Things that do not exist in football

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has made another brilliant comment, this time about the scourge of racism in football, saying that on-the-pitch racism is inexistant.
Already Mr. Blatter has been harshly criticised, but I would like to give my support to the FIFA President by reminding him of other things that do not exist in football:

• Homophobia


• Match fixing


• Doping


• Sexism


• Corruption


• Bad language and swearing


• Diving

I am sure Mr. Blatter himself could make the list much longer, and of course, since none of these problems exist in football, FIFA does not need to tackle them.

The Euro play-offs

The last four teams are ready for the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ucraine:

• Portugal: After 0-0 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Portuguese lived up to the expectations and dispatched the Bosnians with a resounding 6-2.


• Ireland: The Irish are back in a major footballing tournament, after 1-1 at home against Estonia, which was enough after their 0-4 victory in Tallinn.


• Czech Republic: Had no problem in qualifying with two victories against Montenegro, 2-0 and 0-1 respectively.


• Croatia: Their 0-3 victory away to Turkey put the Croatians through, who had to do little at home to make it 0-0.

There were really no major surprises!
The draw for the groups will be on December 2nd!

The smart against the World champions

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching England defeat Spain in a match that put into display the weaknesses of the defending world champions. Undoubtedly Spain is the best footballing nation in the world, and they play a positive football style that closely resembles that of FC Barcelona. That said, they do not have the attacking power of the Catalonian side - that is, they need a Messi (who with his performances for Argentina, should probably be Spaniard). This is not to say that Spain lacks quality strikers, but one must not forget that Spain was (ironically, considering that they are not a defensive side) the team that has won the World Cup scoring least goals ever! In that sense, their victory is founded on their strong defense and the worlds' best goalkeeper in Iker Casillas.
Yesterday, Fabio Capello's English side was surely not the better team, but they were the smartest. In the first half, Spain had all the possession, but chances were missing against an English defensive wall and a strong fighting spirit that has not been a hallmark of English national sides over the last years.
It wasn't pretty, but it was efficient.
In the second half England came a bit more forward, and on a free kick Darren Bent got an excellent header that Pepe Reina could not hold, and Frank Lampard had an easy time scoring in an empty goal.
Spain continued pressing, and did get some huge chances at the end of the match. But at the same time they also seemed to get more frustrated, and the match left the impression of a vulnerable Spanish side. Spain had an easy time qualifying for the EURO 2012, but it was in a very easy group. Since the World Cup, they have lost to every major side they have played: Argentina, Portugal, Italy, France, and now England. Of course, these are friendly matches, and the other sides fight hard to get the scalp of the world champions. Still, Spain is losing too many scalps, and the match from yesterday should leave some doubts as to how strong they will be for the European championships next year.

South American qualifiers

Argentina is still not likely to go to the World Cup. At home, they did not manage to go beyond a 1-1 against the weakest side in South America, Bolivia, and the Argentines now only have 4 points for three matches. It was a well-deserved trashing that the local fans gave Messi and Company, a group of stars who should be in a circus rather than on a football pitch.
Uruguay on the other hand is unstoppable, and the best team in South America for sure. Luis Suarez continued to be a goal-machine as he scored all goals in their 4-0 trashing of Chile.
Venezuela has its aims at their first World Cup and took another little step with a 1-1 tie against their rivals from Colombia in Barranquilla. Colombia looked better much of the match, but as often with them, they are simply not efficient when it counts, while Venezuela is again proving its professionalism and fighting spirit to get another important result.
I believe Venezuela will be going to Brazil (which does nevertheless not mean that I want them to).
Finally, Paraguay defeated Ecuador 2-1.
The standing in the group seems as tight as it can get:

	P	W	T	L	Score	P
Uruguay	3	2	1	0	9-3	7
Argentina	3	1	1	1	5-3	4
Colombia	2	1	1	0	3-2	4
Paraguay	3	1	1	1	3-4	4
Venezuela	3	1	1	1	2-3	4
Ecuador	2	1	0	1	3-2	3
Peru	2	1	0	1	4-4	3
Chile	3	1	0	2	5-10	3
Bolivia	3	0	1	2	4-7	1

Minnesota champions

After greatly enjoying my last NASL match in Fort Lauderdale, I was happy to follow the Strikers' surprisingly making it to the final of the NASL championship after defeating the huge favourites of Puerto Rico Islanders in the semifinal. The other finalists were also an upset, namely the Minnesota Stars, who defeated the North Carolina Railhawks, who had been the best team in the season.
But as everybody knows, stats do not win football (soccer) matches.
The NASL final is played over two legs, and playing the last leg at home, the Strikers seemed to have a slight advantage, but the 3-1 defeat in the first leg in Minnesota, did not make things easier, and so didnt't enormous rainstorms before the match, that made us worry about attendance, or even a cancellation of the match.
But everybody knows that the football gods have great relations with the weather gods, and it hardly rained during the match.
The match was a disappointment for Strikers' fans. They undoubtedly played their chance, and had near to all the play, but Minnesota had come to play Italian Catenaccio and defend their 3-1 lead. This they did very well indeed, with a very strong central defense, and in the end, the Strikers' seemed more desperate in the face of a match that ended 0-0, but which Minnesota could have won.
It was a disappointment for all Strikers' fans, including myself. I usually have good karma on football teams I visit, and perhaps the Strikers making it to the final was the karma I gave them. I had promised that I would buy a Strikers' shirt if the won the championship, so I am still without one!