Innehållsförteckning för September 2019 från World Soccer

The Champions League dominates our coverage this month. In every aspect of football – technically, tactically, financially – it is the world game’s most sophisticated competition. The great moments in the careers of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have taken place against the backdrop of the Champions League. Virgil Van Dijk’s masterful performances for Liverpool have seen him recognised by UEFA as Europe’s best player – the first of several possible individual awards for him over the coming months. The autumn is also likely to see renewed efforts to restrict access to the Champions League to a select band of wealthy clubs. There is a dangerous assumption in football that money equates to progress. With regard to possible changes, it is worth remembering that a “super league” already exists with…

“Any player can go for €100million, even without showing anything”Ronaldo questions the modern football transfer market Eduardo CAMAVINGA (Rennes) There aren’t many 16-year-olds who have got the better of Paris Saint-Germain, but the midfielder was the star of the show as Rennes upset the odds to beat the defending champions 2-1 on the second matchday of the new Ligue 1 season. In only his third league start for the club, he ran the game and set up Romain Del Castillo for the winning goal. In doing so, he became the youngest player to provide an assist in the French top flight since such statistical analysis began. Born in Angola in November 2002, he moved to France with his family as a child and a month after his 16th birthday he…

The 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar are just over three years away. Expect to see, in the next year or so, a steady stream of anti-Qatar stories in the international media. While some will make sense, many will make no sense at all unless the reader understands that a Saudi-financed anti-Qatar campaign is in full swing. No one can argue that the Qatar staging is controversial. This is partly because of the identity of a football-minnow host, partly because of the workers’ conditions issue, and partly because of the bidding procedure and award in December 2010. Saudi Arabia and political allies such as the United Arab Emirates have a specific anti-Qatar agenda led by the imposition of an economic, travel and broadcasting rights blockade back in 2017. So far…

Former Manchester United and Atletico Madrid striker DIEGO FORLAN, who was capped 112 times by Uruguay and last played for Kitchee in Hong Kong in 2018, announced his retirement at the age of 40. Forlan left Independiente for Manchester United in 2002 and went on to play successfully in Spain for Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, winning the 2010 Europa League and twice claiming the ESM Golden Shoe award as Europe’s top goalscorer. He also had spells in Italy (Internazionale), Brazil (Internacional), Japan and India, as well as with boyhood club Penarol, with whom he won the 2015-16 Uruguayan championship. With Uruguay, he won the 2011 Copa America and was one of the stars as they reached the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup.…

Daniele De Rossi is not the only big name heading to South America. Brazil’s captain Dani Alves, chosen as the outstanding player at the recent Copa America, is back from Europe after more than a decade-and-a-half to join Sao Paulo – and with him went the Spanish full-back Juanfran. Another full-back pair, the Brazilians Rafinha and current international left-back Filipe Luis, have both crossed the Atlantic to sign for Flamengo of Rio. All of these players could have stayed on in Europe. There were also options such as China or maybe the Middle East and the United States. Instead they have chosen to continue their careers in South American club football. In the case of the Brazilians this is perhaps not surprising as it is common for players to go…

GROUP A Sevilla APOEL Qarabag Dudelange GROUP B Dynamo Kiev Copenhagen Malmo Lugano GROUP C Basle Krasnodar Getafe Trabzonspor GROUP D Sporting Lisbon PSV Rosenborg LASK Linz GROUP E Lazio Celtic Rennes CFR Cluj GROUP F Arsenal Eintracht Frankfurt Standard Liege Vitoria Guimaraes GROUP G Porto Young Boys Feyenoord Rangers GROUP H CSKA Moscow Ludogorets Espanyol Ferencvaros GROUP I Wolfsburg Gent Saint-Etienne Oleksandriya GROUP J Roma Borussia Monchengladbach Istanbul Basaksehir Wolfsberger GROUP K Besiktas Braga Wolverhampton Wanderers Slovan Bratislava GROUP L Manchester United Astana Partizan Belgrade AZ…

VAR should be a requirement, not an option The powerful tool known as VAR is still a work in progress. And there is still a lot about it that stands in the way of outright acceptance. VAR relies on meticulous observation – and sometimes almost scientifically accurate measurement – yet its employment is not uniform. In fact, it looks almost haphazard. VAR is, inarguably, a branch of refereeing as it is making refereeing decisions, and there is a FIFA rule book governing those decisions. The whole world plays according the same basic set of rules. As VAR is such a costly programme, maybe 99 per cent of the football played worldwide does not use it and probably never will. But among the elite leagues and tournaments we find some that…

“Ajax has a very clear way of playing football. Barca, Juve and Atletico have it too. Real Madrid does not. Their football is based on the talent in their squad. Their style is decided by their wallet”Atletico coach Diego Simeone criticises his Madrid rivals IN EUROPE Cypriot champions APOEL, who have averaged a new coach every six months for the last four years, replaced Paolo Tramezzani with THOMAS DOLL, who left Hanover at the end of last season. CONCACAF Previously director of football at Dutch club Groningen, RON JANS was named coach of MLS side Cincinnati. Dismissed by Houston Dynamo, WILMER CABRERA replaced Remi Garde at Montreal Impact, while ROBIN FRASER took charge of Colorado Rapids. AFRICA VAHID HALILHODZIC quit Nantes two weeks before the start of the new Ligue…

Bruce’s bonus after going back to basics Ah, the glorious uncertainty of football; part of its immense and endless charm, so often the source of frustration. This season was still very young when we saw abundant evidence of all this. Not least at Tottenham Hotspur, where Spurs against all expectation found themselves beaten by a Newcastle United side which had lost its first two matches and had deserved to. The Sunday which would see Newcastle rise from seeming disaster, tightening in defence with five at the back, a newspaper had criticised their manager Steve Bruce for an allegedly too open and attacking policy. “Go back to basics defensively,” it urged, accusing Bruce, not welcomed by the fans though locally born as a successor to the much appreciated Rafa Benitez, of…

Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid) Much to the annoyance of Pep Guardiola, the teenager opted to quit Manchester City in January for a six-and-a-half-year contract with Real. Bernabeu coach Zinedine Zidane says: “I like it that he always goes straight for goal and is absolutely two-footed.” Ademola Lookman (RB Leipzig) A loanee with Leipzig in the second half of the 2017-18 season, the speedy English winger put pen to paper in July on a five-year contract. It should prove a fruitful alliance as his old club, Everton, never seemed to particularly trust him, while RB most certainly do. Thiago Mendes (Lyon) Bought this summer for €22m from Lille, the Brazilian midfield holder is much more than a tenacious ball winner. Technically accomplished, astute in his distribution, very aware tactically and an…

GROUP A SEP 18 Club Brugge v Galatasaray SEP 18 Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid OCT 1 Real Madrid v Club Brugge OCT 1 Galatasaray v Paris Saint-Germain OCT 22 Club Brugge v Paris Saint-Germain OCT 22 Galatasaray v Real Madrid NOV 6 Paris Saint-Germain v Club Brugge NOV 6 Real Madrid v Galatasaray NOV 26 Galatasaray v Club Brugge NOV 26 Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain DEC 11 Club Brugge v Real Madrid DEC 11 Paris Saint-Germain v Galatasaray GROUP B SEP 18 Olympiakos v Tottenham Hotspur SEP 18 Bayern Munich v Red Star Belgrade OCT 1 Tottenham Hotspur v Bayern Munich OCT 1 Red Star Belgrade v Olympiakos OCT 22 Tottenham Hotspur v Red Star Belgrade OCT 22 Olympiakos v Bayern Munich NOV 6 Red Star Belgrade v…

The problem with being one of the world’s great football clubs is that nothing can be done by half measures. There is a brand to protect and, as the PR industry’s constant growth underlines, reputation management is a big deal these days. This would have been one of the key considerations when Real Madrid were pondering whether to jump aboard the women’s football bandwagon as it picked up steam over recent years. When few people were interested, why bother? When there was no money to be made, why bother? Understandable, if not admirable, views. Even when Real fan, former youthteam keeper and businessman Alfredo Ulloa founded Madrid CFF in 2010 – so his goalkeeping daughter Paola did not have to join Atletico Madrid – and clad the team in white…

Barcelona v Juventus is the stand-out tie when the UEFA Women’s Champions League gets underway. It is a draw that both whets the appetite but also hastens the arrival of a group stage. With the 32 qualifiers thrown straight into a knockout, the current women’s competition remains more of a throwback to the men’s old European Cup than a female equivalent to the modern men’s competition. Besides the knockout format, many “big name” clubs are afforded scant protection by the seeding system. This creates mouth-watering ties, but can also mean an early exit for a major club. Last year Manchester City went out at this stage to Atletico Madrid while Juventus, on their European debut, lost to Brondby. The season before, Atletico lost to Wolfsburg and Chelsea put out Bayern…

The Nations League concept has been enthusiastically adopted in Europe and the CONCACAF region, where previously inactive national teams are playing more regularly. And now the Oceania Football Confederation wants to join in. If the plan works out, OFC Nations League games will be a huge boost for isolated Pacific countries such as the Cook Islands. On 4 September 2015, the Cooks lost a decisive 2018 World Cup qualifier to American Samoa and missed out on a first-ever place in the second stage. After winning their first two games, against Tonga and Samoa, the loss was heartbreaking. Worse was that the Cooks have not played a single game since. “Of course it’s detrimental to progression, but it’s the reality of the situation for most of these Oceanian nations”Drew Sherman on…

Justice and common sense prevailed in the end as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled Esperance were the winners of the African Champions League at the conclusion of a tawdry affair that was just one of several crisis facing football on the continent. The Tunisian club had been awarded the trophy and their medals after opponents Wydad of Morocco refused to play on after 59 minutes of the second leg of the Final Wydad, then 2-1 behind on aggregate, had scored what they thought was an equaliser but it was ruled offside. They sought relief from the Video Assistant Referee system, which the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had brought in for the two legs of the Final. But on being told it was not working, they refused…

Is there a new age of continuity in the Libertadores Cup? No one has retained the title since the start of the century, but Brazil’s Gremio and River Plate of Argentina have reached the semi-finals for the third consecutive year, while River will now replay last year’s Final against arch-rivals Boca Juniors – this time with a place in the Final at stake. The only newcomers to the last four are 1981 champions Flamengo of Brazil, a giant club that has been punching below its weight for years but is now sufficiently organised to compete for the title. Even so, in the first knockout round they needed a penalty shootout to get past Emelec of Ecuador – a dramatic illustration of the fiercely competitive nature of the Libertadores. Even so,…

JOSEF MARTINEZ The Venezuelan became the first player to score in 10 MLS games in a row, getting both goals as Atlanta United beat New York City 2-1. ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI The Bayern Munich striker becomes the first player to score in the opening round of games for five consecutive Bundesliga seasons. CHOI KANG-HEE The South Korean coach’s Shanghai Shenhua defeated Rafa Benitez’s Dalian Yifang 3-2 away from home in the Chinese FA cup semi-final. Choi was dismissed by Dalian in mid season. ELKESON The Brazlian-born striker became the all-time leading scorer in the Chinese Super League with his 103rd goal as top-of-the-table Guangzhou Evergrande won 3-1 at second-place Beijing Guoan. CLEMENS TOENNIES The businessman stepped down as Schalke chairman after allegedly making racist comments about Africans. SAMSON SIASIA The former…

FIFA’s disgrace has been decades in the making Stanley Rous is remembered popularly within the game as the traditional, archetypal English football official: an outstanding referee and FA general-secretary, then a naively well-meaning FIFA president overthrown by a streetwise pragmatist. Mere history? Not at all. Rous was one of the architects of FIFA’s present dysfunctional governing system. Over the past decade, world football’s parent body has tumbled into disgrace through its inability to control the confederations. CONMEBOL and CONCACAF were ravaged by money-grabbing crooks, while Oceania voted itself two corrupt, successive presidents. Asia’s bank accounts were commandeered by its own supremo and the chaotically muddled African confederation has recently had to call in FIFA to run the show and negotiate its TV deals. It was FIFA’s first non-European president, Brazilian…

England centre-back HARRY MAGUIRE joined Manchester United from Leicester City for £80million to set a new world record fee for a defender. Manchester United’s ROMELU LUKAKU moved to Internazionale for €80m and became the third-most expensive signing of all time in Serie A. Arsenal made NICOLAS PEPE their record signing, paying Lille £72m for the Ivorian winger. Zenit paid a joint-record Russian fee of €40m to sign Barcelona winger MALCOM. Monaco signed a trio of strikers in ISLAM SLIMANI (Leicester City, loan), WISSAM BEN YEDDER (Sevilla) and HENRY ONYEKURU (Everton). Portugal international RENATO SANCHES moved to Lille from Bayern Munich. Bayern signed season-long loan deals for PHILIPPE COUTINHO (Barcelona) and IVAN PERISIC (Internazionale). In Italy, Fiorentina signed FRANCK RIBERY, MARIO BALOTELLI joined Brescia and HIRVING LOZANO moved from PSV to…

At the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, an Argentinian journalist was making small talk with several members of the Italy squad ahead of TV interviews. He was trying to coax players into drawing an imaginary stripe across his chest, a gesture in Argentina to show when one is a River Plate supporter. “No, no,” said Daniele De Rossi. “I support Boca.” Six years on, with over 600 games for Roma to his name and nearing the end of a career that includes a World Cup winner’s medal, De Rossi is indulging a life-long ambition. After rejecting lucrative offers to play in MLS or China, and from other clubs in Italy, he signed a one-year deal with Boca Juniors. “Why not come to Boca?” he said in his first interview with…

JEAN-MICHEL AULAS One of the most influential figures in French football, the computer-software tycoon became owner of Lyon in 1987. He added the women’s team in 2004 and instituted new levels of professionalism akin to the men’s game. The Groupama Stadium, which hosted the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final, will be his physical legacy, but his impact on women’s football is just as significant. JEAN-LUC VASSEUR Former midfielder with Paris Saint-Germain, Rennes and others, he became coach this summer. It is his first role in the women’s game but he has previously led Ligue 1 side Reims. ADA HEGERBERG Crowned first winner of the Ballon D’Or Feminin in December, the 24-year-old striker joined Lyon from Turbine Potsdam as a teen in 2014 and has subsequently scored 193 goals in 165…

On the pitch, the highlight of the European pre-season in Asia was probably Harry Kane’s lastminute halfway-line winner that showed Singapore fans that when you have paid top dollar for a ticket then staying until the end is a good idea. Off it, there were several contenders. Manchester City left China with a stinging rebuke about their lack of engagement with the local media ringing in their ears – a big deal as it came from the state-run Xinhua News Agency. A little to the east, the only South Koreans seemingly not upset with Juventus are lawyers preparing for up to 10,000 lawsuits from fans seeking compensation from what became a messy affair. While these commercial forays into Asia have become slicker over the years, there is still potential for…

AFRICA CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2018-19 Final 1st leg May 24 Wydad Casablanca (Mor) 1 (Comara 79) Esperance Tunis (Tun) 1 (Coulibaly 44) HT: 0-1. Ref: Grisha (Egy) Wydad: Tagnaouti - Noussir, Dari, Comara, El Amloud (Gaddarine 77), Ounajem, Saidi, Nekkach, El Haddad, El Karti (Jabrane 63), Babatunde (El Hassouni 62). Sent off: Nekkach 49. Esperance: Ben Cherifia - Derbali, Dhaouadi, Chemmam, Ben Mohamed, Kom (Bguir 87), Coulibaly, Badri, Chaalali, Belaili (Elhouni 90+5), Lokosa (Khenissi 88). 2nd leg May 31 Esperance Tunis 1 (Belaili 41) Wydad Casablanca 0 HT: 1-0. Ref: Gassama (Gam) ● Match abandoned when Wydad Casablanca refused to play on after they had a goal ruled out for offside in the 59th minute; CAF ruled on Aug 7 that Wydad are ‘considered to have lost the game in…