South Africa inches closer
Ready or not, South Africa, here they come.
On Thursday, it will be exactly one year until the first ball is kicked in anger at the 2010 World Cup, the first to take place on the African continent and the first to be played in winter since Argentina ’78.
Reams could be written about how unprepared South Africa still is, but there will be enough of that later.
For the moment, it is sufficient to note that the first four countries have qualified for the monthlong, 32-nation tournament.
On Saturday, Japan became the first to do so, followed fairly quickly by Australia, South Korea and the Netherlands. Of the four, the Dutch are the only ones who could make some noise at the World Cup.
One year out, the hunch here, however, is that while Brazil will quickly become the local favorite once South Africa is knocked out in the first round, it will be Argentina and Spain contesting the final.
In Las Vegas, you could probably get good odds on that right now.
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More Sepp Blather
In March, Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, the speak first and think later president of FIFA, took a cheap shot at Richard Scudamore, chief executive of England’s Premier League.
“He is working to make a lot of money and I’m working to have football as a social, cultural event around the world, being a school of life, bringing hope, bringing emotions,” Blatter said. “That’s the difference.”
But here’s what Blatter said in the Bahamas last week when announcing that FIFA had made a profit of $184 million in 2008 on overall revenue of $957 million, despite the bleak state of the world economy:
“We are in a sane, one could even say comfortable, financial position.”
And “bringing hope” to everyone, no doubt, Sepp.
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Coaches turntable
Sunday is as good a day as any to play Good Move, Bad Move, where top coaches can be second-guessed before even setting foot on next season’s playing fields.
GOOD MOVE: Jose Mourinho has decided to stick with Inter Milan after leading it to the Italian title this season, the club’s fourth “scudetto” in a row. Not only that, he managed to wangle a contract extension through 2012 that will earn him a maximum of $26.4 million a year. The “Special One” might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the game would be a lot poorer without the charisma he brings to the sideline and the quotes he brings to the microphone.
BAD MOVE: Carlo Ancelotti has left AC Milan and taken charge of Chelsea. Why is that a mistake? Because Chelsea’s players and fans fell deeply for interim coach Guus Hiddink and Ancelotti will have to win everything in sight next season to capture their hearts. Then, too, it is Hiddink’s good friend, owner Roman Abramovich, who really calls the shots at Stamford Bridge. Ancelotti will find out soon enough that he has swapped one puppet master for another, although Abramovich is a lot more palatable than unsavory AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. Look for Hiddink to be Chelsea’s coach once the 2010 World Cup is over.
GOOD MOVE: Arsene Wenger has rejected overtures from Real Madrid and decided to stick with Arsenal. Smart decision. Wenger is in his comfort zone in London and, if he gives Arsenal a new spine by signing a central defender, a central midfielder and a striker, plus possibly a goalkeeper, fans at the Emirates Stadium can be assured of at least another top-four finish in the Premier League next season. Wenger has spent 13 years with Arsenal. When he leaves, it will be on his terms, not because of the gold dangled in front of him by wealthier clubs.
BAD MOVE: Manuel Pellegrini has abandoned Villarreal and is now in charge of Real Madrid, having become the team’s 12th coach in 11 years. With club President Florentino Perez promising to spend north of $400 million on spoiled and petulant Cristiano Ronaldo, overrated Kaka and unproven Franck Ribery, not to mention David Villa, Xabi Alonso and others, Pellegrini’s tenure in Madrid will be short unless he produces in his first season. It will not be easy, especially with Barcelona standing in the way. Pellegrini’s signing appears to be a stopgap move. As capable a coach as he is, he does not have the name recognition Madrid desires.
GOOD MOVE: Ciro Ferrara has been named coach of Juventus on a two-year contract after taking interim charge of the Italian club when it fired Claudio Ranieri in May. It’s a good hire by Juve and it puts Ferrara, 42, in the same company as Inter Milan’s Mourinho, 46, Barcelona’s 38-year-old Josep “Pep” Guardiola, and AC Milan’s newly appointed Leonardo, 39, as a new generation of managers emerges in Europe. The only disappointing part for Ferrara is that he will have to resign as assistant coach on Italy’s national team and will miss the 2010 World Cup. But taking control of “The Old Lady of Turin” more than makes up for that. In any case, world champion Italy won’t repeat in 2010.
BAD MOVE: Frank Rijkaard, who led Barcelona to its 2006 European Champions League triumph, has no doubt lined his pocket well but has sadly moved off center stage by agreeing to become the coach of Galatasaray. The club might be a Turkish power, but its European pedigree is spotty at best, one UEFA Cup victory aside, and Rijkaard has marginalized himself with the move. Luis Aragones, who coached Spain to its Euro 2008 title, made the same mistake by joining Fenerbahce last summer only to be fired last week.
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The book on Bradley
Michael Bradley, the 21-year-old son of U.S. Coach Bob Bradley, is proving to be as much of a liability as an asset to the national team.
In 29 games for the U.S. since his debut in 2006, the younger Bradley has scored five goals but has also received eight yellow cards and one red card. They led to his being suspended from the Gold Cup final in 2007 and from Saturday’s World Cup qualifier in Chicago.
Bradley’s ratio of one card to every three games -- matched by defender Oguchi Onyewu’s 14 cards in 41 games -- does not bode well for 2010, when a mistake by either player could cost the U.S. the chance to advance in the World Cup, assuming it qualifies and gets a favorable draw.
The Bradley card collection:
*--* Date Opponent Card Minute U.S. Result 2007 June 2 China Yellow 81 Win June 12 El Salvador Yellow 10 Win June 21 Canada Red 86 Win June 24 Mexico Gold Cup final Suspended 2008 Feb. 6 Mexico Yellow 45 Tie June 4 Spain Yellow 77 Loss Sept. 6 Cuba Yellow 37 Win Oct. 11 Cuba Yellow 90+ Win 2009 March 28 El Salvador Yellow 56 Tie June 3 Costa Rica Yellow 54 Loss June 6 Honduras World Cup qualifier Suspended *--*
-- Grahame L. Jones
