Atletico Madrid) 8Iker CASILLAS (Porto) 2Thibaut COURTOIS (Chelsea) 2Gianluigi DONNARUMMA (Milan) 2Samir HANDANOVIC (Internazionale) 2Alphonse AREOLA (Paris Saint-Germain) 1NETO (Valencia) 1Rui PATRICIO (Sporting) 1Wojicech SZCZESNY (Juventus) 1Sven ULREICH (Bayern Munich) 1 DEFENDERS Jordi ALBA (Barcelona) 24Nicolas OTAMENDI (Manchester City) 24Gerard PIQUE (Barcelona) 20Kyle WALKER (Manchester City) 20Kalidou KOULIBALY (Napoli) 17Giorgio CHIELLINI (Juventus) 14Joshua KIMMICH (Bayern Munich) 14Samuel UMTITI (Barcelona) 12Mats HUMMELS (Bayern Munich) 11Milan SKRINIAR (Internazionale) 10Dani…

EUROPE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1st knockout round (last 16) 1st legs Feb13 Basle (Swi) 0 Manchester City (Eng) 4 (Gundogan 14, 53, Bernardo Silva 18, Aguero 23) HT: 0-3. Att: 36,000. Ref: Eriksson (Swe) Juventus (Ita) 2 (Higuain 2, pen 9) Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 2 (Kane 35, Eriksen 71) HT: 2-1. Att: 41,232. Ref: Brych (Ger) Feb14 Porto (Por) 0 Liverpool (Eng) 5 (Mane 25, 53, 85, Salah 29, Roberto Firmino 69) HT: 0-2. Att: 47,718. Ref: Orsato (Ita) Real Madrid (Spa) 3 (Cristiano Ronaldo pen 45, 83, Marcelo 86) Paris Saint-Germain (Fra) 1 (Rabiot 33) HT: 1-1. Att: 78,158. Ref: Rocchi (Ita) Feb 20 Bayern Munich (Ger) 5 (Muller 43, 66, Coman 53, Lewandowski 79, 88) Besiktas (Tur) 0 HT: 1-0. Att: 70,000. Ref: Hategan (Rom) Sent off: Vida (Besiktas)…

“It is idiots in this situation. How can you do that? It is not a little bit funny. It is dangerous, it feels bad” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp condemns the fans who attacked Manchester City’s team bus on its way to Anfield Coach Halilhodzic sacked 70 days before World Cup JAPAN Japan replaced national coach Vahid Halilhodzic with technical director Akira Nishino just 70 days before the World Cup finals get under way. The move followed poor results in friendlies played in Belgium in March, in which Japan drew 1-1 with Mali and lost 2-1 to Ukraine. “After taking over from [Javier] Aguirre, he put together the team in a very short time and led the team to the finals,” said JFA president Kozo Tashima. “He had a strong passion…

“Clearly you cannot have a heart in your chest but a bag of rubbish” Buffon makes it clear what he thinks of referee Michael Oliver (right) Judging by the Italian media’s reaction, English referee Michael Oliver’s decision to award Real Madrid a penalty in the 93rd-minute of their Champions League quarter-final clash with Juventus will not be forgotten any time soon. Having lost the home leg 3-0, Juve battled back to level on aggregate in Madrid before Oliver presented Cristiano Ronaldo with the means to take the Spanish side through to the last four. For some critics, it was not simply a matter of whether Mehdi Benatia’s last-gasp tackle on Lucas Vazquez was a foul or not; they argue that you simply cannot award a debatable, all-decisive penalty so late…

Inside-forwards are the key to Premier League success Last season, as Chelsea became the first team since Everton in 1962-63 to win the league playing with a back three, much of the focus was on how well David Luiz performed as a ballplaying centre-back with a defender either side of him, how effectively Cesar Azpilicueta shuffled across to close the space when Victor Moses went forward, and how N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic provided an effective shield. None of that was untrue, but increasingly this season it has come to be seen that what was really important about that Chelsea side was what was going on at the other end of the pitch; that the solid defensive base was a means to an end. With Eden Hazard on the left,…

“Jiangsu was my last experience in football” Fabio capello tells Italian radio that he is not interested in coaching Italy’s national team after leaving chinese club Jiangsu suning IN EUROPE HORst HRUbEscH, who was a European champion and World Cup runner-up as a player, took interim control of the German women’s team after Steffi Jones’ sacking. CONCACAF Swedish striker ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC joined MLS side LA Galaxy after being released by Manchester United. AFRICA Seychelles appointed GAVIN JEANNE as national coach. ASIA Japan replaced national coach Vahid Halilhodzic with technical director AKIRA NISHINO. Romanian COSMIN OLAROIU took over from Fabio Capello as coach of Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning, while BERND SCHUSTER, who led Real Madrid to the 2008 La Liga title, replaced Ma Lin at Dalian Yifang. OUT Eusebio…

LOANEES Bryan CRISTanTe Age 23 (03.03.95), midfielder, atalanta & Italy In a sentence On loan from Benfica, the Italy international is arguably the best all-round midfielder in Serie A at the moment and a hot-ticket item for all the top clubs in his homeland, as well as suitors in England and Spain. What they say Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini: “In the course of a year, he has made rapid progress. He will go far. The important thing is for him to keep working. He can become even better.” Umberto Marino, Atalanta’s director of sport: “On joining us, Cristante seemed lost, but Gasperini did a wonderful job in making him believe in himself once more. Aldo Dolcetti, former Milan youth-team coach: “He was a kid with great technical ability, no…

Long beset by hooliganism, Greek football now has a different sort of lawlessness to live down after gun-toting PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis stormed onto the pitch during a recent top-of-the-table encounter with AEK. Savvidis, who could quite clearly be seen wearing a holstered gun, lost his cool after PAOK had a potential matchwinning goal ruled out for offside on the stroke of full-time. Accompanied by a battalion of bodyguards, the enraged Greek-Russian businessman entered the field of play to say his piece, trying in vain to encourage his side’s players to walk off. He then made an aggressive beeline for the referee, only to be held back by his minders. According to the AEK version of events, Savvidis made threats to their operations manager, Vassilis Dimitriadis, and the match referee,…

UDINESE The Serie A side’s players each wore a different first-team shirt, from 11 different seasons, in their 2-1 loss to Lazio before the kit was auctioned for charity. CHENG CHIN LUNG Became the first Hong Kong player to score in the AFC Champions League group stage and helped his club, Kitchee, become the first Hong Kong side to win a game in that phase as they beat Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol 1-0. And all of this after being plucked from Kitchee’s reserve team due to a player shortage. COLIN DOYLE The goalkeeper played a full 90 minutes in the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 defeat away to Turkey in Antalya, then appeared for Bradford City 24 hours later in their English third-tier game at home to Gillingham, in which he kept…

FIFA only has itself to blame over 2026 scrap With no one appearing to be overly thrilled with the contestants currently scrapping for the honour of hosting the 2026 World Cup, FIFA has only itself to blame. The scandalous 2018/2022 vote may have been eight years ago but the scars have not healed. For a start, FIFA politics have trumped common sense. Putting together the vast bid book demands more time than the mere six months Morocco and the United (USA/Mexico/Canada) bids were given. Then FIFA came up with an evaluation taskforce comprising five of Infantino’s own appointees: joint deputy secretary-generals Marco Villiger and Zvonimir Boban, audit chair Tomaz Vesel, governance chair Mukul Mudgal and competitions committee delegate Ilco Gjorgioski. Their modus operandi and powers were even the subject of…

1 MARADONA JUNIOR FOLLOWS IN FAMOUS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS The son of Diego Maradona, who goes by the same name, has taken his first tentative steps up the footballing ladder with promotion from the Italian sixth division. Maradona junior plays for Afro-Napoli United, a club who were formed in 2009 to fight racism. The multi-racial team beat Neapolis 3-0 to win promotion to the fifth tier. 2 SKI JUMPING ONTO A FOOTBALL PITCH At the recent Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korean officials managed to kill two birds with one stone when they designed the Alpensia Ski Jump arena – and used the landing area to build a new football ground for Gangwon. With the South Korean skiing season running from November to March, and the football season from March to…

Remembering Ray Wilkins: a decent and generous man Ray Wilkins was given a touching sendoff at Stamford Bridge before the recent London derby match against West Ham United. I was fortunate enough to see most of his 84 England games, and still remember the first of them, which took place in the Yankee Stadium in New York. A strong Italy team led 2-0 at halftime, only for a largely young England side, with Wilkins impressively prominent, to turn the tables in the second half and go on to win 3-2. He was a precocious teenaged captain of Chelsea, already much respected by players older than himself. In 1984 he and the England centre-forward Mark Hateley transferred to Milan. I remember offering to help him learn Italian. It didn’t happen, but…

1 Wissam BEN YEDDER FRANCE Awarded his first cap in a friendly against Colombia in March, the 27-year-old Sevilla striker is in the form of his life at the moment. A prolific marksman for his club in this season’s Champions League – and especially impressive when scoring both his side’s goals in their win away at Manchester United – the Paris-born front runner could be the ideal impact sub for France this summer. Quick to adjust to the rhythm of a game, he is mobile, sharp, good in restricted spaces and a natural finisher, averaging more than 18 goals a season over the last five campaigns with Sevilla and former club Toulouse. “In the box, he’s the best in France,” ex-Toulouse boss Pascal Dupraz once declared. “In fact, there are…

You were born in Germany but your father is Nigerian. Was there much of Africa in your childhood? Did you go there on holiday? Did family come across from Nigeria? no, no, no…we met with a lot of friends but not everyone was from nigeria. We had friends from ghana and Sierra Leone. There were a lot of mixed kids with a german mum and african dad, or the other way round, and at home we had some traditional african art. My father used to cook nigerian food. There was some music, but that’s about it. But he gave me his african vibes, his mentality, and that’s the biggest part for me. Did you ever think about the possibility one day of having to choose between Germany and Nigeria for…

With thoughts turning towards the summer’s World Cup finals, cover star Jurgen Klinsmann shared his hopes for France 98 in an exclusive interview with Gerry Cox. “This is a squad we have been building since the 1994 World Cup and won the [1996] European Championship with,” said Germany’s captain. “The base is more or less the same. “And more importantly the spirit is very, very good. That is the biggest difference between us now and four years ago.” The 33-year-old – who was back for a second spell at Tottenham Hotspur, on loan from Sampdoria – then went on to spill the beans on divisions within the German camp at the tournament in the USA. “We had within the team a couple of problems between players,” he revealed. “I don’t…

The film was optimistically entitled MeistertrŠume (championship dreams), yet in true Young Boys style it ended up documenting yet another heroic failure. Throughout their 2009-10 campaign, they were followed by a fly-on-the-wall film crew and, for much of that season, it looked like they would be recording the team’s first Swiss championship since 1986. Instead, it become the story of how a side led by current national coach Vladimir Petkovic and with an attack spearheaded by Seydou Doumbia somehow blew a 13-point lead. After seeing that advantage frittered away over the course of several months, panic set in and a 5-1 defeat by Lucerne in their penultimate game meant they had to beat Basle at home to win the league. They lost 2-0 and were condemned to a third successive…

2019 asian CuP Qualifiers 3rd round Group a Mar 22 - Incheon, South Korea Kyrgyzstan 5 (Shamshiev 2, Zemlianukhin 5, 63, Lux 74, Sagynbaev 87) Myanmar 1 (Kyaw Ko Ko 83) Ht: 2-0. att: 1,068. ref: Singh (Sin) Mar 27 - Bishkek Kyrgyzstan 2 (Zemlianukhin 2, Murzaev 72) india 1 (Lalpekhlua 88) Ht: 1-0. att: 9,588. ref: Al Jeneibi (UAE) Mar 27 - Yangon Myanmar 1 (Kyi Lin 74) Macau 0 Ht: 0-0. att: 4,638. ref: Tojo (Jap) Group B Mar 27 - Beirut lebanon 2 (Maatouk pen 20, El Helwe 90+4) Malaysia 1 (Syafiq 72) Ht: 1-0. att: 3,500. ref: Kovalenko (Uzb) Mar 27 - Pyongyang north Korea 2 (Jong Il-gwan 18, Pak Kwang-ryong 24) Hong Kong 0 Ht: 2-0. att: 32,000. ref: Al Ali (UAE) Group C Mar 27 - Dushanbe, Tajikistan afghanistan…