Record man. Fourth year on top for Messi. January/February 2013

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1 January/February 2013 FIFA Ballon d Or highlights Confederations Cup draw review A key year on and off the pitch Global glory for Corinthians Brazil s indoor maestros Japan near the finish line Tackling concussion head on A world of development The rise and rise of Cape Verde Record man Fourth year on top for Messi

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3 EDITORIAL Celebrating the best Dear friends of football, The latest FIFA Ballon d Or gala provided an uplifting start to what promises to be a very exciting year The year 2013 has only just got under way, but already we have celebrated the first highlight of the year, with the successful staging of the latest FIFA Ballon d Or gala in Zurich providing an uplifting start to what promises to be a very exciting year. In an age when newspapers and other media are frequently filled with negative stories, we should cherish the fact that, in the world of sport at least, there is still a desire to celebrate positive achievements and praise those players who have excelled beyond even the expectations of their peers. That has certainly been the case for Lionel Messi, who has further cemented his reputation as one of the best players of all time after winning the FIFA Ballon d Or for an unprecedented fourth year running. As Messi himself reminded the gala guests, however, individual achievements are only possible in football with the support of your team and it was fitting that strong team efforts were also reflected among the the night s other sporting awards with Spain coach Vicente del Bosque picking up the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men s Football award in recognition of his side s EURO 2012 triumph, and USA striker Abby Wambach and former head coach Pia Sundhage winning the FIFA Women s World Player of the Year and FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women s Football awards, following on from the Americans victory in last year s Women s Olympic Football Tournament. As well as highlighting spectacular feats such as the stunning goal that earned Miroslav Stoch this year s FIFA Puskás Award the gala also gave us the chance to honour those who have upheld our game s most important values. The bestowal of the FIFA Fair Play Award on the Uzbekistan Football Federation for the exemplary conduct of its teams in 2012 was just such a moment. I was similarly delighted to hand this year s FIFA Presidential Award to Franz Beckenbauer a man who has put his heart and soul into football during a remarkable career that has seen him excel as a player, as a coach and as an administrator. With the awards ceremony over for another year, we can now look forward to seeing which stars will shine brightest in 2013 a year which will also be very important for all of us at FIFA. As always, there are plenty of competitions to look forward to. An obvious highlight will be Brazil s staging of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013, with the traditional curtain-opener to next year s FIFA World Cup involving no fewer than four former world champions for the first time in its history. The Confederations Cup is just one of six senior and youth tournaments taking place during the next 12 months, however, with Morocco s hosting of the first FIFA Club World Cup on African soil and Tahiti s staging of the first Beach Soccer World Cup in Oceania among other firsts. We can also look forward to more stars of the future emerging on to the scene at the FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cups in Turkey and the UAE respectively. It only remains for me to wish all FIFA World readers success in achieving whatever goals you have set for yourselves in the coming year. For the Game. For the World. Joseph S. Blatter FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY

4 Around the world Another fine Messi Argentina s Lionel Messi made yet more history in January when he was voted the world s best player for a record fourth straight year. The 25-year-old FC Barcelona star picked up the FIFA Ballon d Or in recognition of another highly impressive 12 months in which he scored a staggering 91 goals for both club and country. Messi saw off competition from Barcelona teammate Andrés Iniesta and 2008 FIFA World Player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Real Madrid and Portugal star finishing as runner-up for the second year running. Spain s national team coach Vicente del Bosque won the FIFA World Coach of the Year award after leading the Spanish to their third consecutive major title at UEFA EURO The women s football awards were meanwhile dominated by the USA s Olympic gold medal-winning national side with striker Abby Wambach being named FIFA Women s Player of the Year and the team s former coach Pia Sundhage collecting the FIFA World Coach of the Year award for women s football. For more on the FIFA Ballon d Or 2012, see our review beginning on page 12. Corinthian conquest Brazilian giants Corinthians took club football s most prestigious title back to South America in December after beating European champions Chelsea 1-0 in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup. The side from São Paulo became only the second club to lift the trophy twice matching FC Barcelona s achievements in 2009 and 2011 and the first ever from South America to do so. The Brazilians, who booked their place in the final with a 1-0 win over African champions Al-Ahly, also ended a run of five years in which the competition had been won by the European representatives. Over the starting line The FIFA Club World Cup also made history with the first-ever in-competition usage of goal-line technology (GLT). Following July s decision to incorporate GLT into the Laws of the Game, two systems were deployed by FIFA at the Japan tournament, with the aim of selecting the system which will be used at this year s FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke described the introduction of GLT as a kind of revolution, but reiterated that the technology would apply only to goal-line decisions and that referees would continue to have the final say. We must ensure that when the ball goes into the goal, the referee gets that information. The technology won t change the speed, value or spirit of the game, so there is no reason to be against this technology. For more on the FIFA Club World Cup 2012 and the deployment of GLT, see our tournament review starting on page 42. Big Phil back for Brazil Brazil have reappointed Luiz Felipe Scolari as their national team head coach with barely a year and a half to go until the country s hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Scolari, who led Brazil to victory at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan/Korea, was appointed by the Brazilian Football Confederation at the end of November, shortly after the dismissal of his predecessor Mano Menezes. Scolari will be supported by another World Cup-winning coach, with Brazil s USA 1994 head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira having been appointed as the team s technical coordinator. 4 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

5 Inside this issue VIEW NEWS FOCUS SUMMARY 6 Bangkok, Mönchengladbach, Goma Striking images from the world of football 12 Still the best Messi wins fourth straight FIFA Ballon d Or 20 Reunions and first meetings Excitement in store after Confederations Cup draw 30 An important year Savouring the highlights of Talking heads Concussion discussions at the home of FIFA 42 Corinthians crowned São Paulo side end Europe s Club World Cup dominance 48 Kings of the court Brazil rule world futsal once more 54 Island warriors The surprising rise of football in Cape Verde 58 Associations All change in Chile and new plans for the EURO 60 Men s ranking Spain finish top for fifth year running 62 Women s ranking USA cap a golden year 64 Archive Stretching out with Alcides Ghiggia FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY

6 VIEW Twists and turns Brazil star Falcão goes for the spectacular during his team s FIFA Futsal World Cup semi-final meeting with Colombia (below); FSV Mainz right back Zdeněk Pospěch and Borussia Mönchengladbach s Juan Arango throw some interesting shapes during a December Bundesliga encounter. 6 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

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8 A passion for playing Football provides a welcome distraction for young people living in Goma, the capital city of Congo DR s conflict-riven North Kivu province. 8 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

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10 Letters to FIFA A selection of comments from the FIFA World and FIFA.com mailbags November/December 2012 Qualifying twists and turns FIFA Ballon d Or nominees Referees start 2014 journey Turkey s U-20 ambitions Russia s 2018 host cities Šuker s new challenge FIFA Club World Cup preview FIFA Confederations Cup draw French teens rule in Baku Whole new ball game? Going in to bat for Indian football November/December issue Indian football reboot India definitely seems to be a sleeping giant in world football, with talent developing as we speak and more just waiting to be discovered. With the help of the new academies and the support of FIFA, the country appears to have an extremely bright footballing future. FIFA.com user (USA) I have cheered for India as the national team celebrated its past three victories at the Nehru Cup and had high hopes after each victory that the fortunes of Indian football would change. However, nothing happened until now. I m thrilled to see a fresh-looking Indian team with a new coach and tactics, who are breathing new life into the Indian game. This is the start of a new beginning. Vishi Sinha (India) Russian host cities It s great to see Russia already unveiling its host cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It seems the country s plans are progressing quickly. I hope the weather holds and that the fans can enjoy a good show of football in Russia in Axel Gaijin (Canada) I am confident Russia will be well prepared and well organised for the 2018 World Cup. This is a unique opportunity for Russia to prove to the world it can pull off this huge event. Good luck! FIFA.com user (Spain) Let us hear your views, either on what you have read in FIFA World, or in regard to anything else in the world of international football. You can contact us via at feedback-fifaworld@fifa.org or by writing to FIFA World, FIFA-Strasse 20, P.O. Box, CH-8044, Zurich, Switzerland. Referees aim for Brazil I m glad that referees are being trained by FIFA to adopt best practices in order to maintain the standards needed for this global profession. As with most careers, to reach the pinnacle requires hard work and if you don t have a system that tries to produce the best, you will not yield the best. FIFA.com user (Nigeria) In the run up to 2018, I am looking forward to seeing more articles about the Russian host cities. It s a chance to find out more about this country and to see more of Russia than just Moscow alone. FIFA.com user (France) Hope in Rwanda It s heartening to read about the FIFA Football for Hope Centre in Kigali, where young people can learn how to resolve conflicts peacefully in a country which has seen so much trouble. We all need to keep an open mind and respond positively to changes in our communities. After all, ignorance is the breeding ground for hatred, violence and war. FIFA.com user (South Sudan) 10 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

11 Singing the blues Congratulations to the French team on winning the FIFA U-17 Women s World Cup! It s exciting to see how women s football in France is on the rise following the senior team s fourthplace finishes at both the FIFA Women s World Cup 2011 and at the 2012 London Olympics. The question now is whether they can go on to win the senior Women s World Cup? Matilda (Jordan) I really enjoyed the show of comradeship even among the opponents in the U-17 tournament. We were witness to some spectacular play and some superb goals. I wish all the young ladies success in their future endeavours and would like to offer my congratulations on a thrilling competition to all the national teams winners and losers! FIFA.com user (USA) The Ghanaian U-17 women s team has represented Africa so well with their run to the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women s World Cup! Their performances also built on Ghana s success in winning the men s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Mama Africa is with you girls! FIFA.com user (Italy) Avoiding knock-outs Football has been teaming up with other sports to tackle concussion. For more, see page 34. FIFA WORLD I VIEW 11

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13 No stopping Messi Lionel Messi was crowned as the world s best player for a record fourth consecutive year at January s FIFA Ballon d Or gala with Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, former USA women s coach Pia Sundhage and American markswoman Abby Wambach among the night s other winners. By Mark Ledsom, Zurich Eye on the prize: Lionel Messi stares at the FIFA Ballon d Or trophy shortly before the start of the gala. There was more than a slight sense of déjà vu in Zurich s Kongresshaus on 7 January as another glittering FIFA Ballon d Or gala reached its climax with Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi heading up the steps to collect the night s main prize. But despite having been crowned as the world s best male player for a recordbreaking fourth consecutive year, the 25-year-old FC Barcelona forward showed no signs of complacency as he embarked on his latest acceptance speech. To tell the truth this is really unbelievable, and to get this award for the fourth year running, it s astounding, Messi told the gala audience, before struggling for words and adding, sorry, I m so nervous. Messi s on-stage stumbling was in marked contrast to his sublime performances on the pitch in 2012 a year in which his opponents must have longed for some sign of nervousness from a player now known as much for his phenomenal goal rate as his already long-admired dribbling and passing skills. At the end of a calendar year in which he amazed fellow professionals and fans alike with his record haul of 91 goals for club and country, the modest star insisted that he owed it all to his team-mates. I want to recognise my colleagues from Barça and would also like to thank my friends in the Argentina team, said Messi, after once again finishing ahead of 2011 runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo, with Barcelona team-mate and 2010 runner-up Andrés Iniesta this time in third place. I would like to thank you in particular, Andrés. It s a proud moment to be here at your side today and an honour to train and play with you. Looking back on a year in which he also became a father for the first time, Messi finished his speech by thanking my family and friends and, finally, very specially, my wife and son who is the most beautiful thing I ever got Thank you. Reign of Spain As well as being the last award winner to be called up onto the stage, Messi was also among the first of the evening, with the player s exploits during 2012 also earning him a well-deserved place in the FIFA FIFPro World XI unveiled at the start of the ceremony. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 13

14 World s media still Messi-merised Lionel Messi may have made brilliant football look easy over the past few years, but finding new superlatives to describe his accomplishments is an increasingly difficult task for the world s sportswriters. As the Argentinian superstar picked up his fourth consecutive FIFA Ballon d Or, FIFA World spoke to some of the journalists and reporters in the Zurich Kongresshaus media centre to see how they were covering the recordbreaking news. I m not sure whether people might tire of seeing Messi win award after award, but they will never tire of seeing what he does on the pitch, pointed out World Soccer magazine columnist Keir Radnedge. As for getting a new angle on a story like this, you just focus on adding up all those awards that s the headline that everyone expects. On a night in which Messi was also named alongside fellow Ballon d Or nominees Andrés Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo in an entirely Spanish-based FIFA FIFPro World XI, the Spanish media were certainly not struggling to fill their column inches. Even though our paper concentrates on Real Madrid, news about Messi always sells well, Diario AS Madrid reporter Santiago Giménez told FIFA World. Reporting on his win this year is even easier than last year precisely because he s the first player to win for a fourth time in a row. I ll be saying that, in the eyes of the public, this win really reinforces the idea of the Messi era. Ramiro Martín from the Argentinian Football Association s official magazine AFA Revista was also confident that the news of Messi s latest achievement would be eagerly lapped up back home. In the eyes of the public, this win really reinforces the idea of the Messi era. Diario AS Madrid reporter Santiago Giménez Messi may have been in Spain for many years, but he is still Argentinian and we have a sense that he belongs to us as a nation, Martín explained. The public never loses interest in news of Messi, especially since he always exceeds expectations. I ll be writing about how strong he is as a footballer to break such a record. While Messi and eventual Ballon d Or runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo were at pains to downplay talk of a personal rivalry between them during the press conference that preceded the gala, the journalists in attendance insisted that the competition between the two great players was another key aspect of the Messi story. In Catalonia, we of course have a lot of supporters of Messi and FC Barcelona, and just because he s a Real Madrid player, Cristiano Ronaldo provides a natural counterpoint to Messi, which heightens the tension between them at least in the public imagination. People love to read all about that, said Diari ARA reporter Natalia Arroyo. Apart from the line that Messi has done something that no-one else has done before, I ll certainly be talking about that rivalry between him and Ronaldo, agreed CNN sports anchor Pedro Pinto. In particular, I ll focus on how each makes the other play better, and pushes the other to do better. For me, the fresh aspect is how fortunate we are to be alive at this time to see these two fantastic players going head to head. Media interest in Messi shows no sign of abating. 14 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

15 Scottish singing star Amy Macdonald thrills the gala audience; the FIFA President congratulates Wambach on her win as USA team-mate Hope Solo gets ready to present the trophy. In clear recognition of the current strength of the Spanish league and Spanish national team, all 11 players in the dream team play their club football in La Liga (see full team list below) with six members of Spain s UEFA EURO 2012-winning squad also featuring in the line-up, which was determined following a poll of 50,000 professionals from around the world. This is really unbelievable to win this award for the fourth year running, it s astounding. Four-time FIFA Ballon d Or winner Lionel Messi team, because they have an outstanding way of behaviour, Del Bosque told the Zurich audience, following a year in which his team succeeded in winning their third consecutive major international title. We want to win, of course, but we also want to protect and take good care of football and convey the best ethical behaviour. Sundhage on song The recipient of the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women s Football award also paid tribute to her players, but in a much more unusual manner. Known for FIFA Ballon d Or 2012 the winners her habit of inspiring her players through music, former USA coach Pia Sundhage picked up the award in recognition of the Americans gold-medal triumph at last year s Olympic Football Tournament and promptly burst into song. There are so many people I want to thank, especially the team s coaching and medical staff, but especially for the players, I ve only got one thing to say, Sundhage announced, before turning to FIFA Women s World Player nominees Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan, and hammering out a verse of Bob Dylan s The fact that we all play in the Spanish league shows that we are doing things right, insisted Spain and Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué. Personally, it s a great honour for me to be sharing a place with players as important as Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Iniesta. Spain s current supremacy in international football was then further highlighted as national team head coach Vicente del Bosque was called up onto the stage to collect the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men s Football award. It is an honour for me to represent Spanish football and the Spanish national FIFA Ballon d Or: Lionel Messi (41.6%) Cristiano Ronaldo (23.7%) Andrés Iniesta (10.9%) FIFA Women s World Player: Abby Wambach (20.7%) Marta (13.5%) Alex Morgan (10.9%) FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men s Football: Vicente del Bosque (34.5%) José Mourinho (20.5%) Pep Guardiola (12.9%) FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women s Football: Pia Sundhage (28.6%) Norio Sasaki (23.8%) Bruno Bini (9.0%) FIFA FIFPro World XI: Iker Casillas, Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Radamel Falcao, Cristiano Ronaldo FIFA Puskás Award: Miroslav Stoch FIFA Presidential Award: Franz Beckenbauer FIFA Fair Play Award: Uzbekistan Football Federation FIFA WORLD I NEWS 15

16 If Not For You to loud applause from the Zurich audience. That s the best thing I could do, in order to be myself, a grinning Sundhage later told FIFA World as she left the ceremony, still clutching her trophy. Singing is something I do to say thank you and I thought it was appropriate tonight especially with Alex and Abby there in front of me. Everything we went through as a team in 2012, and the football we played it s FIFA Ballon d Or winners (Prior to 2010 known as FIFA World Player of the Year) 2012 Lionel Messi (ARG) 2011 Lionel Messi (ARG) 2010 Lionel Messi (ARG) 2009 Lionel Messi (ARG) 2008 Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) 2007 Kaká (BRA) 2006 Fabio Cannavaro (ITA) 2005 Ronaldinho (BRA) 2004 Ronaldinho (BRA) 2003 Zinédine Zidane (FRA) 2002 Ronaldo (BRA) 2001 Luis Figo (POR) 2000 Zinédine Zidane (FRA) 1999 Rivaldo (BRA) 1998 Zinédine Zidane (FRA) 1997 Ronaldo (BRA) 1996 Ronaldo (BRA) 1995 George Weah (LBR) 1994 Romario (BRA) 1993 Roberto Baggio (ITA) 1992 Marco van Basten (NED) 1991 Lothar Matthäus (GER) FIFA Women s World Player of the Year winners 2012 Abby Wambach (USA) 2011 Homare Sawa (JPN) 2010 Marta (BRA) 2009 Marta (BRA) 2008 Marta (BRA) 2007 Marta (BRA) 2006 Marta (BRA) 2005 Birgit Prinz (GER) 2004 Birgit Prinz (GER) 2003 Birgit Prinz (GER) 2002 Mia Hamm (USA) 2001 Mia Hamm (USA) all here in this award. I wish I could share it with everyone I worked with, but that s impossible, so I ll keep it! Beckenbauer honoured Prior to the unveiling of the year s best male and female players, a trio of other awards were handed out in quick succession, starting with the FIFA Presidential Award. Usually given out to people or organisations who have made a significant contribution to the game either on or off the pitch, the award this year went to someone who has done both. With this award, we recognise people who have excelled as players, coaches or organisers, but it s a rare thing to come across people who have combined football skills with strong leadership and management capabilities, prefaced FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, before revealing that this year s Presidential Award was going to former FIFA Executive Committee member Franz Beckenbauer. I have received quite a few awards over the decades, but getting the FIFA Presidential award is something unique, and I would like to thank the President for keeping me in mind for this honour, said Beckenbauer, one of only two men to have won the FIFA World Cup as both a player and a coach before also going on to head Germany s successful hosting of the 2006 FIFA World Cup (see also Franz Beckenbauer Q&A opposite). The FIFA Fair Play Award also demonstrated that fair play and sporting success are not mutually exclusive, with the trophy being awarded to the Uzbekistan Football Federation (UFF) in recognition of its national and club teams exemplary behaviour on the pitch during The Uzbeks accumulated more Fair Play points over the course of the year than any other nation in their confederation with points being awarded for positive play, conduct on and off the field and the behaviour of supporters, and deducted for the number of red and yellow cards received in matches and still managed to enjoy sporting success, particularly in the Asian qualifying competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup where they currently head their group. It was then time to announce the winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for the most beautiful goal of the year as voted for by more than five million visitors to FIFA. com, FIFA on YouTube and francefootball. fr. Created in memory of Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás, the 2012 award went to Fenerbahçe s Slovakian winger Miroslav Stoch, whose impressive first-time volley from outside the area during a Turkish Süper Lig match against Gençlerbirliği garnered a whopping 78 per cent of votes cast for the three shortlisted goals. Grateful Wambach As the gala approached its finale with the crowning of King Messi, there was still the important matter of choosing a queen from the three candidates shortlisted for the FIFA Women s World Player award. In a tight finish, indicative of the growing number of stars in the women s game, USA striker Abby Wambach clinched the award with just over 20% of the votes cast to finish ahead of Brazilian five-time winner Marta (13.5%) and Wambach s national team strike partner Alex Morgan (10.9%). Winning any individual award is a total product of the kind of team that you play for, said Wambach, who played a key role in the USA s latest Olympic triumph, picking up the adidas Golden Ball as the best player of the competition as well as the adidas Golden Boot for her five goals at the tournament. I ve never scored a goal without receiving a pass from my teammates, so I truly believe this is a reflection of what our whole team has achieved. So this is for my team, and also for all the fans out there who continue to inspire me and the team to keep winning games and playing as hard as we can. Taken together with Messi s speech shortly afterwards, the crowning of the best female player and re-crowning of the best male player brought a fitting conclusion to a night when individual accomplishments were certainly feted but team spirit and modesty still prevailed. 16 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

17 Q&A Franz Beckenbauer FIFA Presidential Award winner The bestowal of this year s FIFA Presidential Award on German legend Franz Beckenbauer presented FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter with the rare opportunity to honour a man who has made a huge contribution to the game as a player, as a coach and as an administrator. Shortly before stepping up to receive the award, Beckenbauer spoke to FIFA World about his latest honour, his incredible football career and his future plans FIFA World: You ve received many honours during your long sporting career. What does it mean to you to pick up the FIFA Presidential Award? Franz Beckenbauer: Well, it s always something special to get an award, but to get one like this from the FIFA President is really the top. I have known Mr Blatter for almost 40 years now and we have done so many things together during that time. I remember particularly when I was chairman of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee and we of course had a lot of meetings with the FIFA President, and he gave us lots of important instructions on what we had to do. Our friendship really grew out of those days and I m glad he is still here because under his presidency football has developed massively. The game has never been more important or more interesting than it is now, and that certainly has something to do with his presidency. The award is for your achievements in three very different areas, as someone who won the FIFA World Cup as a player and as a coach and then brought the tournament to your homeland as head of the 2006 LOC. How do you explain all that success? There always has to be a bit of luck involved and I ve certainly had that during my life. As a player, especially back then in the Sixties, you know that it only takes one serious injury and that s the end of your playing career. Then, as a trainer, I got the job coaching West Germany more or less by accident after the team was knocked out in the group stage of Euro 84. And when I was head of the LOC for 2006, we only won the right to host the tournament very narrowly. Does one particular moment in your career stand out more than all the others? I think that day in July 2000 when Mr Blatter opened the envelope and said that Germany would host the 2006 FIFA World Cup, you can t get any better than that. When you re a player or a coach, World Cups are something that come around every four years, but to win the right to host a World Cup in your own country and then be able to help organise it, that s something that only happens once in a lifetime if at all Football has obviously changed a lot since your playing days, but do you think it s still fundamentally the same game? Well, it s still 11 against 11, of course, but everything around the game is very different now. It s faster, more professional and the differences in the condition of the pitches and the state of the stadiums today compared to when I started playing is almost unbelievable. Of course not all the developments are positive. There s a lot more money in the game now, and that s always going to attract some crooks, illegal gambling, corruption, that sort of thing. But I believe FIFA has all of that under control. Even if there will still be isolated cases now and again, I think football has never been healthier than it is now. And what are your future plans? That s one problem with these lifetime awards. I m still at an age when I don t believe that I m so old, but then you get a lifetime achievement award and it starts to sound like you re near the end! I hope I still have a few good years ahead of me, though! I ve stepped back from most of my football duties with FIFA, UEFA and the German Football Association so I can spend time with my family, but I m still doing commentary work and helping out on the FIFA Football Committee. So I m still a little on the scene and happy to keep my hand in in that way. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 17

18 A prolific year It says something of the lofty standards which Lionel Messi sets himself that the player could freely acknowledge ahead of the latest FIFA Ballon d Or gala that 2012 was probably not my best year so far. Making reference to his club s relatively low trophy haul during the year with Barcelona s solitary Spanish Cup title in May falling well short of their astonishing collection of six titles in 2009 Messi was at pains to repeat his belief that club honours matter much more than individual accolades. While typical of the 25-year-old Argentinian, such a statement could not deflect from the fact that Messi s individual displays during the last 12 months were on just as high a level as in previous years, if not higher. Already established as one of the world s most dangerous players in front of goal or in virtually any other part of the pitch Messi went goal-crazy in Scoring a staggering 91 times for club and country during the calendar year, the diminutive striker famously overhauled Gerd Müller s 40-year-old tally of 85 goals (scored for Bayern Munich and West Germany in 1972) as well as breaking a clutch of other records. After becoming the first player to score five goals in a UEFA European Champions League match in February, Messi went on to overtake his own record (shared with Ruud van Nistelrooy) of 12 goals in a single Champions League season. His eventual haul of 14 goals in the competition saw him crowned as top scorer for a fourth year running and also put him level with José Altafini s all-time record from the season of the old European Cup. While Barça had to settle for second place behind old rivals Real Madrid in La Liga, it wasn t for lack of trying by their star player. Messi s 50 league goals during the campaign set a new domestic record and also helped him overtake another Barcelona legend, César Rodriguez, as the Catalan club s all-time leading goalscorer. As the current season got under way, there was again no let-up by the Argentinian, with Messi s continuing form not only putting paid to Müller s long-standing goal record, but also helping Barcelona build a seemingly insurmountable lead of 11 points over nearest rivals Atlético Madrid going into the Spanish winter break. Having for years faced questions about his apparent inability to perform as well for Argentina as he does for Barcelona, Messi also managed to shoot down such doubts last year scoring a dozen times for his country and firing the Albiceleste to the top of the South American qualifying group for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. With World Cup qualification and further club glories now firmly in his sights, few will be betting against a fifth FIFA Ballon d Or title for Messi in just under a year s time. I don t know how many Ballons d Or I m going to get in the future, Messi shrugged as he left Zurich with ball number four in his hands. For now I just want to enjoy the moment before getting back to work on winning more titles and awards. 18 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

19 Bridging the generations While plenty of the winners at the FIFA Ballon d Or 2012 were eager to pay tribute to the debt they owed their team-mates, American shooting star Abby Wambach went even further at the Zurich ceremony by also dedicating her award to the USA teams of the past and the future. Fast approaching Mia Hamm s record tally of 158 international goals, Wambach emphasised the trail-blazing role that the earlier generation of American players played in the sport s development and explained how she herself now hoped to inspire the next generation to come. The team that won the 1999 FIFA Women s World Cup had a big impact on the growth of the women s game in the USA and they helped set up the system that has allowed our current team to thrive, the 32-year-old striker told FIFA World. Mia, in particular, has been a great mentor to me, not only when I got to play alongside her but in all the years since. Just to have been on the same team as her was a huge honour and I couldn t be prouder to be following in her footsteps and hopefully also paving the way for Alex Morgan to go on and break all the records that I set. Describing Morgan as the ying to her yang, Wambach singled out her young strike partner for particular praise, and said that the 23-year-old had breathed new life into her own career. Her skill set is so different from mine, Wambach explained. Where I m strong in the air and at holding up the ball, she s able to use her young, athletic legs to pull defences apart and leave me wide open in spaces. To be honest, it s extended my career because it s become so much more fun scoring goals. The partnership has certainly paid off for the USA, with Wambach and Morgan combining for 55 international goals during 2012 (with Morgan actually edging Wambach by 28 goals to 27). And while Wambach will clearly be happy to hand over the reins to the next generation of American stars one day in the future, she shows no sign of letting go just yet particularly with one major international trophy still eluding her The second you step down off that podium, you start training for the next thing and for us the next big thing is qualifying for the 2015 World Cup. For me, the next couple of years will be important to stay healthy and do all I can to help my team win games and if I m doing that, I know that I ll be helping my team get better, so that eventually we can be holding that top prize at the World Cup. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 19

20 Draw paves way for historic clash of champions December s Official Draw for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 produced a number of tantalising group-stage matches, further whetting the appetite for a tournament set to feature no fewer than four FIFA World Cup -winning teams. By Alejandro Varsky, São Paulo 20 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

21 Even before December s draw in São Paulo, this year s FIFA Confederations Cup was already shaping up to be one of the most eagerly anticipated editions yet, with the eight-team competition involving four current or former world champions for the first time in its history. Bringing together the reigning world champions, the hosts of the next FIFA World Cup and the champions of the six continental confederations, the Confederations Cup invariably boasts a strong and varied line-up of teams. June s edition had already been boosted, however, by the guaranteed presence of five-time world champions Brazil as tournament hosts. Then came the added bonus of four-time World Cup winners Italy qualifying for the event as UEFA EURO 2012 runners-up (due to the fact that European champions Spain had already secured their Confederations Cup place as the reigning world champions). In this FIFA Confederations Cup, we will have teams with no fewer than 12 FIFA World Cup wins between them: one for Spain, two for Uruguay, four for Italy and five for Brazil, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter reminded the 950 guests invited to the draw ceremony at São Paulo s Anhembi Convention Centre on 1 December. So it is clearly not just a rehearsal competition for the FIFA World Cup. It s an authentic festival of champions. Familiar faces in Group A The President s words were soon borne out as the draw itself got under way, with Group A quickly throwing up a tantalising reunion between Brazil and Italy in what will be a repeat of the finals of the 1970 and 1994 FIFA World Cups both of which ended in victory for the South Americans. Brazil will also be hoping that history repeats itself in their tournament-opening match against Asian champions Japan, a team they have played nine times in total without ever having lost a game. The Asians may, however, be bolstered by the fact that the only two draws they have managed against the Brazilians both came at the FIFA Confederations Cup, with Surprise Oceania champions Tahiti will be making their Confederations Cup debut. a 0-0 group-stage result on home soil in 2001 followed by a 2-2 draw, again in the group stage, in Germany four years later. Completing Group A, CONCACAF champions Mexico will also take fond Confederations Cup memories into their 19 June encounter with Brazil in Fortaleza having won two of the sides previous three meetings in the competition, including the dramatic 4-3 home-soil victory in the final of the 1999 edition. We certainly won t be coming along just to take part, but to get through to the next round and go for the title, just like we did in Mexico in 1999, Mexico coach José Manuel de la Torre insisted following the São Paulo draw. But what happened against Brazil back then is history. We pulled it off then because we prepared well, but this time our group-stage rivals have nine world titles between them. Italy s game against Japan in Recife on 19 June has meanwhile been lent added significance by Japan having Italian national Alberto Zaccheroni as their head coach. As well as offering Zaccheroni his first shot at coaching a team against his home nation, it will be only the third meeting between the two sides with an 8-0 romp by Italy during the quarter-finals of the 1936 Berlin Olympics having been balanced out more recently by a 1-1 friendly draw in Saitama 11 years ago. I just can t picture it at the moment, though I m pretty sure it won t be your average game, Zaccheroni said of his team s match-up against Italy. I m also very curious to see how we re going to do in this group in general, because the three other sides are all above us in the world ranking. But the team has been improving and our players have picked up more experience abroad. New territory in Group B While none of the teams in Group A will need too much introduction, the tournament s other quartet will be on less familiar ground not least because the identity of the African representatives will only be revealed on 10 February following the completion of this year s Africa Cup of Nations competition in South Africa. While likely Group B favourites Spain and Uruguay have crossed paths on a total Draw results: Group A Brazil Japan Mexico Italy Group B Spain Uruguay Tahiti African champions* *To be determined following completion of CAF Africa Cup of Nations on 10 February FIFA WORLD I NEWS 21

22 of eight occasions ending in three Spanish victories and five draws surprise Oceania qualifiers Tahiti will be lining up against both teams for the first time, and indeed preparing for their first-ever participation in a senior FIFA football tournament. Having exceeded all expectations when they won the OFC Nations Cup last year, the Tahitians will open their Confederations Cup campaign in Belo Horizonte on 17 June against the newly crowned African champions, before turning their thoughts to taking on the Spanish world champions at Rio de Janeiro s legendary Maracanã stadium three days later. For the representatives of a tiny nation of less than 300,000 people, it sounds like a daunting prospect. But as the only participants no longer in the running for a place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Tahitians are planning to enjoy their moment in the global spotlight. It s amazing for us to be playing against the best teams in the world, coach Eddy Etaeta enthused. We are just a small country going up against seven worldclass sides and I think our players are not A benchmark for Scolari Brazil s new coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was one of the last-minute additions to the Official Draw s guest list, having only been confirmed in the position two days before the draw was made. Replacing Mano Menezes, whose two-and-a-half year spell as Brazil coach had been terminated six days earlier by the Brazilian Football Association (CBF), Scolari now faces the challenge of turning around a national team whose recent performances have failed to live up to Brazil s ever-high footballing expectations. Big Phil has prior experience in this regard, of course, having stepped in to take charge of the Seleção during their difficult qualifying campaign for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and famously leading them on to win the tournament. Having begun his first tenure as Brazil coach just after the FIFA Confederations Cup 2001, Scolari says he is happy to be able to incorporate the competition into his preparations this time around, especially since his team will have no other competitive games prior to the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Because we haven t had to take part in the South American qualifiers, we are out of the routine of playing in competitive matches, which means this is a very important competition for us, Scolari told FIFA World at the São Paulo draw. The Confederations Cup is incredibly important to us, because by then it ll have been two-and-a-half years since we tackled a really strong tournament. It will give us a benchmark and show us how well prepared we are. Brazil are already the most successful team in the history of the Confederations Cup, having won three of the eight editions held to date, including the most recent two, and a third successive title would certainly help restore confidence among the home team s fans. For those outside the country, talk of Brazil s footballing slump is being taken with a pinch of salt. While the national team slipped to an all-time low of 14 th in October s FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, that fall is at least partially explained by the recent lack of competitive matches. The quarter-final exit from the Copa América in 2011 (following a disastrous penalty shoot-out against Paraguay in which the Brazilians missed every spot-kick) was certainly a low point, but the much talked-about failure to win gold at last year s Men s Olympic Football Tournament tended to overlook the fact that the South Americans at least made the final for the first time since Journalists in Brazil keep asking me about their current football crisis, which I find very strange, said Uruguay coach Óscar Tabárez following the draw. If you look at the players they have, everywhere you look there s a footballer of outstanding quality. I can t understand why anyone would think they aren t good. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque was in full agreement, insisting in São Paulo that Brazil are an international powerhouse. With their players, This is a very important competition for us because we are out of the routine of playing in competitive matches. their history and their home advantage, they will be the key rivals to beat in this competition. Further pressure came from no less a figure than the President of the Brazilian Republic, Dilma Rousseff, whose speech at the draw declared that we have many responsibilities, and one of them is to play a beautiful game that will honour Brazil s history as five-time world champions. For us, winning the Confederations Cup at home is an obligation. Unsurprisingly, as he works on his long-term plan for his new old job, Scolari was looking to deflect questions on how his team will fare at the Confederations Cup, and instead focus on the tournament s value to his team going forward. As long as we play our game and show some quality, we won t get down about losing a match at the FIFA Confederations Cup and missing out on the title for some reason, the Brazil coach insisted. The draw was great, because we got a hard group, and that s what we wanted. The Brazilian player becomes more focused when confronted with difficulties and strong rivals, and this competition is a chance for us to get a clearer picture of who we re going to take to the World Cup in FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

23 really quite aware yet what we will face at the Confederations Cup. But we ll be out to represent our region the best we possibly can. Key test While at least seven of the eight contenders will be harbouring genuine title ambitions of lifting the Confederations Cup trophy in June, the tournament is also clearly viewed by the participating coaches as a unique opportunity to test out their players and ideas ahead of the main event one year later. When I first took charge of the team [in 2006], it was hard to get an international match with high-level opponents, which is why we value opportunities like this, where we can play against the best in the world, said Uruguay coach Óscar Tabárez, who in 2011 led the Celeste to their first Copa América title in 17 years. Now that we have won the right to be here, playing in a world-class tournament, our expectations are high, he added. We have the desire to go even further, and we re prepared to put in the hard work required. Despite having cruised through the most recent round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers winning all six matches to book their place in the final stage Mexico are another team keen to test themselves against leading teams from further afield in a competitive setting. For us, this tournament will help us find out what level of football we are playing, De la Torre told FIFA World. Yes, it will be challenging, but we have to make the Italy booked their place in Brazil after reaching the final of UEFA EURO most of it if we want to grow and also develop our young players. An added attraction for the visiting team coaches is the chance that the tournament affords to familiarise themselves with Brazil, to work on their logistical preparations for their potential World Cup campaigns and check out other peculiarities of the host country that might give them an edge in Perhaps the most compelling advocate for this aspect of the Confederations Cup is Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, who speaks fondly of his team s experiences at the 2009 edition even though they ended with a shock semi-final defeat at the hands of the USA. Despite the result, the opportunity to play in South Africa a year before the World Cup helped us a lot, Del Bosque insisted. It meant that when we returned, we were familiar with the surroundings. We knew where we were going, which hotels to stay in, where to train. It was really great, an enriching experience that definitely contributed to our winning the title the following year. Del Bosque s account makes clear that June s two-week showdown could provide some important lessons for all those taking part in terms of what they encounter both on the pitch and off it. While the coaches turn their thoughts to squad compositions, team formations, training regimes and logistical issues, however, the supporters can sit back and relish the prospect of some mouthwatering football in this true festival of champions. Draw briefs Tickets in demand The high level of interest in this year s FIFA Confederations Cup has been confirmed by early ticket sale figures for the event. On the eve of the draw in São Paulo, the tournament s organising committee revealed that more than 132,795 tickets had already been snapped up during the VISA pre-sale phase compared to 10,000 at the same stage prior to South Africa A record 186,032 requests were then placed during the first 24 hours of the public ticket sales phase which was due to run until 15 January, with a random draw set to decide which applications are successful. A final first-come, first-served sales phase will begin on 15 February for any remaining tickets. Testing times The importance of the FIFA Confederations Cup as an organisational test for next year s FIFA World Cup was emphasised ahead of the draw by Brazilian Football Association President José Maria Marin. Speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Brazil 2014 Local Organising Committee, Marin said his team would be using the 2013 event to test out every area of operations, such as transport, security, accreditation, technology, catering and media services. From [the draw] onwards, the attention focused on Brazil will increase every day, and we ll be ready. New balls FIFA Partner adidas used the opportunity of the São Paulo draw to present the new Official Matchball for the FIFA Confederations Cup Presented to the draw delegates by two-time FIFA World Cup winner Cafu, the new ball is known as Cafusa a name created from a combination of three Brazilian passions: carnival, football and samba. Boasting a vibrant colour scheme incorporating elements of the Brazilian flag, Cafusa is only the second ball to have been specifically created for a FIFA Confederations Cup. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 23

24 Posters, sponsors and mascot namings While São Paulo s staging of the FIFA Confederations Cup draw ensured that all eyes in December were on the 2013 tournament, there has also been no let-up in preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. FIFA World rounds up the latest developments Tour complete Before heading to the São Paulo draw, FIFA Secretary General Jérome Valcke completed the final leg of his 2012 inspection visits to all 12 World Cup host cities. Accompanied by Local Organising Committee Management Board members Ronaldo and Bebeto and the Brazilian Minister for Sport, Aldo Rebelo, Valcke checked on the progress of the stadiums in Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba before visiting the Arena de São Paulo whose location in the city s Eastern Zone is being used to accelerate an ambitious urban regeneration programme. It s incredible in a city this size to be able to travel from the centre to the stadium in just 19 minutes, said Valcke after taking the metro to the arena. It s a great stadium, and an amazing project overall. Meet Fuleco The Official Mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup now has a name, following the completion of a three-month poll among the Brazilian public. The teenage armadillo will be known as Fuleco a fantasy word derived from the words futebol and ecologia after more than 1.7 million people (48% of the total votes cast) opted for the name. Poster parade The World Cup s host cities have set out their stalls with the launch of the official posters which will be used to promote each of the tournament sites. As diverse and colourful as the locations they represent, the 12 designs were all unveiled on the same day at a series of events across the city. The posters offer an instant visual tour of some of the many attractions awaiting supporters next year, from the rainforests and wildlife of Manaus and Cuiabá to the 24 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

25 12 June 13 July June 13 July 2014 The host city posters have been designed to celebrate the diversity of modern-day Brazil. 12 June 13 July 2014 beaches of Fortaleza and Recife or the modern architecture of Salvador, São Paulo and Brasilia. As well as giving fans around the world a flavour of Brazil s regional culture, the posters mean a lot to the people living in the host cities because they illustrate their pride at staging the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Joana Havelange, Executive Director of Planning, told FIFA World following the launch. Apex on board FIFA s line-up of sponsors for the 2014 FIFA World Cup neared completion following the signing up of Apex-Brazil as the tournament s fifth sponsor in the National Supporter category. As the official promotion agency for Brazilian trade and investment, Apex-Brazil plans to use the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 and 2014 FIFA World Cup as platforms to showcase the country s investment potential. We truly have a common goal to focus the eyes of the world on the strength of this unique country, said FIFA Marketing Director Thierry Weil as the deal was announced. With the tournaments top two sponsorship tiers long since filled, there is now just one remaining slot in the National Supporter category. Remaking a legend: November s inspection visit included an update on the construction work at Rio s famed Maracanã stadium. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 25

26 Japan close in on Brazil qualification 26 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

27 Asian champions Japan moved an important step closer to 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification in November thanks to a 2-1 away win over Oman. A further win against Jordan in March would now be enough to see Japan through to Brazil as the tournament s first qualified team. Aiming to make their fifth consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals, Japan have made sure of at least a place in next year s Asian qualifying play-off, with November s win over Oman assuring the Blue Samurai of a top-three finish in Asian qualifying Group B, no matter what happens in their remaining qualifiers. Automatic qualification looks a far more likely outcome for Japan, however. A win in Jordan on 26 March would already be enough to see the team through to Brazil 2014 with two games to spare, while even a draw could prove enough if Group B s second-place team Australia are also held to a draw by Oman in the day s other match. Although ultimately undone by Japan in their November meeting, the Omanis certainly showed their potential against the runaway group leaders, bouncing back from a first-half Japanese opener to equalise through an Ahmed Mubarak free kick with 13 minutes remaining. Unbeaten in their two previous final-round home matches, the West Asians seemed on course for an unlikely draw until the 89 th minute when German Bundesliga-based forward Shinji Okazaki scored to grab all three points for a Japan side who have now won four and drawn one of their five final-round games. I m pleased I was able to score because I didn t do much else for the whole of the match, the Stuttgart striker told reporters afterwards. We kept chipping away and found a way to win in the end. We weren t in control today so I hope we can dominate to beat Jordan next time. Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni was also a happy man, after seeing his charges take another big step towards automatic Partying late: Japan s Shinji Okazaki celebrates his 89 th -minute winner against Oman. qualification, but insisted there would be no complacency until the job was done. We shouldn t sit back as we still have three remaining games to play, Zaccheroni told the post-match press conference, but collecting three points here was one of our objectives today, so I m glad that we did that and have made our position in the group much better. Now we want to decide our qualification in the next game against Jordan. Jordan will, of course, be desperate to take all three points for themselves in March after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Iraq in November s other Group B match. Although now bottom of the group, the Jordanians remain firmly in contention for Brazil due to the tight positioning of the four teams below Japan with Jordan just one point behind Australia, Iraq and Oman in what is looking increasingly like a race for second and third place (see State of play AFC ). Uzbeks on the up The race to qualify from Asian Group A is meanwhile shaping up into an even tighter contest than in Group B, with a single point dividing leaders Uzbekistan from fourth-placed Qatar. Chasing what would be their maiden appearance at a FIFA World Cup, the Uzbeks moved top of the group in November as a historic 1-0 win in Iran lifted them above previous leaders Korea Republic although the Koreans still have a game in hand. A 71 st -minute goal from Ulugbek Bakaev was enough to secure Uzbekistan s first-ever win over the Iranians, who enjoyed plenty of possession during the Tehran encounter, but failed to carve out many goalscoring opportunities. Already preparing for the 2022 FIFA World Cup as tournament hosts, the Qataris revived their hopes of also making their bow at the 2014 edition with another single-goal victory, in their case away to QUALIFIERS State of play AFC Group A Played Points Uzbekistan 5 8 Korea Republic 4 7 Iran 5 7 Qatar 5 7 Lebanon 5 4 Group B Played Points Japan 5 13 Australia 4 5 Iraq 5 5 Oman 5 5 Jordan 5 4 State of play UEFA* Group F Played Points Russia 4 12 Israel 4 7 Portugal 4 7 Northern Ireland 4 3 Azerbaijan 4 2 Luxembourg 4 1 Group H Played Points Montenegro 4 10 England 4 8 Poland 3 5 Moldova 4 4 Ukraine 3 2 San Marino 4 0 * shows only groups which played matches in November. The full European standings can be found at FIFA WORLD I NEWS 27

28 find fast Download the f50 game and challenge your friends. Now available in the mobile App Stores adidas AG. adidas, the 3-Bars logo and the 3-Stripes mark are registered trademarks of the adidas Group.

29 Lebanon. Struggling to make much impact against the defensively minded home team during the game s first half, Paulo Autuori s side were finally rewarded with a quarter of an hour remaining when striker Sebastián Soria beat Lebanon goalkeeper Abbas Hassan to the ball, before hitting a cool finish from more than 20 metres out. The result put Qatar three points clear of bottom side Lebanon and into a threeway tie with Korea Republic and Iran just beneath Uzbekistan. Advantage Montenegro While Asia was the only football confederation with a full programme of World Cup qualifiers taking place in November, two European matches were also held. Montenegro s relatively straightforward 3-0 win over the tiny state of San Marino was not perhaps the most earth-shattering of results in itself, but it has set up a tantalising situation at the top of European qualifying Group H, where Montenegro now lead former world champions England by two points (see State of play UEFA ). March could now prove to be a highly significant month in the group, with England and Montenegro both playing away matches on 22 March (against San Marino and Moldova respectively) before going head-to-head in Podgorica on 26 March. In Group F, meanwhile, Northern Ireland failed to capitalise on their impressive 1-1 draw away to Portugal in October when they were themselves held to the same scoreline in November s home tie with Azerbaijan. After conceding a shock fifth-minute goal only the second of the campaign for the Azerbaijanis Michael O Neill s team wasted several great scoring chances before finally grabbing a late, late equaliser through David Healy in the sixth minute of added time. The biggest celebrations, however, will surely have taken place in Israel and Portugal, whose national teams now share a four-point lead over Northern Ireland as they continue their pursuit of group leaders Russia. Joy of hex November also saw the draw take place for the final six-team hexagonal round of qualifying for the North & Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region, with a number of mouth-watering ties already set to take place during the opening round of matches on 6 February. Bidding to make their seventh consecutive World Cup appearance, regional heavyweights the USA will begin the final stage with a potentially tricky trip to Honduras, taking the Stars and Stripes to the same Estadio Olimpico ground where their Canadian neighbours Brazilian dream ended in a crushing 8-1 defeat. We ve got to go to places like Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras with the mentality that you are spot-on once you get on the field, USA coach Jürgen Klinsmann said of the final round, which will see every team play each of their rivals in a homeand-away league format. I think if the players are aware of that, as they were in our last two or three games, Uzbekistan s Azizbek Haydarov leaps for the ball during the 1-0 win in Tehran that lifted his team to the top of Asian qualifying Group A. then we will also qualify for Brazil in After winning every one of their matches in the previous qualifying round, fellow CONCACAF heavyweights Mexico will resume their campaign with a home match against Jamaica, while Central American giants Costa Rica are set to take on neighbours Panama in Panama City. The top three finishers from the region s final round will qualify automatically for the World Cup finals, while the fourth-placed team will play off home and away against either New Zealand or New Caledonia whose battle for top honours in Oceania s qualifying competition is set to reach an exciting climax in March. CONCACAF final-round fixtures QUALIFIERS Wednesday, 6 February: Friday, 22 March: Tuesday, 26 March: Tuesday, 4 June: Friday, 7 June: Tuesday, 11 June: Tuesday, 18 June: Friday, 6 September: Tuesday, 10 September: Friday, 11 October: Tuesday, 15 October: Mexico v. Jamaica, Honduras v. USA, Panama v. Costa Rica Jamaica v. Panama, Honduras v. Mexico, USA v. Costa Rica Mexico v. USA, Panama v. Honduras, Costa Rica v. Jamaica Jamaica v. Mexico Jamaica v. USA, Panama v. Mexico, Costa Rica v. Honduras Mexico v. Costa Rica, Honduras v. Jamaica, USA v. Panama USA v. Honduras, Costa Rica v. Panama Mexico v. Honduras, Panama v. Jamaica, Costa Rica v. USA Jamaica v. Costa Rica, Honduras v. Panama, USA v. Mexico Mexico v. Panama, Honduras v. Costa Rica, USA v. Jamaica Jamaica v. Honduras, Panama v. USA, Costa Rica v. Mexico FIFA WORLD I NEWS 29

30 An exciting prelude 2013 promises to be an important and exciting year for FIFA, with highlights including six senior and youth tournaments, the completion of FIFA s governance reforms and the climax of the qualifying competition for next year s FIFA World Cup in Brazil. By Jennifer Davies, Zurich As football fans around the world start ticking off the days until the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, it is easy to overlook the fact that 2013 will also be a significant year for the sport not least as the one in which the final line-up of teams taking part in the Brazilian extravaganza is revealed. Currently, only Brazil themselves have a guaranteed place at the finals as tournament hosts, but the next 12 months are set to determine which of the 120 remaining contenders will be joining the Selecão in the 32-team field for world football s most prestigious event. Asian champions Japan will already have the opportunity to secure their ticket to the finals in March (see our latest qualifying round-up on page 27), but for many of the other hopefuls it will prove a nervejangling year with the last continental and intercontinental play-offs to determine the final 11 places only taking place in November. Seven top teams will meanwhile have an early opportunity to visit Brazil in June as the country plays host to the year s main senior team competition: the FIFA Confederations Cup Already well-established as an important organisational test for the World Cup hosts in the year prior to the main event, the Confederations Cup has also developed in recent editions into a prestigious tournament in its own right. As well as providing Brazil with the opportunity to stage a major event before the World Cup, the Confederations Cup is also a competition the players enjoy a lot, commented Brazil LOC Management Board member and former playing legend Ronaldo at the November media conference in which the tournament s six host cities were confirmed. Ronaldo has particularly fond memories of the Confederations Cup, having won it with his Brazilian colleagues in 1997 after scoring a hat-trick in the team s final 6-0 demolition of Australia. The Brazilians are also well aware, however, of the Confederations Cup jinx in which no Confederations Cup champion has yet managed to win the subsequent edition 30 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

31 Morocco is now going to be the first African country to stage the FIFA Club World Cup, Confederation of African Football Secretary General Hicham El Amrani told FIFA World in his capacity as Secretary General of the Morocco 2013 Local Organising Committee. Welcoming the world s leading teams to Morocco will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase North African football, and it has already helped boost interest in our current domestic season, since the eventual Moroccan league champions will also be given a place in the tournament. Brazil (left) will be chasing their third straight Confederations Cup title in June, while the sand is set to fly once more at September s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. of the World Cup a trend which the eventual winners of the 2013 tournament will of course be keen to buck. New hosts While the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 will see Brazil putting on a FIFA tournament for the seventh time in the country s history, the year s two other senior tournaments will both be staged by first-time hosts. First up are Tahiti, whose hosting of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in September will mark another important chapter in the growth of this increasingly popular form of football with the tournament in Papeete set to herald the competition s first-ever stop-off in Oceania. Following on from previous editions in South America, Europe and Asia, the 2013 contest is already certain to include some of the sport s biggest names, with reigning world champions Russia and European champions Spain successfully coming through last year s European qualifiers along with Ukraine and the Netherlands. Once the FIFA Confederations Cup and FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup champions have been crowned, attention will switch to club football and the tenth edition of the FIFA Club World Cup. Here too, new ground is set to be broken, with the appointment of Morocco as tournament hosts ensuring an African debut for club football s annual global showdown. With the 2012 edition only just completed, there are still quite a few months to go before the line-up for the 2013 tournament starts taking shape, but excitement is already mounting in the host country itself. Following South Africa s success in hosting the first FIFA World Cup on African soil in 2010, we re thrilled that Straddling continents Turkey is another country that will be hosting its first-ever FIFA tournament in 2013, in its case the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Taking place from 21 June to 13 July, the competition is set to straddle two continents with the Istanbul Arena located in Europe and the remaining stadiums spread across the country s larger Asian landmass prompting the Local Organising Committee to promise a diverse festival of football which will draw on the flavours of both continents cultures. Among the teams who have already booked their places for Turkey 2013 are a strong sextet of European sides, including two-time U-20 world champions Portugal and the 1999 tournament winners and reigning U-19 European champions Spain. Asian champions Korea Republic are meanwhile preparing for their 13 th appearance at the finals, securing their place at the head of the Asian quartet with a record 12 th win at November s AFC U-19 Championship. Another generation of teenage stars will also be provided with a global platform in 2013, as the United Arab Emirates host the FIFA U-17 World Cup from 18 October to 8 November. Unlike Tahiti, Morocco and Turkey, the UAE are relatively old hands when it comes to hosting FIFA tournaments. Following on from the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2003, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009 and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2010, this will be the fifth FIFA event to be staged in the West Asian country. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 31

32 A youthful 75: the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup has been going for three quarters of a century. In what will clearly be a busy year for youth football, a special anniversary will also be celebrated when the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup competition is staged in May for the 75 th time. First organised in 1939 and held without fail every year since then, the Zurich tournament is one of the longestrunning youth football competitions in the world. Manchester United s youngsters have been the most successful participants to date, winning the trophy a staggering 18 times to put them well ahead of local side Grasshopper Club Zurich, who are currently second in the competition s alltime ranking with a total of six wins. While men s senior and youth competitions will dominate the landscape in 2013, the year will also see a number of qualifying events take place for next year s FIFA U-17 and U-20 Women s World Cups in Costa Rica and Canada. Several of the world s top women s senior teams will also be setting out on the journey to qualify for the FIFA Women s World Cup Canada 2015, with August marking the start of the European qualifiers. Off the pitch Besides the many sporting titles to be decided in 2013, the year also promises plenty of action when it comes to FIFA s off-the-field activities. The most prominent of these will be the 63 rd FIFA Congress, taking place in Mauritius in May, at which FIFA s members will be asked to approve the remaining amendments to the FIFA Statutes envisaged in the two-year governance reform road map. Following on from the initial reforms approved at last year s FIFA Congress in Budapest, a working group has been collecting feedback from FIFA s members via the six confederations on the remaining topics including the future composition of the FIFA Executive Committee, the possible introduction of age limits and/or limited terms of office for officials, and changes to the manner in which FIFA World Cup hosts are determined. A draft document is due to be submitted to the FIFA Executive Committee at its meeting in March, and subsequently to the May Congress in order to conclude the reform process. FIFA s efforts to tackle match-fixing and other threats to the integrity of the game will also be stepped up in 2013 with the planned introduction of a telephone and -based hotline service allowing people to report any suspicions of wrongdoing. In addition, FIFA s Security Division will extend its educational partnership The last of FIFA s 20 Centres for 2010 are due to be inaugurated this year. 32 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

33 with INTERPOL, with several national and regional workshops on corruption prevention due to take place in the Americas, Europe and Asia in the coming weeks and months. FIFA s Member Associations & Development Division is also facing a busy 12 months as it continues to extend existing development programmes and roll out new ventures. Among the new projects being worked on this year is an ambitious player registration scheme, which has the longterm aim of creating a globally compatible system in which member associations around the world can register the details of all players in their respective territories allowing for greater accuracy in assessing the number of footballers playing in each region, as well as helping to protect the integrity of competitions, for example by minimising the possibility of cheating in age competitions. FIFA s Medical Department will also be using the year to build on previous successes and launch new health-related projects. In the former category, FIFA s 11 for Health programme is due to be introduced in Brazil during the Confederations Cup and further rolled out across French-speaking Africa taking the programme s combination of health messages and football activities to children and teenagers in countries suffering from low rates of life expectancy. A new educational initiative promoting 11 steps to prevent sudden cardiac death (SCD) is also set to be launched in 2013, running alongside the global provision of portable automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to member associations, as approved by the FIFA Congress in Budapest. Social services Three years on from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, FIFA s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Department is meanwhile expected to complete the main legacy campaign bequeathed to Africa in recognition of the continent s first-ever staging of the tournament. The 20 Centres for 2010 campaign set out to create 20 Football for Hope Centres across Africa combining sporting facilities with health, education and life skills training FIFA calendar January FIFA Ballon d Or gala, Zurich 19 January 10 February Africa Cup of Nations 2013, South Africa 6 February Fixed date for international friendly matches February FIFA committee week 1-3 March IFAB Annual General Meeting, Edinburgh 10 March CAF Congress, Marrakech March FIFA committee week March FIFA Executive Committee meeting, Zurich March Fixed date for international competition matches 8-9 May 75 th Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup, Zurich 24 May UEFA Congress, London 28 May FIFA Executive Committee meeting, Mauritius May 63rd FIFA Congress, Mauritius 4 June Fixed date for international friendly matches 7-11 June Fixed dates for international competition matches June Fixed dates for international competition matches June FIFA Confederations Cup 2013, Brazil 21 June 13 July FIFA U-20 World Cup 2013, Turkey June FIFA Football for Hope Forum, Belo Horizonte 7-28 July CONCACAF Gold Cup 2013, USA 8 August Fixed date for international friendly matches 6-10 September Fixed dates for international competition matches September FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013, Tahiti 30 September 4 October FIFA committee week 3-4 October FIFA Executive Committee meeting, Zurich October Fixed dates for international competition matches 17 October 8 November FIFA U-17 World Cup 2013, UAE 13 November AFC v. CONMEBOL 14 November CONCACAF v. OFC November Fixed dates for international competition matches 20 November AFC v. CONMEBOL & OFC v. CONCACAF 2-6 December FIFA committee week 4-5 December FIFA Executive Committee meeting, Salvador de Bahia 6 December Final Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Salvador de Bahia December FIFA Club World Cup 2013, Morocco and the last of these are scheduled to open their doors by the end of this year. While FIFA s CSR activities will continue to support communities in Africa and indeed all over the world, a pivotal moment in June will see attention starting to switch from the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to the legacy surrounding the 2014 edition. During the Confederations Cup, FIFA will once again organise a Football for Hope Forum this time in Belo Horizonte where up to 200 international experts and practitioners of sports-related social work will meet to share their experiences and discuss new ways of improving the lives of the world s most-disadvantaged citizens. The CSR team will also be stepping up its activities in relation to the FIFA World Cup s environmental programme, with 2013 seeing the start of the training programme for stadium managers aimed at ensuring that tournament venues are run in the most efficient and sustainable way possible. Fittingly, as thoughts turn to 2014, one of the final highlights of 2013 will also take place in Brazil when Salvador stages the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup. Bringing together the Brazilian hosts and those as-yet unknown 31 qualifiers, the draw will finally reveal the routes that the teams will have to navigate if they are to make it all the way to the winner s podium at the following year s big event. The months ahead from now until then will clearly bring many moments to savour. From new FIFA tournament hosts and new champions to new World Cup stadiums and new off-the-field programmes, it promises to be a packed but perfect prelude to FIFA WORLD I NEWS 33

34 Heading in the right direction New recommendations on the treatment of head injuries in sport are due to be published in the coming months following two days of expert discussions at a FIFA-hosted conference on concussion. While the danger of serious head injuries can be readily understood by medics and lay people alike, the potential risks of less obviously dramatic knocks to the head are all too often underestimated. When it comes to sport in particular, the heart can literally rule the head, with a player s desire to stay on the pitch sometimes conflicting with the best course of medical treatment. With this in mind, more than 150 doctors and other representatives from more than a dozen professional sports gathered at FIFA s Zurich headquarters in November to discuss the best methods of dealing with sportsrelated concussion. Following on from three previous meetings over the past 11 years, the fourth International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport was convened to assess the progress made so far and to lay down best practices based on the latest research available. Our objective is to prepare the most up-to-date knowledge related to the diagnosis, the appropriate treatment and, most importantly, the preventive measures to avoid concussions in sports, FIFA s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jiri Dvorak, told delegates at the opening of the twoday gathering co-sponsored by FIFA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). With such powerful partners, we are sure to make a big impact, Dvorak added. In a poignant reminder of the importance of the conference, FIFA s Chief Medical Officer then called for a minute s silence in memory of Dr Craig Ferrell. The former chair of the FEI Medical Committee and a major contributor to the first three conferences, Ferrell was instrumental in introducing changes to the FEI rules on mandatory protective headgear, but tragically lost his own life in a polo accident last year. A consensus to act Like the FEI, most of the participating sports organisations had amended their rules of play, equipment or methods of assessment over the last decade as an outcome of the discussions in previous forums, the first of which took place in Vienna in In a series of presentations given by doctors and scientists from the various governing bodies in attendance, delegates at the 2012 conference received an update 34 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

35 on the main changes introduced in those sports since the 2009 publication of their last consensus statement in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM). Among the positive developments noted was the widespread adoption of the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-2 (SCAT2) a touchline assessment checklist recommended for general use three years ago and now so popular that it is even available as a free online app. Other widely adopted recommendations from the 2009 report include rules preventing the return to play (RTP) of an athlete on the same day that he or she has been diagnosed with concussion, along with rule changes or stricter enforcements of existing rules on a sport-by-sport basis. When it came to football, Prof. Dvorak said that the recommendations of previous concussion conferences had helped persuade the International Football Association Board to bring in red cards for incidents which were likely to cause concussion, most notably the use of the elbow against an opponent s head. This has led to a significant decrease in concussions, said Dvorak, pointing to a 50% reduction in such cases between the 2002 and 2010 FIFA World Cups. Diagnostic difficulties As well as taking stock of the many improvements since the last conference, the medics were understandably keen to emphasise the amount of work that still lies ahead. One recurring theme was the difficulty doctors still face in recognising the symptoms of concussion, particularly in apparently milder cases. Several federations stated their theoretical interest in baseline testing in which all athletes undergo tests to determine their regular parameters which can then be compared with the readings after a suspected concussion but it was also noted that such programmes can be prohibitively expensive. North America s National Hockey League (NHL) and the FEI are already playing a pioneering role in this area, however, with their respective representatives telling the Zurich conference that their bodies have, since the last concussion conference, approved mandatory baseline testing at professional level. Another common problem cited by several delegates was the surprising lack of eyewitnesses to concussion cases. Despite taking place in crowded stadiums, moments of impact are often missed by all but the players involved and they are frequently too disorientated or confused to report what happened accurately. One possible solution already used in American football, and presented at the conference by National Football League (NFL) concussion consultant Dr Richard Ellenbogen, involves the use of so-called observers who follow the action, both live and on-screen, from a high vantage point in the stadium. These observers are then able to send instant information to the touchline medics, helping them to make more thorough assessments. Major League to Little League While innovative measures are clearly being taken to deal with concussion in the professional game, questions remain as to how well they are filtering down to the grassroots level. In an ideal world, a doctor would be on hand at every game to make such calls, but Prof. Dvorak reminded the conference that the majority of sports, including football, involve huge numbers of amateur matches taking place without the medical resources made available at the higher level. For youth and amateur-level sports, it was widely felt that mobile assessment Professor Dvorak outlined the steps taken by football to reduce concussions. methods, such as the SCAT2 app, could continue to improve the situation on local playing fields. Dr Laura Purcell, a specialist in sports medicine for the Canadian Paediatric Society, reminded participants however that the SCAT2 was not intended for use on under-tens since children are less able to articulate their symptoms. In reality, the best thing we can do for the safe future of sports is to develop a range of youth-specific tools to assess young athletes, Purcell concluded. Taking the debate on how best to protect young players a step further was NFL head injury expert Dr Robert Cantu, who argued in favour of an outright ban at youth level on tackling in American Concussion in a nutshell Precise definitions of concussion vary, but experts generally agree that it involves an injury-induced alteration in mental function or level of awareness which may or may not involve a loss of consciousness, and can occur without obvious damage to brain structures. Sufferers will often feel temporarily dazed or mildly confused, while some will not even realise that they have a concussion. Memory of events just before or after the injury may also be lost. The effects of a concussion typically last less than six hours, although some sufferers may experience post-concussion syndrome for a week or two after their injury, with symptoms including headaches, a spinning sensation, light-headedness, fatigue, poor memory, inability to concentrate, irritability, depression and anxiety. The most serious cases can also lead to impairments in thinking or symptoms that persist for months or, in rare cases, years. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 35

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37 football, heading in football and bodychecking in ice hockey. Children under the age of 14 are particularly vulnerable to brain injury and should not play contact sports as they are currently played, Cantu said, adding that the lack of reliable data linking head injuries in youth to adult brain trauma gave even more reason to be cautious. The lack of consensus in regard to this particular argument was highlighted, however, by the contrary opinion of another NFL representative, Dr Stan Herring, who countered that bans on certain types of play among young players would prevent them from learning how to reduce the risk of injury in such situations. Teaching youngsters good playing skills that keep the head away from danger is more useful than hampering play with new rules, Herring suggested. Speaking for football, Prof. Dvorak agreed that young players must be encouraged to first master their football skills before attempting to head the ball, and also pointed out that a number of studies had yet to show any proven link between heading the ball and suffering brain damage in later life. Good intentions The scale of the challenge faced by sports doctors in this field was also demonstrated by two further discussions, one on the use of protective equipment and the other on attempts to extend the recovery period for players who suffer concussion. In both areas, the effect of such changes can often be counter-intuitive with several associations warning that helmets, padded headgear and other forms of protective equipment could change the nature of their sports for the worse by giving athletes a false sense of security that could actually increase the likelihood of concussion. Reporting on a move by the IRB to bring in recommended three-week time outs for concussed players, which was intended to give more time for injuries to be assessed, Dr Rafferty said the measure had actually made some athletes reluctant to report those injuries because they did not want to miss out on their team s subsequent games. Reflecting a general desire among the conference delegates for more research and public education on concussion, NHL representative Dr Willem Meeuwisse pointed out that even the concept of time outs for concussed players had proven ineffective in a large number of cases. Meeuwisse said that rest and time away from the field had not led to improvements in up to a third of athletes in a wide range of sports and that research into alternative methods of treatment was therefore necessary. The need to consider the wider picture was another common theme of the conference, with Toronto-based neurosurgeon Prof. Karen Johnston arguing that severely affected concussion patients needed access to a wide range of services including not only medical help but also psychiatric, legal and educational support. A lot of doctors are used to working in a bubble, where they just treat the injury of the patient, Johnston pointed out. Whereas very often we see athletes who, in addition to their head injuries, may also have major issues around getting back to their working and sporting lives. Following the two days of deliberations involving all the conference delegates, more than 30 world leading experts from the organising sporting federations stayed on for a third day in which the various findings and opinions were summarised and worked into a draft paper. Once final feedback has been given by the Zurich delegates, it is this paper that will be published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine with the aim of setting the agenda for sports-related concussion developments for the next four years. This conference has expanded both our knowledge and the debate on concussion, Prof. Dvorak concluded after the forum. What we have learned here will provide critical information for the future as well as forming the basis for our new Consensus Statement on Concussion, due to be published early next year. American football was one of more than a dozen sports represented at the Zurich conference. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 37

38 Emblem excitement for Canada 2015 Launched with a bang: Christine Sinclair conducts the emblem unveiling The next edition of the FIFA Women s World Cup took further shape in December, with the diversity of host nation Canada celebrated at the launch of the 2015 tournament s Official Emblem. The unveiling of the Official Emblem for the FIFA Women s World Cup 2015 proved to be a trans-canadian affair, with live events across the vast nation testifying to the tournament s ambitious coast-tocoast concept. Hosted by the Canadian Soccer Association and broadcast live on national television, the emblem launch involved an official unveiling in Vancouver attended by national team head coach John Herdman and his players with further live link-ups to the five other tournament venues of Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton. Canada captain Christine Sinclair played a starring role at the event, firing in a goal to set off a colourful firework display. Another highlight was a short film produced specifically for the emblem launch, in which young Canadian footballer Sofia Graziani travelled to Frankfurt to collect a ball from Steffi Jones, President of the Local Organising Committee for the tournament s 2011 edition in Germany. Just like the launch event itself, the emblem has been designed to reflect the breadth and diversity of modern Canada, with an abstract interpretation of the country s fauna and flora, sky, mountains and cityscapes merging into the famous maple-leaf motif of the Canadian flag. From coast to coast, the FIFA Women s World Cup Canada 2015 will showcase the best women footballers from around the world, Local Organising Committee Chief Executive Officer Peter Montopoli declared at the emblem launch. We are proud to unveil the Canada 2015 Official Emblem and official look that will help us welcome the world and its game to our great nation in Speaking in a video message recorded for the event, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter praised the scale and ambition of the Canadian tournament with the 2015 edition set to expand the previous 16-team competition into a 24-team extravaganza. The emblem of a competition is an important step on the road to the first game, Blatter said. It symbolises and conveys the values of a country and represents the beat of the host country s heart with all its history and emotions. Organising the FIFA Women s World Cup with 24 teams for the first time in 2015 will give a greater international dimension to this competition and I m convinced that the diversity of the Canadian population will be a great support to all the teams and will add once again a special atmosphere to the tournament. FIFA briefs Russian venues The venues for the opening match, semifinals and final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia have been approved, following December s meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee in Tokyo. Moscow s Luzhniki stadium will stage both the opening match and the final, as well as one of the semi-finals, with the FIFA World Cup Stadium in Saint Petersburg set to host the other semifinal. The Saint Petersburg stadium was also confirmed as one of four venues for the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017, along with Moscow s Spartak Stadium and the FIFA World Cup Stadiums in Kazan and Sochi. Interactive record The latest edition of the FIFA Interactive World Cup has once again smashed records in terms of player participation, with more than 1.6 million video gamers taking part in the tournament s first three qualifying seasons from October to December. That figure exceeds the 1.3 million players who were involved in the whole of the 2012 edition which itself set a new record for the world s largest online gaming tournament. The FIFA Interactive World Cup 2013 is made up of six online seasons, running until 1 April, along with five live territory showdowns in England, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The best players from qualifying will go on to join defending champion Alfonso Ramos at this year s Grand Final in Madrid. Match-fixing bans Life-time bans from football have been imposed on 41 players from Korea Republic as the result of a domestic match-fixing investigation dating back to the middle of The bans, which were extended globally by FIFA, follow on from similar sanctions handed down by the K-League and the Korea Football Association disciplinary committees to ten other players in June Twentyone of the players involved in the latest sanctions will have the opportunity to return to the game after probation periods of between two and five years, as a result of having turned themselves in during a voluntary reporting period. 38 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

39 A world of difference FIFA s ongoing football development activities have been put firmly on the map with the launch of a new online globe that allows users to see exactly where and how world football s governing body allocates its development funds. Mention the word FIFA and most people will think of the FIFA World Cup or perhaps one of the other tournaments organised by world football s governing body. What they are probably less aware of is the vast number of projects carried out by FIFA to support and develop the game from grassroots to elite level in each of its 209 member associations. With this in mind, FIFA s Communications Division has come together with the Member Associations and Development Division to create the FIFA Development Globe. This online tool is designed to show where, when and how over USD 1.2 billion have been spent around the world since the introduction of large-scale development projects, such as Goal and the Financial Assistance Programme (FAP), 14 years ago. A lot of people are perhaps not aware of the fact that football development is listed in the FIFA Statutes as the organisation s first objective, said FIFA s Director of Member Associations and Development, Thierry Regenass, following the launch. Now that the Development Globe is online, we hope that more and more people will be able to see that FIFA s work extends far beyond organising competitions. Hosted on the FIFA.com website, the Globe is designed as a 3D tool which users can rotate and zoom in on to discover which development projects have taken place in particular territories. Different coloured triangles are used to differentiate between technical support projects (such as refereeing or coaching courses), development projects (including the construction of new pitches or training facilities) and activities contained within the new PERFORMANCE Programme aimed at helping member associations to further professionalise various aspects of their administrations. A simple mouse click on one of these triangles takes the user to a more detailed breakdown of FIFA s development activities within the chosen territory, including a timeline for each project undertaken and a bar showing how each association has allocated the funds that it has received. The Development Globe can be used in conjunction with the individual association pages on FIFA.com to obtain additional information on the development programmes in a particular territory of interest. By selecting an association name from the pull-down Associations menu on the website s front page and then clicking on Development Activities, users can obtain a detailed list of all completed and pending projects, including the names of the contractors and auditors involved. Updated in real time via a direct link to the Development Division s project database, the globe application is intended to make information on FIFA s development activities more easily understood and readily accessible than ever before. To try out the FIFA Development Globe for yourself, head to the Football Development page found under the About FIFA section of FIFA. com, or click on the link on the FIFA World web page FIFA WORLD I NEWS 39

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41 ONE2ONE Fabrice Muamba Former Bolton player Fabrice Muamba made headlines around the world last year, albeit in a way he would never have wished for, after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest while playing in a televised FA Cup match. Kept alive thanks to the immediate medical attention he received, the 24-year-old has since retired from the game on the advice of his doctors, but hopes to use his experience to raise awareness of cardiac health issues among footballers and the general public. Having already agreed to support the 11 for Health programme run by FIFA s Medical Department, Muamba paid a visit to FIFA s Zurich headquarters in November where he met with FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and talked to FIFA World about his future plans. FIFA World: Welcome to Zurich, Fabrice. How are you? Fabrice Muamba: Physically I m in good shape. I m allowed to exercise now and I m getting better every single day. I m still on medication, but hopefully I can get back to living a normal life as soon as possible. When I heard about Piermario Morosini, that s when it really hit home Your quick recovery has been described as nothing short of miraculous by doctors, the press and the public. Did it seem that way to you? Well, I didn t realise quite how fortunate I had been until about a month after my collapse, when I heard about the Italian footballer Piermario Morosini, who tragically died after also suffering a sudden heart attack. I thought, Wow, this is bigger than I expected and that s when it really hit home. You re not really aware of the seriousness of what s happened to you until you hear of a fellow professional in the same situation who didn t make it. One of the reasons you re here today appears to be the fact that the medics at Bolton had access to an automated external defibrillator. We understand you ve now lent your support to FIFA s plan to equip all of its member associations with defibrillators? Yes, since my heart attack, I ve realised that football is not only about what happens on the pitch, but also what goes on around it too. There are people like the medical staff at football matches doing amazing jobs, and I think what happened to me has highlighted the fact that everybody should be trained to use these AED machines. Personally, I m grateful this happened as it has raised awareness of cardiac arrests and of how people in football can work together. I can t control what happened, but the outcome has been a very good one. It s been widely reported that you continued to work hard at school, even after beginning your football career as a youth player at the age of 14. Now that you ve been forced to retire prematurely from the game, do you think that extra academic work is going to pay off? Well, my father always told me, Studies first, football after, and I m glad I followed his advice! I enjoyed playing the game and my parents always told me that I could play as long as I prioritised my education first. When I started to play professionally, though, I couldn t finish university so perhaps now is the time. One thing that s certain is that I want to learn different aspects of the game. And after an experience like mine, you believe anything is possible. What else have you taken away from this experience? The main thing is that you have to treasure your life. And you also have to be aware of these important health issues and, if you have a heart condition, make sure you see a doctor to have it monitored. It s your life, so please make sure you get a medical check-up to make sure you are in the right condition in body and mind to be able to participate in whatever sport you choose. FIFA WORLD I NEWS 41

42 FOCUS Corinthian spirit restores South American pride 42 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

43 Brazilian club Corinthians defeated European champions Chelsea at the FIFA Club World Cup in December in one of the most tightly contested finals of recent years. By Alejandro Varsky, Yokohama They may not have displayed the allconquering flair of FC Barcelona 12 months previously, and their total goal tally of two goals in the entire competition was certainly less than any of the previous winners had managed, but Corinthians resolute and efficient brand of football saw them crowned as club world champions for a record-equalling second time, while also taking the trophy back to South America after five years of European dominance. The São Paulo side, whose victory in the inaugural tournament back in 2000 began a sequence of three straight triumphs by Brazilian clubs during the competition s early years, owed their latest win to the same exemplary team spirit that saw them go unbeaten en route to last year s Copa Libertadores title a run in which Corinthians conceded a mere four goals in 14 games. This time around, the side unable to breach their defences were Chelsea, a team making their maiden appearance at the FIFA Club World Cup, but coached by a trainer, in the form of Rafael Benítez, who was making a record third appearance at the event, following his run to the final with Liverpool in 2005 and his success with Inter Milan in If the 2012 tournament was about any one individual, however, it was surely Paolo Guerrero, the Peruvian international who joined Corinthians after their Copa Libertadores triumph but then almost missed the Club World Cup campaign with a knee injury. I was very scared when I got injured, but thank God I recovered in time, Guerrero told FIFA World after scoring not only the decisive goal against Chelsea, but also the strike against Al-Ahly in the semi-finals that fired the Brazilian club into the final. Today, I can say that I was important, that I did my job. Today, I can say that I was important, that I did my job. Corinthians goal hero Paolo Guerrero As Guerrero readily admitted, he was not the only one. Cássio proved particularly indispensable in the Corinthians goal, especially against Chelsea, as he kept out a string of shots from Victor Moses, Gary Cahill and Fernando Torres. The 25-yearold s heroics later earned him the adidas Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament the first time that the honour had gone to a goalkeeper since the 2005 edition in which another Brazilian stopper, Rogerio Ceni, repeatedly frustrated the best efforts of Liverpool during Benítez s first tilt at the title. It was a big surprise, but a good one! beamed Cássio after picking up his trophies. It s difficult to win these awards as a goalkeeper, so I m going to enjoy it even more. Brazilian supremacy As well as putting themselves on a par with Barcelona as the only multiple winners of the FIFA Club World Cup, Corinthians maintained the perfect record of Brazilian clubs against English opponents in the competition by matching that 1-0 win by their city rivals São Paulo over Liverpool seven years earlier. The win also continued an impressive showing by Brazilian teams, with Corinthians, São Paulo and Internacional having been responsible for all four of South America s victories to date compared to the three countries (Italy, England and Spain) who have contributed European victors. While Chelsea would gladly have joined that list of winners purely for the honour of being crowned club world champions, the team s desire to win was no doubt Guerrero the hero: Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero scored both of Corinthians goals at the tournament. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 43

44 accentuated by their patchy form in the run-up to the tournament which had seen them jettison coach Roberto Di Matteo and then bow out at the group stage of the latest Champions League edition, marking the earliest exit ever by a reigning champion. The London side had looked sharp enough in their opening game in Yokohama as they brushed aside CONCACAF champions Monterrey 3-1 in the semifinals, but were unable to find a way past the Brazilians in the final once Guerrero s second-half header had put the South Americans in front. They were very well organised, acknowledged Chelsea captain Frank Lampard, whose appearance in the final followed an injury lay-off of nearly two months. That s what you expect from Brazilian clubs, so we knew what they were going to bring. It s disappointing to come all this way and not win it. After missing out on the opportunity to join Pep Guardiola as the only coach to have won two Club World Cup titles, Benítez also expressed his disappointment while also noting some positive aspects for his team. Positive headlines lift Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima s fifth-place finish at the FIFA Club World Cup 2012 was not quite enough to match the semi-final appearances of fellow Japanese clubs Urawa Red Diamonds, Gamba Osaka and Kashiwa Reysol in recent editions, but it was a joyous achievement for a team whose home city is still known internationally for the atrocities it suffered more than half a century ago. Infamous as the site of the first atom bomb drop in 1945, Hiroshima has worked hard in the intervening decades to rebrand itself as a City of Peace. Following the success of winning their first Japanese J.League title in November, the city s football team are hopeful that Hiroshima will also start to be associated with sporting prowess. I was born and grew up in Hiroshima, and some members of my mother s family died on the day of the bombing, so the sad story of the atom bomb has been part of my entire life, Sanfrecce midfielder Koji Morisaki told FIFA World following his side s closing win over Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai. That history runs deep, but we are proud that we can also let the world know about the good side of Hiroshima. We know it will take time to achieve this, but that s why we were so eager to take part in this tournament and go as far as possible. One foreigner who is already well aware of the progress made by Hiroshima since 1945 is 33-year-old Croatian Mihael Mikić, who plays on the right wing for Sanfrecce. The team s only overseas player, Mikić signed for the club in 2009 and plans to stay in the city until at least the end of his playing career. People wouldn t believe how friendly the locals are here, and the true sense of peace you feel walking through the city s streets. I live right by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and what happened on that day is of course a part of Hiroshima s identity. But we are proud that, as footballers, we can also let the world know about the city s new identity. We want to use our performances on the pitch to showcase what Hiroshima has to offer and also to state at every opportunity that what happened to the city back then can never be allowed to happen anywhere again. The atom bomb story has been part of my family s entire life, but we are proud that we can also let the world know about Hiroshima s good side. Sanfrecce midfielder Koji Morisaki Sanfrecce s players celebrate a goal sumo-fashion. 44 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

45 We had at least four clear chances, and to do that in a final against a good team means a lot to me, the former Valencia, Liverpool and Inter Milan trainer It s very difficult for us when most of our players are not professional, but I think the gap was not that big in the end. Auckland City captain Ivan Vicelich told reporters after the match. There were positives for the players too, with Lampard coming back and improving his match fitness, and some of our other players learning what it means to play a top South American team or to play in another country with another atmosphere. We had possession and good counter-attacks, but we just had to take those chances. Bronze for Monterrey As Chelsea came to terms with their defeat in the final, Monterrey were celebrating a third-place finish after bouncing back from their own setback against the English team in the semi-finals. Having shown Blues and blonds: Chelsea s players reflect after the final whistle (top); Ulsan Hyundai s Lee Keunho and Sanfrecce Hiroshima s Hwang Seokho vie for the ball during the all-asian battle for fifth place. too much respect to their opponents in that game, according to Monterrey-born striker Aldo De Nigris, the Mexicans picked themselves up with a pulsating 2-0 win over African representatives Al-Ahly of Egypt in the bronze-medal match. The win was a marked improvement for Víctor Vucetich s side in comparison to their fifth-place finish at the 2011 edition and also equalled the best-ever performance by a Mexican club at the competition, with Necaxa having also come third in The Rayados campaign was made all the more impressive by the injury which ruled out Chilean striker Humberto Suazo just before their opening game. César Delgado and 19-year-old Jesús Corona proved more than worthy deputies, however, scoring five of their team s six FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 45

46 goals at the tournament, including both strikes against Al-Ahly and all three of the goals in the Mexicans opening 3-1 win over Ulsan Hyundai. Third place is a very good result for us, Delgado told FIFA World. We didn t have a bad tournament at all, and the game we lost was against the best team in Europe. So we can go home satisfied. Al-Ahly pride Although unable to match TP Mazembe s shock run to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup 2010, nor their own thirdplace finish in 2006, Al-Ahly could also take considerable pride in finishing Results Play-off for quarter-finals 6.12 Sanfrecce Hiroshima v. Auckland City 1-0 Quarter-finals 9.12 Ulsan Hyundai v. Monterrey Sanfrecce Hiroshima v. Al-Ahly 1-2 Match for fifth place Ulsan Hyundai v. Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-3 Semi-finals Al-Ahly v. SC Corinthians Monterrey v. Chelsea 1-3 Match for third place Al-Ahly v. Monterrey 0-2 Final SC Corinthians v. Chelsea 1-0 fourth on their fourth appearance at the global showdown. The Egyptian side s involvement was given added poignancy by the still-vivid memories of last year s Port Said stadium tragedy in which at least 79 supporters died. Arriving in Japan with the stated intention of honouring those fans, Hossam El Badry s team immediately lived up to that pledge with a 2-1 victory over local favourites Sanfrecce Hiroshima to ensure African involvement in the semi-finals. Our most important goal was to spread happiness for the people in Egypt, especially for the families of those fans who died in Port Said, said 34-year-old Awards: adidas Golden Ball and Toyota Award Cássio (Corinthians) adidas Silver Ball David Luiz (Chelsea) adidas Bronze Ball Paolo Guerrero (Corinthians) FIFA Fair Play Trophy Monterrey Al-Ahly idol Mohamed Aboutrika, who came off the bench to score his side s winning goal against Sanfrecce. The neat finish gave Aboutrika his fourth goal in four appearances in the competition lifting him joint top of the all-time scorers list, alongside Lionel Messi and the 2009 edition s top scorer, Denilson. Battling amateurs Despite only having been founded in 2004, New Zealand s Auckland City came to the latest FIFA Club World Cup as one of the competition s most experienced participants equaling Al- Ahly s achievement in making their fourth appearance at the event. As the only team to include amateur players in their ranks, the Oceania representatives were unable to reproduce their surprise fifth-place finish in 2009 but were far from humiliated during their narrow 1-0 defeat against Sanfrecce in the tournament s opening match. It s very difficult for us to face a highclass team like Sanfrecce when most of our players are not professional, pointed out veteran City skipper Ivan Vicelich. I think the gap was not that big in the end, but of course it s a huge difference when [our opponents] can bring in big players from all over the world, using budgets much bigger than what we have in New Zealand. A member of the New Zealand national team that stunned the world with its unbeaten run at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Vicelich insisted that Auckland had acquitted themselves well in their latest foray onto the world stage. I think we improved our game compared to previous editions and were able to play some good football, he added. And besides, it s always good for the competition to have a local team involved in the final stages. Luiz, Cássio and Guerrero (left to right) receive their adidas awards. Mixed fortunes for Asia That magnanimous comment was of course in reference to Sanfrecce, who secured their Club World Cup place only 12 days before the tournament kick-off when they clinched their first-ever Japanese J.League title in late November. 46 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

47 Spearheaded by Hisato Satō whose season highlights also included awards for being the J.League s top scorer (with 22 goals) as well as its most valuable and its fairest player the local champions went on to suffer a 2-1 defeat against Al-Ahly in the quarter-finals, but rallied to take fifth place following a 3-2 win in their all-asian meeting with Ulsan Hyundai. We had possession and good counter-attacks, but we just had to take those chances. Chelsea coach Rafael Benítez It was great to get the opportunity to play in the Club World Cup and take on the champions of Asia, said Satō, whose solitary strike against Auckland and brace against the Koreans saw him finish level with Monterrey s Delgado as the tournament s top scorer. There was less for the reigning Asian champions to cheer, however, as Ulsan bowed out in sixth place, with a record of played two, lost two, although coach Kim Ho Gon still found reasons to be cheerful. It was a fantastic experience for us, insisted Kim, whose team had only wrapped up their maiden continental title one month prior to their arrival in Japan, and I now expect us to come back stronger and better prepared next year. Whether it s Ulsan Hyundai or not, the Asian champions at the tenth edition will no longer have home advantage on their side, with the FIFA Club World Cup 2013 set to make its African debut in a little less than a year s time. Morocco will be the hosts on that occasion, meaning that Africa will also have two representatives taking part for the first time. The new location will also offer a shorter journey next time around for Europe s representatives as the Old Continent bids to regain its former supremacy at club football s global summit. Goal-line technology debuts in Japan The Chelsea fans who travelled to Japan for the latest edition of the FIFA Club World Cup would no doubt have been familiar with the old saying about London buses that you wait ages for one to turn up and then three come along at once. A similar phenomenon seemed to be playing out when it came to the historic deployment of goal-line technology (GLT) at the December tournament, with plenty of goal-line controversies occurring in the years spent waiting for reliable enough systems but not a single incident to be seen once the technology was installed. Barring one moment in the final when a Chelsea effort squirmed along the Corinthians goal line without ever appearing to actually cross it, the match balls in Japan were all emphatically in or out but never stopped to linger in between. Nevertheless, the combined 720 minutes of in-competition use of the two licensed systems (Hawk- Eye and GoalRef) have provided plenty of data and first impressions ahead of the technology s planned adoption at other FIFA tournaments. The Japan premiere also provided an important chance for the tournament s referees to familiarise themselves with the systems which are designed to support the match officials while always leaving the final decision up to them as well as allowing the companies involved to demonstrate their solutions to the media and to players. While the performance of the two systems used in Japan still has to be fully evaluated, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter made use of initial feedback to declare that referees, players and ourselves are satisfied with the results during this competition and repeated FIFA s intention to have the technology at both the Confederations Cup and next year s FIFA World Cup in Brazil. There have been no critical decisions so far, Blatter added at a media conference held prior to the tournament s final two matches. For the time being, we can only say it works and that the referees are happy to have this help, because they know now that if there is a conflicting situation they will get the accuracy to say if it was a goal or not. The goal-line systems send an instant signal to the referee s watch as soon as the ball crosses the line. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 47

48 Brazil celebrate fifth futsal crown Brazil were crowned world futsal champions for a record fifth time in November, successfully defending their title with a pulsating 3-2 win over old rivals Spain. By Thomas Schanze, Bangkok Special things tend to happen when Brazil and Spain lock horns in the close setting of a futsal arena, and the final match of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 proved to be no exception. Going into the 18 November showdown, the pair had already met three times in the finals of previous editions with Brazil s 6-4 win over Spain in 1996 the only occasion on which either team had managed to secure victory by a margin of more than one goal. In 2000, the Spaniards rallied from 3-2 down with five minutes remaining to triumph 4-3, only for the Brazilians to edge an even closer contest in 2008, winning a penalty shoot-out after the old adversaries had ended extra time tied at two goals apiece. Four years later, a penalty shoot-out seemed to be once more on the cards as another fascinating encounter unfolded in Bangkok s loud and colourful Indoor Stadium Huamark. Just as in 2008, extra 48 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

49 time was coming to an end. And, once again, the scores were level at 2-2. This time, however, a moment of individual brilliance prevented the need for penalties. With just 19 seconds remaining, Brazilian defender Neto jinked the ball past Spain s Brazil-born midfielder Fernandão near the halfway line, surged along the wing with one further touch of the ball and then slammed a shot past goalkeeper Juanjo and into the Spanish net. Honestly, that was the last bit of energy I had, said Neto, who also scored the opening goal of the match five minutes into the second half. I think that both teams were already mentally preparing for penalty kicks, but I thought Why not have one last go at getting something? That something turned out to be a cruel denouement for the Spanish, who had taken the lead midway through the second half after scoring twice in the space of 61 seconds. The lead held until the last five minutes of regular time, when veteran Brazil star Falcão unleashed a ferocious long-range strike to level the scores once again. A further opportunity presented itself to the South Americans deep in extra time when they were awarded a penalty with a minute and a half remaining, but Juanjo spread himself well to turn the shot wide with his right foot. That looked like being enough to set up a repeat of the previous edition s shootout decider, until Neto intervened with his dramatic winner to earn Brazil their fifth Futsal World Cup title from the seven tournaments held to date. incredible 16 goals without reply past Panama to exactly match Russia s earlier thrashing of the Solomon Islands during the group stage. It was only in the quarter- and semi-finals that Brazil started to be tested. Taking on arch-rivals Argentina in the last eight, they found themselves 2-0 down at halftime but managed to turn things around following more goalscoring heroics from Neto and Falcão to eke out a 3-2 extratime victory. It was a dream final, and it showed that in futsal you have to keep believing in yourself right until the end. Brazil coach Marcos Sorato Facing further South American opposition in the semi-finals, in the surprising shape of tournament debutants Colombia, the Brazilians were pegged 1-1 at half-time but again grew stronger as the game wore on, eventually booking their place in the final with a 3-1 win. Following a tricky opening draw with Asian heavyweights Iran, Spain progressed through the rest of the competition in similar fashion to Brazil. Topping their group after straightforward wins in their next two games against Panama (8-3) and Morocco (5-1), they also eased through the round of 16 with a 7-1 victory over their Thai hosts. While the Brazilians faced their fellow South Americans in the quarter- and semi-finals, the Spanish took on fellow Europeans. In the first of those matches, against Russia, they also matched Brazil in coming from behind to win 3-2 although Spain were able to do so without extra time. The semi-final against Italy also showed parallels to Brazil s last-four meeting with the Colombians, with the Spanish tied at 1-1 with just over ten minutes remaining, before a flurry of goals from Alemao, Lozano and Lin fired the favourites through to the final. Given the remarkably similar routes that the two sides had taken to reach the deciding match, the closeness of the encounter was perhaps to be expected. And although it did not erase the pain of his side s defeat, Spanish coach José Venancio López could at least see the silver lining behind the country s third final defeat to Brazil. A perfect run It was a dream final, and it showed that in futsal you have to keep believing in yourself right until the end, said Brazil coach Marcos Sorato after watching his charges register their seventh straight win of this year s finals. Clearly starting as they meant to go on, the Auriverdes had cruised through the group stage with comfortable wins over Japan (4-1), Libya (13-0) and Portugal (3-1). The South Americans then seemed to take the round of 16 literally, firing an Fernandão of Spain struggles to find a way past Brazilians Neto and Ari during the final. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 49

50 We could have won, but that s just the way it is in sport, he said after the final whistle. My players gave everything and I m grateful for that. Bronze for Italy As well as producing the same winners and same losing finalists as the 2008 edition, the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 saw the same side finish in third place, with Italy making it onto the podium for a third consecutive time. Bouncing back from their late capitulation to Spain in the semi-finals, the Squadra Azzurra needed plenty of patience against Colombia in the match for third place, before eventually winning the encounter 3-0, with all three goals coming in the second half. Naturally, we are very satisfied with finishing third at this tournament, said Italy coach Roberto Menichelli. It is important for us and a source of great pride to know that we were the secondbest European team after Spain. There are some great teams here that haven t managed to finish as highly as we have. Despite their ultimate defeat at the hands of the Italians, Colombia s Cafeteros were clearly the surprise package of the Thailand event with not even the players themselves having reckoned on a top-four finish on their tournament debut. A place in the semi-finals certainly looked a distant dream after the team s opening 5-2 defeat by Guatemala, but an 11-3 win over the Solomon Islands coupled with the Solomons subsequent shock win over the Guatemalans proved enough for the South Americans to progress from the group as runners-up. Taking a more defensive approach in the knock-out stage, Arney Fonnegra s team reaped the immediate reward of a stunning 2-1 win over ten-time AFC futsal champions Iran in the round of 16, before eliminating Ukraine 3-1 in the quarterfinals. While they were unable to outfox either Brazil or Italy in their last two games, the newcomers were understandably delighted with their fourth-place finish. I told my team they could hold their heads up high on leaving the hall, as they were such good ambassadors for Colombian futsal, Fonnegra said following the game against Italy. We hope to be back in four years time! Mixed fortunes for first-timers Colombia were not the only debutants to make their mark on Thailand 2012, with fellow newcomers Panama and Serbia also catching the eye with their runs to the round of 16. I told my team they could hold their heads up high on leaving the hall, as they were such good ambassadors for Colombian futsal, Colombia coach Arney Fonnegra following his team s fourth-place finish While Panama were given a harsh lesson in futsal supremacy by the eventual champions once they reached the knockout stage, they acquitted themselves well in the group stage and especially in their opening game when they managed to turn a 3-0 deficit against fellow debutants Morocco into an emphatic 8-3 victory. The Thai team thanked their fantastic fans following their round-of-16 exit against Spain. Serbia fared even better, topping their group ahead of more established rivals Czech Republic and Egypt, before finally succumbing to a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of round-of-16 opponents Argentina. Taking part in this World Cup and coming top of our group was a great experience for us, reflected Serbia coach Aca Kovacevic. We were almost ready to make the next step, but this was not our time. Nor was it the time for Mexico and Kuwait, who joined Morocco in a trio of newcomers leaving the tournament after the group stage. While the Mexicans and Moroccans left Thailand without a point to show for their efforts, the Kuwaitis had the consolation of a closing 4-3 win over Egypt, however, to give them cause for optimism in the future. Thai fighters Another team causing plenty of excitement in Thailand were, of course, the hosts. Playing a refreshingly attacking game, and cheered on by their enthusiastic home fans, the Changsuk ( War Elephants ) improved upon their group-stage exits at the three previous Futsal World Cups, with an opening-day 3-1 win over Costa Rica proving just enough to secure a place in the final 16. Spain turned out to be one obstacle too many for Vic Hermans team, as they crashed out of the tournament 7-1, although the noisy celebrations that greeted Kritsada Wongkaeo s late consolation goal were a fitting reminder of the party atmosphere generated throughout the competition by the passionate home supporters. The never-say-die attitude of the Solomon Islands team was another highlight. Having lost all of their matches on their tournament debut in 2008, the Oceania champions got off to another terrible start this time around with their 16-0 thrashing at the hands of Russia. After faring little better in their next game the 11-3 defeat to Colombia the Islanders then produced one of the biggest upsets of the group stage, when they beat Guatemala 4-3 to end the 50 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

51 Central American heavyweights hopes of progressing. Adding to the fairy-tale feel was the nature of the winning goal kicked into an empty net from the opposite end of the pitch by 16-year-old Solomon Islands keeper Anthony Talo, as the Guatemalans, trailing 3-2 at the time, desperately pressed forward in search of an equaliser. This was my first World Cup, so I never even dreamed that I would score here, said the teenager after becoming only the fifth goalkeeper, and easily the youngest, to score at a FIFA Futsal World Cup. Our team is so happy to finish in this way and it was a real team effort. It shows that we can compete at this level, and this gives us something to build on for the future. Tournament lit up by stars old and new Not at their best In a tournament where so many unfancied teams exceeded expectations, there are always bound to be a number of bigger teams who failed to live up to their pretournament billings. As former Futsal World Cup semi-finalists, Iran had been widely tipped as possible dark horses. Following their promising opening draw with Spain, however, the Asian giants looked unconvincing in their subsequent narrow wins against Morocco (2-1) and Panama (4-3), making their eventual elimination by Colombia seem, in hindsight, a little less surprising. Current Asian futsal champions Japan were unable to do any better, conceding six goals in a disastrous first half against their round-of-16 opponents Ukraine, and eventually going out 6-3. Three-time semi-finalists Russia finished up with the tournament s leading goalscorer in their ranks, thanks to the nine-goal haul (seven of them against the Solomon Islands) of São Paulo-born pivot Eder Lima. Their hopes of another top-four finish were dashed, however, by the misfortune of meeting Spain in the quarter-finals. The last eight also marked the end of the road for a Portugal side who had seemed destined for the semi-finals after marching into a 3-0 lead after just 11 minutes While futsal is fundamentally a team sport, the fast nature of the game, its dependence upon close ball control and the large number of goalscoring opportunities also combine to create an arena in which individual stars can also grab the limelight. The FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012 provided just such a platform for a number of stars, both old and new, with the Brazilian and Spanish finalists by no means the only teams to impress. Newcomers Colombia, for example, owed much of their impressive run to the semi-finals to their 30-year-old goalkeeper, Juan Lozano, who provided his team with a vital sense of security at the back, seeming to grow in stature as the tournament progressed. His team-mate Andres Reyes also made a name for himself, with his trickery on the court thrilling the fans and often driving his opponents to distraction. For the Thai hosts, 23-year-old attacker Suphawut Thueanklang put in a number of stand-out performances, prompting the team s Dutch coach Victor Hermans to predict that the world will hear a lot more about Thueanklang in the future. Two Italian World Cup debutants were also singled out for praise with Rodolfo Fortino proving a constant threat upfront and finishing as the tournament s second-highest scorer with eight goals while his team-mate Stefano Mammarella picked up the adidas Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper. I am totally stunned, Mammarella declared, after a string of fine performances not only in terms of saves, but also in regard to his play-making abilities. It is great to have won this award, and something special to have finished ahead of goalkeepers of the calibre of Tiago and Juanjo. Russia s Brazilian-born striker Eder Lima was another to show his class in Thailand. The 28-year-old scored nine goals to help his team reach the quarter-finals, making his mark on the world stage by claiming the adidas Golden Boot ahead of Fortino and Brazil s Fernandinho. In the final, Fernandinho s team-mate Neto was the key man in Brazil s victory over Spain, scoring twice to take his individual Thailand tally to seven goals a haul made all the more impressive for the fact that Neto plays as a defender. His contribution to the team s success in all areas saw the Brazilian rewarded with the adidas Golden Ball for the tournament s most valuable player. The Silver and Bronze Balls meanwhile went to two completely different types of player Spain s Kike and Portugal s Ricardinho. Whereas Kike was the Furia Roja s talisman in his fourth World Cup, Ricardinho was perhaps the most impressive man in the tournament when in possession of the ball. The new faces who made a name for themselves in Thailand will of course be well known to their opponents when the world s best players reconvene for the FIFA Futsal World Cup s 2016 edition, which might make it harder for them to shine again in four years time. If so, another generation of eager young players will of course be happy to take up the gauntlet. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 51

52

53 against quarter-final opponents Italy only to lose 4-3 in extra time. We were very upset to go out like that, striker Cardinal admitted afterwards. Overall, it was a good tournament for us, but we were hoping for more. Hosts praised When it came to the staging of the tournament, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) had to deal with one major challenge when it was confirmed that the new Bangkok Futsal Arena would not be ready in time to host matches. Originally intended as the setting for the tournament final, as well as two quarterfinals, both semi-finals and the match for third place, the venue suffered construction delays and narrowly missed out in its race to be ready for the competition s final stages. Organisers succeeded, however, in reallocating the matches among Bangkok s other venues, with the Indoor Stadium Huamark stepping in to host the last four games including the sensational final in front of a sell-out crowd. Indeed, the 160,000 fans who flocked to the tournament s 52 matches produced an average attendance of 3,094 spectators which was the third-best in the competition s history, beaten only by Guatemala 2000 and Brazil I would like to say a big thanks to Thailand, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter said at the tournament s closing press conference. It is known as the Land of Smiles and the hospitality here has certainly been exceptional. I would also like to pass on my thanks to [LOC Chairman] Suwat Liptapanlop and his team; they had a big challenge and managed it well. Certainly, the bar has been set high for the next hosts of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, with six countries (France, Iran, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Spain and Czech Republic) all currently in the running to stage the 2016 edition. The successful bidders are due to be selected by FIFA s Executive Committee in March, at which point the biggest question will once again be whether anyone can stop the Brazilians next time around. FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012: Results Group A Ukraine v. Paraguay Thailand v. Costa Rica Paraguay v. Costa Rica Thailand v. Ukraine Costa Rica v. Ukraine Paraguay v. Thailand 3-2 Group F Guatemala v. Colombia 5-2 Group B Russia v. Solomon Islands Panama v. Morocco Colombia v. Solomon Islands Spain v. Iran Russia v. Guatemala Morocco v. Iran Solomon Islands v. Guatemala Spain v. Panama Colombia v. Russia Iran v. Panama Morocco v. Spain 1-5 Round of Paraguay v. Portugal 1-4 Group C Ukraine v. Japan Libya v. Portugal Spain v. Thailand Brazil v. Japan Iran v. Colombia Portugal v. Japan Italy v. Egypt Brazil v. Libya Brazil v. Panama Japan v. Libya Russia v. Czech Rep Portugal v. Brazil Serbia v. Argentina 1-2 Group D Italy v. Australia 9-1 Quarter-finals Argentina v. Brazil 2-3 a.e.t Argentina v. Mexico Colombia v. Ukraine Australia v. Mexico Portugal v. Italy 3-4 a.e.t Argentina v. Italy Spain v. Russia Mexico v. Italy Australia v. Argentina 1-7 Semi-finals Italy v. Spain 1-4 Group E Brazil v. Colombia Czech Republic v. Kuwait Egypt v. Serbia 1-3 Match for third place Kuwait v. Serbia Italy v. Colombia Egypt v Czech Republic Serbia v Czech Republic 2-2 Final Kuwait v. Egypt Spain v. Brazil 2-3 a.e.t. Awards: adidas Golden Ball Neto (BRA) adidas Silver Ball Kike (ESP) adidas Bronze Ball Ricardinho (POR) adidas Golden Boot Eder Lima (RUS) adidas Silver Boot Rodolfo Fortino (ITA) adidas Bronze Boot Fernandinho (BRA) adidas Golden Glove Stefano Mammarella (ITA) FIFA Fair Play Trophy Argentina FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 53

54 Cape Verde s long-suffering fans are finally preparing to bang the drum at the Africa Cup of Nations. Cape of new hope Cape Verde s shock qualification for this month s CAF Africa Cup of Nations as the smallest-ever nation to reach the tournament marks a dramatic turnaround in fortunes for a country which has spent decades losing its best players to other national teams. By Mark Gleeson and Pierre Eklund Just as this edition of FIFA World comes out, Cape Verde s national football team are due to be making their long dreamed-of debut appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations beginning their campaign with no less a fixture than the 19 January opening match against tournament hosts South Africa at Johannesburg s Soccer City Stadium. With the total population of their country only around six times bigger than the capacity of Soccer City, coach Lúcio Antunes and his players could certainly be forgiven a sense of surrealism as they step out onto the same pitch where Spain and the Netherlands contested the 2010 FIFA World Cup final. It will be a huge honour for our small country, but we will just try to take it all in and savour the moment, beams Antunes, whose Blue Sharks (as Cape Verde s national team are known) are set to be the smallest minnows yet to compete in Africa s continental finals even smaller than Equatorial Guinea, whose qualification for the 2012 edition came automatically as tournament co-hosts. 54 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

55 Nor is size the only obstacle that Cape Verde have had to overcome. Spread out in a horseshoe formation of 15 islands and islets and located some 570 kilometres off Africa s west coast, the country has a punishingly arid landscape which belies the Green Cape of its name. Indeed, with natural grass scarce and freshwater even scarcer, Cape Verde cannot even lay claim to a single grass football pitch. The harshness of life on the islands, which were originally settled by 15 th century Portuguese traders as a supply point for passing ships and later served as a base for slave trading, has also led to large-scale emigration over the years to the extent that many more Cape Verdeans can now be found in Europe, the Americas and mainland Africa than on the islands themselves. Talents lost Among this widespread diaspora are a striking number of top footballers who have gone on to play for their adopted countries rather than their ancestral home. Unsurprisingly, Portugal has benefited most, with a long line of Cape Verdeans having chosen to pull on the red strip. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Manchester United s Cape Verde-born star Nani was one of three members of the Portugal squad with roots in the tiny African country, while two other players of Cape Verde heritage (Beşiktaş midfielder Manuel Fernandes and Málaga winger Eliseu) only narrowly missed out after making it onto Portugal s 30-player long list for the tournament. Switzerland s Gelson Fernandes, who scored the only goal of the alpine nation s shock group-stage win over Spain at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is another Cape Verde-born player, while the father of former Sweden great Henrik Larsson also hailed from the archipelago. Nearby (or at least relatively close) Senegal have also snapped up several internationals who could have turned out for Cape Verde, including current national team members Jacques Faty and Mickaël Tavares. Patrick Vieira, the Senegaleseborn star who went on to win the World Cup with France in 1998, also has Cape Verdean ancestry. While not all of these lost players were born in Cape Verde, it still seems remarkable that so many top stars can have such strong connections to a tiny cluster of rugged outcrops in the Atlantic Ocean although some believe that the phenomenon may in fact be explained by the islands isolated nature. Our kids start football at an early age and sometimes in difficult and adverse conditions, points out long-time Cape Verde Football Association President Mário Semedo. It is in the personality of Cape Verdeans to fight precisely because of the obstacles they face in their daily lives. Under these conditions, qualities like hard work and dedication are essential, and the recipe for our success in football is made up of those ingredients. Talents regained In the past, those ingredients clearly benefited the national teams of other countries much more than they did Cape Verde, but the country s success in qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations demonstrates how things have started to change. A major turning point came in April 2000, following the country s first attempt to qualify for a FIFA World Cup. While trying to work out how the team could do better next time, Semedo and his colleagues started to think about the thousands of Cape Verdeans living overseas and how they could entice them back to play for the Blue Sharks. Suddenly, the talent drain that had been seen as a purely negative influence in the past was being considered as an opportunity prompting an ambitious scouting programme that encompassed not only the traditional hunting grounds of Portugal and Senegal but also expat communities in France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the USA. Since then, Cape Verde s reliance upon foreign-based players has reached a The Blue Sharks booked their place at South Africa 2013 thanks to an impressive two-legged qualifying victory over four-time African champions Cameroon. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 55

56 Step-by-step success While Cape Verde s participation in the Africa Cup of Nations will clearly be the main highlight of the country s footballing history to date, there have been plenty of other moments to savour in recent years with the story being one of steady and continued progress rather than the overnight success of a few fortunate results. Despite being an independent country since 1975, the islands only joined FIFA in 1986, and did not attempt to qualify for a FIFA World Cup until the preliminary competition for the 2002 edition. While that campaign ended in a first-round elimination at the hands of Algeria, the opening leg s 0-0 draw in Mindelo inspired Cape Verde Football Association President Mario Semedo and his colleagues to dream big. We wanted to make ourselves the Brazil of Africa, he recalls with a smile, almost 13 years later. Back then, Cape Verde were 182 nd in the FIFA/ Coca-Cola World Ranking and unaware that they were about to embark on a gradual rise that would take them to the brink of the world s top 50. In that same year, the islanders celebrated their first international title when they hosted and won the 2000 edition of the Amílcar Cabral Cup, a tournament named after a hero of the Cape Verdean independence movement and open to teams from Western Africa. Two years later, the Blue Sharks travelled to Luxembourg to play their first-ever friendly match outside of Africa and managed to come away with an unexpected draw after holding their European hosts 0-0. Qualification for major tournaments remained elusive in the following years, but the team pulled off several individual victories in Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying matches, with Liberia, Swaziland, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Mauritius among their early scalps. Two more milestones were then reached in 2009, when Cape Verde won football gold at the Lusophony Games a tournament for countries where Portuguese is spoken or where sizeable Portuguese communities live and then went on to celebrate their first-ever victory over European opposition thanks to a 2-0 friendly win away to Malta. By now figuring regularly in the world ranking s top 100, the islanders missed out on qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup but pulled off a memorable result during the build-up to that tournament when they took on a full-strength Portugal in Covilhã and held their former colonial masters to a goalless draw. Last year s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers then finally saw the Cape Verdeans secure a place at the continent s top table. After comfortably seeing off Madagascar 7-1 on aggregate in the first round, Lúcio Antunes men managed an unlikely second-round victory over former African champions Cameroon, winning the opening leg in Praia 2-0 before completing a 3-2 overall triumph in Yaoundé. Their subsequent placing of 51 st in the October 2012 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking marked a further highpoint, and also saw Cape Verde installed among the top ten teams in Africa. Their debut appearance at the Cup of Nations in a group that includes former champions South Africa and Morocco may yet prove a baptism of fire for the tiny island nation. After all they ve achieved in the past 13 years, however, further surprises could also be in store Cape Verde celebrated a historic draw in 2010 against a Portugal side that included Cape Verde-born star Nani. point where not a single representative of the islands amateur football league made it into the squad called up in November for a Cup of Nations warm-up match against Ghana. While around half of the current squad members are based in Portugal s top division, others play their club football in locations as varied as France, Romania, Cyprus or Angola. Some are Cape Verdeborn players, such as SC Braga striker Zé Luis and Lille forward Ryan Mendes, who learned their trade on the islands before making big moves abroad, while others have come in the other direction born overseas and establishing themselves as footballers before being asked to play for Cape Verde. I think we have enough skill to take the game to our opponents, and we also have a good mix of generations, says attacking midfielder Odaïr Fortes, a regular with French top-division side Stade de Reims who is keen to return to the international fray after missing both legs of Cape Verde s shock qualifying win over Cameroon due to injury. Our captain [Nando] is 34, but is as enthusiastic as a 20-year-old, and then we have lots of up-and-coming players from Portuguese and Eastern European clubs and also the very promising Ryan Mendes. When we were growing up, everyone in Cape Verde used to support Senegal as they were the closest big team. Now that we have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, and Senegal have not, I hope that their supporters will be rooting for us! Home-grown hopes While overseas talent scouting has clearly played a large part in Cape Verde s football development strategy, it is not the only 56 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

57 secret to their success, as the country s football association has also been active in developing opportunities for the players still based on the islands. Working together with FIFA s Member Associations & Development Division, the country was one of the first in Africa not only to embrace an artificial turf support programme which has since seen a staggering 15 pitches built across the islands, but also to host international matches on the surface, with the Estádio da Várzea in the capital Praia being used immediately after its completion to stage 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. It was those pitches that first made it possible for us to really grow football in Cape Verde both in terms of the national teams and also in terms of the domestic league, Semedo told FIFA World. Cape Verde have also taken full advantage of FIFA s Goal development programme, with the approval of three projects in the space of six years helping to fund the association s national headquarters and technical centre in Praia, the construction of an artificial turf pitch at the centre and the creation of a regional technical centre on the island of São Vicente, which is currently being built. Over the past five years, the association has also allocated more than USD 250,000 of its FIFA Financial Assistance Programme funds to the development of its senior domestic competitions, with around USD 160,000 also being used to develop youth football. Six FIFA refereeing courses have also been held on the islands since 2007 as part of efforts to further boost standards in the domestic game. When you look at how the association is improving the standard of football management at home and combine that with the experiences that the Europeanbased players are bringing back with us, it can only help to develop the next generation of young talents, insists former Cape Verde defender Pedro Pelé, who enjoyed a brief spell in the English Premier League with West Bromwich Albion and still plays in the country s lower leagues for Hayes & Yeading United. I understand why some Cape Verdeans used the opportunities they had to represent bigger countries, Pelé adds. But I have been pleasantly surprised by the talent coming through now in Cape Verde, and if we continue to create a strong national squad then our team will be just as desirable to play for as any other. The game s administrators remain realistic about the challenges they still face, with the professionalisation of the domestic league seen as one long-term goal that could help raise standards and also bring additional revenues to the clubs who do lose talented players to overseas leagues. Despite the ongoing difficulties, however, those in charge of the domestic game seem confident that the national team s qualification for South Africa 2013 can act as a springboard for future successes. The future is very promising for Cape Verdean football, insists Semedo. We re in the process of enlarging the development of young footballers at various youth levels and are constantly working on developing other key areas, such as coaching, refereeing and administration, and I believe this investment will pay off massively in the years to come. Rugged and beautiful, Cape Verde s landscape is not naturally conducive to football. FIFA WORLD I FOCUS 57

58 SUMMARY Member associations Asia Africa North & Central America and Caribbean Lee Keun-ho and Aya Miyama scooped the AFC Player of the Year and AFC Women s Player of the Year awards at the end of November during a glittering ceremony in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Lee, who became the first player from Korea Republic to win the men s award, put in a series of exceptional performances for club and country throughout the year, but it was his commanding displays for Ulsan Hyundai during their victorious 2012 AFC Champions League campaign that helped him to clinch Asian football s highest individual accolade ahead of Iran legend Ali Karimi and China s Zheng Zhi. Japan international Miyama picked up the women s title for a second year running after helping the Nadeshiko add an Olympic silver medal at the London 2012 Games to their FIFA Women s World Cup triumph of A full list of award winners can be found on the AFC website. Less than a month before hosting the FIFA Club World Cup 2012, Japan staged an ambitious International Women s Club Championship, involving four top teams from Japan, France and Australia. European champions Lyon won the event, although they needed extra time and a decisive Sonia Bompastor penalty to secure a 2-1 final win over freshly-crowned Japanese league champions INAC Kobe Leonessa. Japanese cup winners NTV Beleza took the bronze medal following a 4-3 win over Australian W-League champions Canberra United in the third-place play-off. Equatorial Guinea won their second African Women s Championship title in November, beating South Africa 4-0 in the tournament final. Hosting the competition, just as they did when they won their first continental crown in 2008, the Equatorial Guineans became only the second side to win the competition without conceding a goal matching the 1998 achievement of record eight-time champions Nigeria. The Nigerians had to settle for their lowest-ever finish of fourth place this time around, after being beaten 1-0 by Cameroon in the match for third place. South Sudan is due to enter a club in a continental competition for the first time in February, when domestic cup winners Al Nasir Juba take on Azam of Tanzania in the preliminary round of qualifying for the 2013 CAF Confederation Cup. South Sudan is FIFA s newest member, having joined world football s governing body at last year s FIFA Congress in Budapest. The national team has already played four friendly matches, including a historic 2-2 draw against Uganda in the side s first-ever outing last July. Cuba celebrated their first-ever Caribbean Cup triumph in December when they defeated record eight-time champions Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 in the tournament final. The 16 December showdown at the Antigua Recreation Ground went to extra time after a goalless 90 minutes, but was then decided by a Marcel Hernández winner in the 113 th minute. The win gave Cuba their first international title since their gold medal finish at the 1986 Central American & Caribbean Games Football Tournament, and also earned them a place at the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup alongside the Trinidadians and losing semi-finalists Haiti and Martinique. Honduran giants C.D. Olimpia completed their centenario year in style in December, clinching their 26 th domestic league title with a 4-0 aggregate win over Victoria in the Apertura final. The Lions were held to a goalless draw during the away leg on 9 December but romped to a 4-0 victory at home a week later. The win also secured Olimpia s qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League, making them one of only two teams (along with Isidro Metapán of El Salvador) to have qualified for all five Champions League editions to date. Member associations wishing to submit news items to FIFA World can send s to feedback-fifaworld@fifa.org. Please bear in mind that items should be submitted more than a month in advance of the issue in question FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

59 South America Oceania Europe Jorge Sampaoli was unveiled as Chile s new head coach in December, becoming the third Argentinian trainer in succession to take charge of La Roja. The 52-year-old Santa Fe native replaces compatriot and 1986 FIFA World Cup winner Claudio Borghi, who was dismissed in November after a run of five defeats in a row including three consecutive 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. I take this job on with a huge responsibility and obligation to take Chile to Brazil, said Sampaoli, who led Universidad de Chile to three successive Chilean league titles in the past two years. Despite their recent defeats, Chile only trail fourth- and fifthplaced Venezuela and Uruguay on goal difference with seven matches remaining. The top four South American finishers will earn an automatic place at Brazil 2014, with the fifthplaced team going into a play-off against the fifth-best side in the Asian qualifiers. December also saw a major surprise in Chilean club football, as C.D. Huachipato beat Unión Española in the final of the Clausura championship to secure their first league title in 38 years and only their second ever. The small club from the port of Talcahuano had been trailing 4-1 in the tie s second leg before clawing their way back to 4-4 and then winning the subsequent penalty shoot-out 3-2. Long title droughts also came to an end in Colombia and Ecuador as Millionarios of Bogotá and Barcelona SC won their respective championships after waits of 24 and 15 years. There were less surprising climaxes in Brazil and Argentina, with Fluminense wrapping up their second league title in three years and Vélez Sársfield clinching their third championship in four years. Bolivia s The Strongest meanwhile lived up to their name by winning an unprecedented third consecutive title. The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has unveiled a new format for its flagship club competition, the OFC Champions League, including the introduction of a new semi-final stage and a more compressed tournament schedule. The group stage of the competition will remain unchanged, with eight teams from across the region being split into two groups of four. But while the old format saw only the group winners progressing to a twolegged final, the revamped competition will see both the group winners and runners-up advance to a semi-final round. The winners of these semi-finals will then contest the final, which will now be played as a one-off event at a predetermined venue with Auckland, New Zealand providing the setting for the 2013 edition. Rather than kick off in October or November, the group stage is now set to start at the end of March, allowing for a shorter gap before the semi-finals and final take place in May. The condensed format makes the competition more attractive to fans and sponsors as there are no lengthy delays between each round, OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas explained. And the introduction of semi-finals means more teams will feature in the race for the title, extending the excitement levels for a longer period. Auckland City have won the last two editions of the OFC Champions League, which also determines Oceania s representatives at the FIFA Club World Cup. European football s governing body UEFA have decided to push ahead with a proposal by President Michel Platini to play the 2020 edition of the European Championship not in the usual one or two host countries, but in various major cities stretched across the entire continent. At a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on 6 December, the UEFA Executive Committee endorsed Platini s vision of a EURO for Europe declaring that the concept would allow more countries to be directly involved in the event, while also commemorating the 60 th anniversary of the first European Championship in a unique way. The Executive Committee has now asked UEFA s National Team Competitions Committee to look at the various organisational questions raised by this new hosting proposal before reporting back to the executive. UEFA strengthened its partnerships with the Asian and Oceania Football Confederations in December by signing separate Memorandums of Understanding with the two organisations. The agreements include pledges to exchange information, knowledge and good practices on matters of common interest, with UEFA also promising to support the AFC and OFC in activities relating to education, training, technical development and youth football. Solidarity is a key value in football and it is therefore important that it is also shown between confederations, UEFA President Michel Platini said following signing ceremonies in Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY 59

60 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking Spain end year on top once more World and European champions Spain were crowned Team of the Year for the fifth successive time in December, after holding on to the top spot in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking throughout the whole of Having spent just two months off the top in 2010, and one month in 2011, there was no shifting the Spanish at all in the latest 12-month period as they added the UEFA EURO 2012 title to their 2008 European crown and 2010 FIFA World Cup win. There were no new entries in December s top ten compared to the November edition, although quite a few leading teams switched places, with Italy climbing one place to fourth and Colombia jumping three places to fifth their highest position in more than ten years. With six wins, one draw and just one defeat, the Colombians also made the biggest points climb of 2012 earning the title Mover of the Year after gaining 455 points since December 2011 and rising 31 places. Other significant climbers included Ecuador (13 th, up 29 since December 2011), Mali (25 th, up 42) and Central African Republic (52 nd, up 77). The regional composition of the top 50 meanwhile changed only slightly over the course of the year. While the number of teams from UEFA (27 teams in the top 50), November s 5-1 friendly win over Panama capped an unbeaten year for Spain. CONMEBOL (9), CONCACAF (3) and the OFC in total in 2012, including 257 qualifying (0) remained the same, CAF finished the year matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. with eight teams in the top 50 an increase The January 2013 edition of the FIFA/Cocaof one while the size of the AFC contingent Cola Ranking was due to be published on dropped from four to three. 17 January, just as this issue of FIFA World The results of 143 international matches was coming out. An online link to the latest were taken into account for the December standings can be found on the magazine s ranking, with 900 matches being evaluated web page: Rank Team +/- Ranks Nov-Dec 2012 Points Dec /- Points Nov-Dec /- Points Dec 11- Dec 12 1 Spain Germany Argentina Italy Colombia England Portugal Netherlands Russia Croatia Greece Switzerland Ecuador Côte d'ivoire Mexico Uruguay Rank Team +/- Ranks Nov-Dec 2012 Points Dec /- Points Nov-Dec /- Points Dec 11- Dec France Brazil Algeria Sweden Belgium Japan Denmark Norway Mali Chile Bosnia-Herzegovina USA Czech Republic Ghana Montenegro Hungary Rank Team +/- Ranks Nov-Dec 2012 Points Dec /- Points Nov-Dec /- Points Dec 11- Dec Romania Zambia Korea Republic Australia Paraguay Serbia Haiti Turkey Egypt Bolivia Gabon Republic of Ireland Tunisia Peru Slovakia Ukraine FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

61 Rank Team +/- Ranks Nov-Dec 2012 Points Dec /- Points Nov-Dec /- Points Dec 11- Dec Slovenia Bulgaria Panama Central African Rep Nigeria Libya Poland Jamaica Venezuela Honduras Iran Guinea Cameroon Sierra Leone Albania Canada Belarus Costa Rica Uzbekistan Trinidad and Tobago Cape Verde Islands Austria Togo Scotland Georgia Morocco Armenia Benin Senegal Israel Equatorial Guinea Guatemala FYR Macedonia Wales Finland Angola Uganda Estonia South Africa China PR Burkina Faso Iceland New Zealand Iraq Dominican Republic Jordan Oman Northern Ireland United Arab Emirates Qatar Korea DPR Cuba Sudan Zimbabwe El Salvador Burundi Rank Team +/- Ranks Nov-Dec 2012 Points Dec /- Points Nov-Dec /- Points Dec 11- Dec Niger Latvia Congo DR New Caledonia Congo Ethiopia Malawi Liberia Mozambique Suriname Antigua and Barbuda Lithuania Kuwait Azerbaijan Bahrain São Tomé e Príncipe Botswana Namibia St Kitts and Nevis Guyana St Vincent/Grenadines Saudi Arabia Lebanon Moldova Turkmenistan Tanzania Vietnam Cyprus Puerto Rico Kenya Rwanda Tajikistan Thailand Grenada Tahiti Chad Gambia Kazakhstan Barbados Syria Nicaragua Malta Philippines Luxembourg St Lucia Solomon Islands Aruba Palestine Faroe Islands Liechtenstein Singapore Indonesia Bermuda Malaysia Lesotho Maldives Rank Team +/- Ranks Nov-Dec 2012 Points Dec 2012 Note: Teams inactive for more than four years do not appear in the table. +/- Points Nov-Dec /- Points Dec 11- Dec Dominica Myanmar Hong Kong Yemen Vanuatu India Belize Bangladesh Chinese Taipei Fiji Laos Nepal Samoa Bahamas Guinea-Bissau Montserrat Curaçao Swaziland Madagascar Mongolia Guam Brunei Darussalam Timor-Leste Cambodia Tonga Afghanistan US Virgin Islands Papua New Guinea Pakistan Sri Lanka British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands American Samoa Comoros Somalia Eritrea Seychelles Macau Kyrgyzstan South Sudan MD 201 Cook Islands Djibouti Mauritius Andorra Anguilla Mauritania Bhutan San Marino Turks and Caicos Islands Team of the Year Germany 1994 Brazil 1995 Brazil 1996 Brazil 1997 Brazil 1998 Brazil 1999 Brazil 2000 Netherlands* 2001 Honduras* 2002 Brazil 2003 Brazil 2004 Brazil 2005 Brazil 2006 Brazil 2007 Argentina 2008 Spain 2009 Spain 2010 Spain 2011 Spain 2012 Spain *Calculated using average of best seven matches FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY 61

62 FIFA/Coca-Cola Women s World Ranking USA cap golden year The USA ended a successful 2012 in the same position that they began the year firmly entrenched at the top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women s World Ranking. Bolstered by their latest Olympic triumph at the London 2012 Games, the Americans completed the year with 2,209 ranking points and with a cushion of 38 points over second-placed Germany. Having topped the ranking continuously since March 2008, the USA will celebrate an uninterrupted run of five years in the number one spot if they remain top when the next edition of the ranking is published in two months time. Silvia Neid s Germany had the opportunity to make up some ground on the leaders in October when they travelled to the States to play two friendly matches against the Americans, but both encounters ended in stalemate. The Europeans had the better of the opening 1-1 draw in Chicago, but needed a late Dzsenifer Marozsán equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw in East Hartford. The only change in the ranking s top ten involved Korea DPR re-entering at the expense of Italy. The North Koreans are up to joint ninth alongside Australia, while the Italians slipped one place to 11 th. The USA enjoyed a stellar 2012 winning their fourth Olympic gold medal in August and losing just one friendly match all year. December s biggest movers, however, were newly crowned African queens Equatorial Guinea, whose home-soil win over South Africa in November s African Women s Championship was rewarded with a climb of eight places to their highest-ever position of 54 th. Despite narrowly losing out to Russia in the play-offs for the UEFA Women s EURO 2013, Austria were another team on the up in December jumping three places to also reach their highest-ever position of 32 nd. The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Women s World Ranking will be published on 22 March Rank Team +/- Ranks Rank end of 2011 Rating +/- Rating 1 USA Germany Japan Brazil France Sweden Canada England Australia Korea DPR Italy Norway Denmark Netherlands Iceland Korea Republic Rank Team +/- Ranks Rank end of 2011 Rating +/- Rating 17 China PR Spain Finland Russia New Zealand Ukraine Scotland Mexico Czech Republic Switzerland Belgium Colombia Thailand Vietnam Poland Nigeria Rank Team +/- Ranks Rank end of 2011 Rating +/- Rating Austria Republic of Ireland Romania Argentina Hungary Belarus Wales Costa Rica Uzbekistan Slovakia Chinese Taipei Serbia Chile Portugal Myanmar Trinidad and Tobago FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

63 Rank Team +/- Ranks Rank end of 2011 Rating +/- Rating 49 Papua New Guinea Cameroon Ghana India Iran Equatorial Guinea Northern Ireland South Africa Bulgaria Jordan Haiti Greece Slovenia Israel Croatia Turkey Kazakhstan Hong Kong Indonesia Uruguay Côte d Ivoire Bahrain Morocco Faroe Islands Tunisia Algeria Tonga Guatemala Fiji Estonia Guam Lithuania Laos Egypt Philippines Bosnia-Herzegovina Malaysia Senegal Tahiti Dominican Republic Latvia Mali Cuba Zimbabwe Rank Team +/- Ranks Rank end of 2011 Rating +/- Rating 93 Solomon Islands Palestine New Caledonia El Salvador Singapore Luxembourg Cook Islands Ethiopia Suriname Honduras Vanuatu Malta Congo DR Samoa Armenia Nepal Nicaragua FYR Macedonia American Samoa Guinea Namibia Bangladesh Sri Lanka Bermuda Lebanon Maldives Zambia Tanzania Pakistan Syria Dominica Afghanistan Iraq Mozambique Malawi Bhutan Antigua and Barbuda Botswana Ecuador ** Peru ** Paraguay ** Panama ** Azerbaijan ** Jamaica ** Rank Team +/- Ranks * team provisionally listed in ranking ** team inactive for more than 18 months and therefore not ranked Rank end of 2011 Rating +/- Rating Venezuela ** Guyana ** Congo ** Bolivia ** Benin ** Moldova ** Barbados ** Kyrgyzstan ** Angola ** Sierra Leone ** Bahamas ** Puerto Rico ** Georgia ** St. Lucia ** Eritrea ** Gabon ** Grenada ** Cyprus ** St. Vincent/Grenadines ** Burkina Faso ** St. Kitts and Nevis ** Turks and Caicos Islands ** Guinea-Bissau ** Liberia ** Swaziland ** Cayman Islands ** Curaçao ** Belize ** Comoros ** United Arab Emirates * Albania * Montenegro * Qatar * Uganda * US Virgin Islands * British Virgin Islands * Lesotho * Kenya * Aruba * Elections The following member associations have elected presidents since the last issue of FIFA World: Poland Zbigniew BONIEK Senegal Augustin SENGHOR (re-elected) Djibouti Souleiman HASSAN WABERI Trinidad & Tobago Raymond TIM KEE Kyrgyzstan Semetey SULTANOV FIFA Calendar January-March January-10 February CAF Africa Cup of Nations February International friendly matchday February FIFA meeting week, Zurich 1-3 March IFAB Annual General Meeting, Edinburgh 6-13 March Algarve Cup, Portugal 10 March CAF Congress, Marrakesh March FIFA meeting week, Zurich March FIFA Executive Committee meeting, Zurich March International matchdays FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY 63

64 FIFA Archive Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 15 July 1950 At first glance, you d think that this rather laid-back gentleman wouldn t hurt a fly, but appearances can certainly be deceptive. The man in question Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia was actually responsible for inflicting more than 60 years of pain upon a whole footballing nation by sealing Uruguay s 2-1 victory in the final match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, stunning hundreds of thousands of fans into silence and searing his name into the consciousness of all Brazilian football fans in just a matter of seconds. The shock occurred in the 79 th minute, when Ghiggia gave Uruguay the lead. All of a sudden, with just 11 minutes left on the clock, the hosts had fallen behind. Nobody in the stadium could believe their eyes, but disbelief soon gave way to the inevitability that Brazil would not win the World Cup on home soil, that they would be beaten by little neighbouring Uruguay. It was a tragedy played out in front of an estimated 200,000 spectators, even though the stadium officially held only 174,000. Legend has it that on that Sunday afternoon, on 16 July 1950, silence descended upon Rio s famous Maracanã stadium as soon as the ball hit the back of the net. It was enough for Uruguay to win their second World Cup title after 1930, and Ghiggia was feted as the Hero of the Maracanã by his compatriots back home. Lying there on the pitch during a training session before the final, seemingly without a care in the world, it is almost as if he knew what would happen 24 hours later. Not even the injury above his right eye, most probably sustained in the Uruguayans hard-fought semi-final victory over Sweden, could unsettle him. After all, Uruguay had nothing to lose, but everything to gain. For Brazil though, Ghiggia s goal would signal the start of a trauma that exists to this very day. Indeed, the match is still referred to by Brazil fans as the Maracanaço, which can be roughly translated as the Blow at the Maracanã. In 2009, after being invited to leave his footprints in the legendary stadium s walk of fame, Ghiggia said that people still recognise him whenever he is in Brazil, and that others even break down in tears, proving that Brazilian fans have never truly gotten over that defeat. In 2014, their 64-year wait to welcome the World Cup back to Brazil will finally be over, and they want nothing more than to make up for 1950, almost as if the five World Cups won by the Seleção since that fateful day have not lessened their pain. Brazil s goal is still to lift the trophy in front of their own fans, so will 2014 finally bring an end to 64 years of hurt, or will another foreign guest spoil the home party in the style of Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia? Laid back: Ghiggia relaxes in a photo taken shortly before the decisive game of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. 64 FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

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66 Coming up In the next issue of FIFA World Better luck next time? Relaunching women s football in the USA More than a stadium Urban regeneration in São Paulo Kings of Africa Continental champions crowned in Johannesburg Publication date: 8 March 2013 FIFA World No. 34, January/February 2013 Official monthly publication of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) neutral Printed Matter No myclimate The Climate Protection Partnership Publisher: FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, P.O. Box, CH-8044 Zurich, Switzerland Tel.: +41-(0) Fax: +41-(0) Internet: feedback-fifaworld@fifa.org President: Joseph S. Blatter Secretary General: Jérôme Valcke Content: Communications & Public Affairs Director: Walter De Gregorio Editor: Mark Ledsom Deputy editor: Jennifer Davies Articles: Mark Ledsom, Jennifer Davies, Edward Brown, Alejandro Varsky, Thomas Schanze, Pierre Eklund, Mark Gleeson, Chetan Kulkarni, Kennedy Makambira, Steven Torres, Brian Homewood, Daniel Markham, André Vieli Translations: Gabriela Straube (head); Andrew Hurley, Stuart Makin, Zoë Morrow, Caitlin Stephens (English); Maxime Ferréol, Alexandre Károlyi, Nicolas Samier, Estelle Valensuela, Camille Lovichi, Armelle Marolle (French); Alfonso Ferrer, José Ibarra, Juan F. López Vera, Amaia Zaballa Zarzosa, Alicia Hernández, Thomas von Ubrizsy (Spanish); Sandra Locher, Reto Gustin (German) Production: Hans-Peter Frei (head); Philipp Mahrer (layout), Repro Studio Büsser AG Printing: Bruhin AG, Switzerland Photos: Getty Images, foto-net, Reuters Pictures, AFP Image Forum, Keystone, pixathlon, Imago, Phototek Cartoons/Illustrations: Beach Contact: Please send any comments on FIFA World to feedback-fifaworld@fifa.org. For subscription information or to read an online version of the magazine, please visit Editorial deadline for this issue: 7 January 2013 Any views expressed in FIFA World do not necessarily reflect those of FIFA. The reproduction of photos and articles even partially is prohibited unless permission has been sought from the editors and a reference is made to the source ( FIFA 2012). The editors are not obliged to publish unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. The FIFA logo is a registered trademark. Produced and printed in Switzerland FIFA FIFA WORLD I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

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