Kristine Lilly I wish I knew a secret

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1 INTERVIEW Kristine Lilly I wish I knew a secret FIFA magazine: How has your leadership role evolved and expanded over the last year? Kristine Lilly: Without those guys (Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Brandi Chastain) around, I m pretty much the old lady out there. I m the one who people turn to. I m the captain now. I ve taken the reins over from Julie and Joy. Hopefully I can lead this team to championships. Hopefully, the players feel comfortable with me there and I can help them get through tough times, pull the team together and win the games. So I think now it s more of a narrow focus on me rather than the broader focus on five of us. Because of the standard of excellence the team has reached over the past two decades, there are going to be obvious comparisons between this team and future teams. Lilly: One thing that has been similar is that any player who has come into this national team programme has the passion and commitment to be in this team. If you don t, you tend to get weeded out because obviously you don t have that commitment or drive. But these players come in and have it. They know what is expected. It s not a guarantee. You have to work at it. It s an honour. It s something that can be taken away from you. So every time you step onto the field you ve got to show it. And a lot of players are showing it right now. A couple of differences? Lilly: It s obviously the youth of our team. We have a large number of players aged 26 and under. There are probably five, six or seven of us who are 26 and over. So the difference is the age we have in our team. There s also a new coach. There s a whole new look to our team right now with a new coach, new players, a new era. It s exciting. How has the women s game changed, improved or evolved over the years? Lilly: The game itself has evolved. It s more tactical, players are better. Countries are investing more in their women s teams -- better coaches, more training. Hopefully, other countries are taking care of players financially. I think that s important. It s important for players to train at the highest level and not worry about other jobs they have to hold on to to get by. That has brought the game to a higher level. Now if you look at the top teams in the world, 10 can make a difference in a World Cup, can win a World Cup. Ten years ago, 15 years ago, it was probably the top five. Can the USA win next year s FIFA Women s World Cup in China PR? Lilly: Whenever I m asked about the US team, I believe that when we step onto the field and we play our best football, we re pretty hard to beat. That s not to say we can t be beaten. But it s a situation where you have to be on guard in every game to win a World Cup. You can t have a lull because that little lull can make all the difference. So, I believe in this team and I believe if we work hard, and follow the design, anything can happen. On 18 January 2006, Kristine Lilly achieved a feat that no other man or woman footballer on this planet has ever done: she played her 300 th international match. 34-year-old Lilly reached that magical milestone in the USA s 3-1 victory over Norway in the Four Nations Cup in China PR. BY MICHAEL LEWIS PHOTOS: INTERNATIONAL SPORTS IMAGES A special pennant for a special record. Titles, medals, records US midfielder Kristine Lilly has clocked up some impressive statistics during her 18-year international career: - She has been part of four championship teams the 1991 and 1999 Women s World Cup winners and the 1996 and 2005 Olympic gold medallists. She has never finished outside of the top three, taking second in the 1995 Women s World Cup and third in the 2003 tournament. She also has a silver medal from the 2000 Olympic Football Tournament. - She became the most capped women s international, passing Heidi Stoere of Norway, when she played her 152 nd game against Japan in Kobe on 21 May For the record, she has played 24,451 minutes at international level spread over three decades. She has also played in 85 per cent of USA s international matches (302 out of 355). - She has started 40 consecutive matches in world championship competitions, every match in US women s history in the World Cup and Olympic Football Tournaments. Her most recent appearance was USA s 2-1 gold-medal match triumph over Brazil in Athens on 26 August She has come off the bench only 11 times. The last time she did not start was against Costa Rica on 1 September She made her international debut in a 2-0 victory over China PR on 3 August 1987, only 12 days after her 16 th birthday. - She scored her first goal for the national team in a 1-1 tie in China PR on 13 August She became only the fifth woman player in history to score 100 career international goals, marking her century against New Zealand in Cincinnati (USA) on 10 October Lilly currently has 107 goals to her name, which tied her with Italy s Elisabetta Vignotto for second on the all-time list, only behind Mia Hamm (158). - She was the only first-team all-star for all three Women s United Soccer Association seasons. - She became the first woman to play in a men s professional football team in the USA, suiting up with the Washington Warthogs (Major Indoor Soccer League) in August She had a street named after her in her hometown of Wilton (Connecticut) Kristine Lilly Way after winning the 2004 Olympic gold medal. - She was named US Soccer s female athlete of the year in 2005, 12 years after earning the award for the first time. As at 10 February APRIL 2006 APRIL

2 INTERVIEW Kristine Lilly (no. 13) in action for the USA. The 34-year-old has had a successful career and she has every reason to smile after clocking up 300 international appearances. BRINGS THE GAME TO LIFE Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Brewers of Budweiser Beer, St. Louis MO What is your secret for a long career? Lilly: I wish I knew a secret. It probably has to do with a lot of different things. A lot of us have a lot of help at home and have a great support system from team-mates to family to friends that have encouraged us, and come to watch World Cup games. That has been a huge thing in my life. My family has always been there. We learned from early on that it takes dedication, passion and commitment to be in this team. I think we ve put that first above everything. I know I ve put that first. I made sure I was ready every time I stepped onto the fi eld, whether it was in training or in games. And you take care of your body, eat properly, drink water, all that good stuff that s good for you. And the last thing, I have to thank my grandma for giving me some good genes because she lived to be 92. Do you train or do anything differently as you ve got older? Lilly: Not a huge difference. When I was younger, I would train a lot more. We had training camps. I would run here and there and do some fitness. Now, I have more of a training regimen. So I know when I have to go into camp in six weeks. I will have a six-week training regimen, whether it is running or lifting. I go to it earlier than I used to when I was younger. It helps quite a bit. So does a massage after training or a game. What sort of sacrifices do you think you ve made for your career? Lilly: There are sacrifices, but there is something that is giving you so much back. It s just a part of our life. One of the hardest parts is travelling. It s being gone. We ll have periods of two weeks off, but we don t necessarily have all weekends off. You miss weekends. You miss some family events. I know players have missed graduations and proms. But I think overall what you are doing pays off in the end. There are special moments in our lives. When you joined the national team at the age of 16 what were your expectations? Lilly: I think just to be able to make it through practice (laughs). Hopefully, I wasn t going to be so nervous that I wouldn t be able to do anything. To be able to get by because I didn t really know what to expect. I didn t know anything about the team or anyone. I was so new. I just wanted to make it through. I never imagined in my life that I would make a career out of it to be doing it for this long. You never considered yourself a goalscorer, but you have 107 international goals and counting. That s more than one every three games. Lilly: I think obviously forwards are going to be goalscorers. I always played some games as a forward in the national team. Now, I m up front more than I ve ever been. In midfield, your job is to attack, defend, play make. So, the focus is on so many different parts. As a forward, your focus is on finishing or creating chances to finish. That s a little bit different for me this year. One of my biggest traits has been my fitness. I am fit. I can run all day. I can get back and then I can attack. I can defend and attack. That only made me more of an offensive player than a defensive one. How long would you still like to play? Lilly: Right now I m shooting for the 2007 World Cup. So I m going to train to get through qualifiers and make the World Cup team and see what happens after that. APRIL

3 AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS 2006 Pharaohs rule Africa Hosts Egypt swept to a record fifth title, beating Cote d Ivoire in a penalty shootout in the final of the African Cup of Nations (CAN), but 2006 FIFA World Cup participants Angola, Ghana, Togo and Tunisia all disappointed their fans. A true extravaganza on the banks of the River Nile was concluded when the popular Al Ahly midfielder, Mohamed Abou Trika, converted his kick in the final s penalty shootout to take the score to 4-2, thereby ensuring a miserable night for the Ivorian Elephants, who had spurned chances in regulation and extra time to wrap the game up well before the shootout. Heroes tend to have their noses bloodied at the most important moments, and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba would seem to be no exception, fluffing gilt-edged opportunities during the game and seeing his penalty saved by Essam El Hadary. In the end, Egypt became the first nation to win five CAN titles, having won on home soil in 1959, two years after triumphing in Sudan, and then repeating the trick in 1986 before travelling to Burkina Faso to claim a fourth title in In winning their fifth title, they went some way towards making amends to a country upset by failure to win a single vote in the 2010 World Cup hosting poll and by the tremendous expenditure associated with hosting Africa for the fourth time. DEJECTED ETO O At the 2006 CAN, a total of 73 goals in 32 matches should have been enough to make any fan raise his eyebrows, but in truth, the football was disappointing and many thought the action at Tunisia 2004 was better. There were stars, nonetheless. Samuel Eto o did not treat his absence from Barcelona as a holiday, hitting five goals to emerge as top scorer even though No holds barred as Senegal (in white) take on Nigeria. Didier Drogba s Cote d Ivoire were pipped at the final post by Egypt. PHOTOS: CHRIS RICCO/ADRIAN DE KOCK BY ADEMOLA OLAJIRE Cameroon exited the competition at the quarter-final stage. Tunisia s Francileudo dos Santos, born of Brazilian parents, notched four, and the performances of Cote d Ivoire s Arouna Kone, Guinea s Pascal Feindouno, Egypt s Ahmed Hassan, Senegal s Mamadou Niang and Nigeria s Nwankwo Kanu all merited positive mention. Egypt roasted bitter neighbours Libya 3-0 in the opener in Cairo, were held 0-0 by Morocco, but beat an understrength Cote d Ivoire team 3-1 before crushing DR Congo 4-1 to set up a mouth-watering semi with 2002 World Cup quarter-finalists Senegal. The first real talking point of the tournament, however, was the capitulation of some World Cup qualifiers, as Angola, Ghana and Togo all fell at the first hurdle. Egypt-based Flavio Amado scored three goals for Angola s Palancas Negras but his goals were not enough as the southern Africans missed out. They were beaten 3-1 by Cameroon, and a goalless draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo and a 3-2 defeat of Togo proved to be insufficient as the Congolese Simba pipped them on goal difference to reach the last eight. Fellow World Cup finalists Togo were never really in the tournament either, losing all three matches, scoring only two goals and conceding seven. World Cup debutants Cote d Ivoire fared much better, defeating Morocco and securing their place in the last eight by beating Libya, thereby affording coach Henri Michel the opportunity to field his reserves against Egypt. Their marathon quarter-final with Cameroon Kanga Akale (Cote d Ivoire, no. 21) challenges Egypt s Emad Motaeb in the final. PHOTOS: GAVIN BARKER/BACKPAGEPIX in the Cairo Military Academy Stadium proved to be the match of the tournament, but it ended on a sour note for another superstar when Eto o missed his second kick in the memorable penalty shootout that ended in favour of the Elephants. TROUBLES WITH MIDO It was not until they restricted Nigeria to a couple of half chances in their semifinal in Alexandria that the world truly started to notice the strength and savvy of the Elephants. They had been second best to Cameroon before the match went to penalties, but seeing off the Eagles in the last four certainly enhanced their profile. The final and the play-off for third place threw up two rematches between teams that had met in the first round, thereby confirming pre-tournament claims that groups A and D were the strongest. Nigeria beat Senegal 2-1 in Port Said and 1-0 in Cairo, while Egypt struggled to overcome Cote d Ivoire in the Cairo final despite an earlier 3-1 win. The Ivorians created more chances in the final, but in the end, the spectre of bad news would not leave the team camp. It all started with striker Aruna Dindane tragically losing a daughter and then sustaining a serious injury on his return from home leave in France that curtailed his tournament. Defenders Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure were agonising over Arsenal s miserable season in England, which actually got worse in their absence, and Didier Drogba s chance to be tournament s best player went up in smoke with a disappointing showing in the final. The whole tournament had also been placed under a dark cloud when an Egyptian ferry sank in the Red Sea 80km off the Egyptian coast in the early hours of 3 February, killing over 1,000 people. It was thought that the quarterfinal between Egypt and DR Congo the same day would be shifted, but it went ahead and the Pharaohs came out on top in a 4-1 win. But Egypt had even more trouble in the build-up to the final, when Englandbased Ahmed Mido Hossam was expelled from the squad and banned for six months by his country after challenging his substitution by coach Hassan Shehata. His replacement, Amr Zaki, scored the winner against Senegal in the close semi-final but the nation rallied and Tottenham s Mido was among those who received gold medals from President Hosni Mubarak on the final day. GOODBYE, JAY-JAY! Nigeria, the West African giants who had hoped to make up for World Cup failure by lifting the African crown, saw their sweet, smooth campaign undermined by poor selection and overconfidence. Coach Austin Eguavoen opted for a strange starting line-up against Cote d Ivoire in the semi-final in Alexandria and there was precious little fighting spirit on show as the game was played almost at walking pace, with the Elephants eventually triumphing 1-0. Nigeria had been the bookmakers favourites after winning group D and ejecting Cup holders Tunisia out of the tournament in the last eight. Based in the relatively sedate Port Said, the Eagles wanted to secure a wonderful send-off for their play-making marvel, Jay-Jay Okocha, who was playing in his final tournament after 13 years, three World Cups and five CAN competitions. Sadly, Okocha s personal wish to end on a high was marred by an injury sustained on the last day of a training camp in Portugal, and he did not feature in the tournament 36 APRIL 2006 APRIL

4 AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS adidas-salomon AG. adidas, the adidas logo and the 3-Stripes mark are registered trademarks of the adidas-salomon AG group. until the final 30 minutes of his team s semi-final against Cote d Ivoire. The tournament s group of death (group D) was laced with tepid, teasing matches that only tended to burst into life in the second period. The tension was reflected in the final table, which saw Nigeria take the maximum nine points, but Ghana, Zimbabwe and Senegal all finished with three points each, and they could not be separated on the head-tohead rule. Senegal proceeded as a result of having scored more goals. The biggest disappointments, however, were South Africa s Bafana Bafana, the 1996 champions, who lost all three matches and failed to score a single goal, and Morocco, the 2004 runners-up, who failed to win a single match and flew home after a defeat and two draws. South Africa s Sibusiso Zuma (right) in a race with Tunisia s Radhi Jaidi. PHOTOS: ADRIAN DE KOCK Egypt s heroes lift the trophy. All the results at a glance Group phase Group A Cairo Egypt v. Libya Cairo Morocco v. Cote d Ivoire Cairo Libya v. Cote d Ivoire Cairo Egypt v. Morocco Cairo Egypt v. Cote d Ivoire Cairo Libya v. Morocco Egypt Cote d Ivoire Morocco Libya Group B Cairo Cameroon v. Angola Cairo Togo v. DR Congo Cairo Angola v. DR Congo Cairo Cameroon v. Togo Cairo Angola v. Togo Cairo Cameroon v. DR Congo Cameroon DR Congo Angola Togo Group C Alexandria Tunisia v. Zambia Alexandria South Africa v. Guinea Alexandria Zambia v. Guinea Alexandria Tunisia v. South Africa Alexandria Tunisia v. Guinea Alexandria Zambia v. South Africa Guinea Tunisia Zambia South Africa Group D Port Said Nigeria v. Ghana Port Said Zimbabwe v. Senegal Port Said Ghana v. Senegal Port Said Nigeria v. Zimbabwe Port Said Nigeria v. Senegal Port Said Ghana v. Zimbabwe Nigeria Senegal Ghana Zimbabwe Quarter-finals Cairo Egypt v. DR Congo Alexandria Guinea v. Senegal Cairo Cameroon v. Cote d Ivoire 1-1 after extra time, on penalties Port Said Nigeria v. Tunisia 1-1 after extra time, 6-5 on penalties Semi-finals Cairo Egypt v. Senegal Alexandria Cote d Ivoire v. Nigeria 1-0 Play-off for third place Cairo Senegal v. Nigeria 0-1 Final Cairo Egypt v. Cote d Ivoire 0-0 after extra time, 4-2 on penalties adidas.com/football APRIL

5 USA Goalkeepers born in the USA BY DYLAN BUTLER Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard and Marcus Hahnemann are good goalkeepers from the USA currently playing for European clubs. Their success in Europe is no coincidence; it can be put down to talent and hard work. He could have gone to Real Madrid, he could have gone to Barcelona, said former US national team goalkeeper Tony Meola of Howard after he transferred from the New York/New Jersey MetroStars to Manchester United. Keller and Friedel could also go to any club in the world and be successful. But what makes the US keepers such a sought-after commodity? I think the physical and technical skills that are required to play in goal are easy for Americans to develop, says US national team coach Bruce Arena. It starts with how our players grow up, the coordination they develop. Where they lack is the tactical requirements in the position and that comes with playing a lot. US goalkeepers grew up playing several sports like American football, basketball, baseball and hockey. It s the athleticism that other guys don t necessarily get, insists Meola. There are actually some guys over in Europe, even in the English Premiership, who, if you put a basketball in their hand, wouldn t know what to do with it. KELLER IN UEFA CUP Meola is a big reason for the resurgence of football in the USA. He was the starting keeper in the 1990 World Cup, the United States first appearance in 40 years. Meola, who is now 37, revealed that after the 1994 World Cup played on home soil he had the chance to play in Europe, but the financial gains at home were too good to pass up and he helped kick start Major League Soccer (MLS) in He is now set to embark on his 11 th year and second season in his second stint with his hometown MetroStars. I would have been going to Europe just to lose money and I wasn t interested in that, explains Meola, who has 99 caps and 32 international clean sheets to his name. At the time everything was new in football and there were a lot of marketing dollars. I don t look back and kick myself. While Meola helped the rebirth of football in the USA, Keller was a pioneer overseas, paving the way for future American keepers to play in Europe. Keller, who grew up on an egg farm in Lacey, Washington, signed for Millwall in England in 1990, the first American to play in England on a US passport. After six years at Millwall, Keller then helped Leicester City return to the Premiership and two years later, he became the first American to play in Spain s top league when he moved to Rayo Vallecano. In 2001, he kept four clean sheets to help the Spanish club reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. The change has been massive for Americans, but there is still a long way to go, says Keller. We re breaking down a lot of stereotypes. The football people know, but you still get a lot of that from non-football people. He returned to England in 2001 on a free transfer to Tottenham Hotspur and joined Borussia Monchengladbach in At the end of the first half of this season, Keller, 36, was rated the third best keeper in the German Bundesliga. Kasey has been outstanding, said Monchengladbach coach Horst Koppel. I prefer to say defence is a team effort, but he alone has won us points. Keller, who has 92 caps, kept eight clean sheets in the 2006 FIFA World Cup preliminary competition and also received the Honda Award for the top US football player for a second time. FRIEDEL S 20 SAVES Friedel followed Keller to England, although he was initially denied a work permit in After signing for Turkish giants Galatasaray and Danish side Brondby, Friedel returned to the USA to play for Columbus Crew and was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in Friedel finally made his debut in England after signing for legendary Liverpool although he would see little playing time there. He then moved to Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer and helped the club win promotion to the Premiership in A year later, Friedel enjoyed his finest hour in what would be his final World Cup. He started all five games in Korea and Japan, helping the USA reach the quarter-finals by making 20 saves (fifth best in the tournament) and stopping two penalty kicks. In February 2005, Friedel, 35, announced his retirement from international football. I have discussed my situation with a number of other professional players whose opinion I respect and we believe that without the constant long-haul travel, I will be much better equipped to play in the Premier League, said Friedel. As a result, I have decided to retire from international football. HOWARD AND HAHNEMANN Howard became the third US goalkeeper in the Premiership when he made a highly publicised move to Manchester United in the summer of At one point, there were more American keepers in England s top league than home-grown stars. Brad Friedel in command of his Blackburn Rovers penalty area. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES. Left: US goalkeeping legend Tony Meola. Tim Howard in action for Manchester United. PHOTOS: IMAGO/KEYSTONE 40 APRIL 2006 APRIL

6 USA Passiona!" e Kasey Keller in full flight. PHOTOS: IMAGO Just 3 months to go until the 2006 FIFA World Cup TM. And by then Deutsche Telekom will turn millions of fans worldwide into the 12th man. With innovative telecommunication technology. As official partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup TM. Howard started his professional career with the MetroStars, where he served as an apprentice to Meola. He took over when Meola moved to the Kansas City Wizards in 1999 and the two remain close friends. After three stellar years with the MetroStars, Howard made his move to one of the world s biggest clubs and actually made his debut at the Giants Stadium in a preseason match against Juventus. According to MetroStars goalkeeping coach Des McAleenan, Manchester United soon saw what he knew about Howard s ability in his first training session in Seattle. I heard when he went in there on the first day of training he turned on such a show that Ruud van Nistelrooy was fuming, steam coming out of his ears trying to beat him, he said. And he could not beat him in training. Howard, 27, won the Community Shield, FA Cup and was named the top goalkeeper in the Premiership in But his playing time has dwindled since, splitting time with Roy Carroll last season and sitting behind Dutch great Edwin van der Sar this year. Howard will battle with Marcus Hahnemann for the number 2 spot behind Keller in this summer s FIFA World Cup in Germany. Hahnemann, 33, a big and bald keeper, was signed by Fulham for USD 90,000 after a successful stint with the Colorado Rapids in MLS but he played just three matches before being loaned to English clubs Rochdale and Reading. Hahnemann signed for Reading in 2002 and has been there ever since, signing a one-year extension with the club in January. English players are usually very circumspect but he s so open and gregarious, says Reading manager Steve Coppell. Sometimes he says things and you re not sure it s the right thing to say but it s because he is so open. He comes from a different environment than English football. Cult hero It is the 37 th minute of a scoreless game and Marcus Hahnemann is called into action. The goalkeeper comes off his line and bravely stops Richie Partridge 16 yards out. The chants from behind his goal begin: USA, USA, USA. That s nothing new to Hahnemann, but this is not a US national team match, it is a Tuesday night fixture in Reading, England. The fans chanting and waving American flags are not Hahnemann s friends from Seattle. They are as English as the postgame rain. Hahnemann is a bit of a cult hero around here, in part because of his unique post-match tradition. While exchanging kits is fairly common in international competition, Hahnemann removes his shirt and gives it to a fan after every match. I have to pay for that, by the way, smiles Hahnemann. I always tend to give to those who have American flags. They re English people and they have American flags out because they know how patriotic I am and how much it means to me. It is a tradition that started innocently enough after a disappointing FA Cup defeat. A fan screamed give me your shirt, explains Hahnemann. I said sure, I m not keeping it. So I threw it, and my gloves. I then got a letter that said I m not allowed to do that here. The feedback was unbelievable. American and proud of it Marcus Hahnemann. Hahnemann, who has signed a new contract that will keep him at Reading until the summer of 2007, might well be the next US keeper in the English Premiership. He also has a chance of being back-up to Kasey Keller in the upcoming World Cup finals in Germany. He made one or two early errors in the first two months he was here but since then he s been a rock, says Reading manager Steve Coppell. His personality is such that he s a terrific example to all the other players. With Reading, Hahnemann wants to go up into the Premiership at the end of the current season, and they have a good chance of doing so. That s everyone s dream, to play in the Premiership, admits the 33-year-old. It s what we strive for every day in training. That s your goal. It would be nice to get there. You want to see what you can do against the big boys.!" ==Com=!" ==Mobile=!" ==Online=!" ==Systems= The link between us Deutsche!" == Telekom APRIL

7 FIFA/AFC TSUNAMI SOLIDARITY FUND The ball is rolling again in Aceh Rebuilding the football infrastructure in the devastated Indonesian province of Aceh will be a long, painstaking task. PHOTOS: FIFA In the Indonesian province of Aceh, the effects of the devastating tsunami are still clear for all to see, even 12 months after the disaster. Nevertheless, FIFA can be happy with the work completed so far as part of its tsunami projects to rebuild the province s football infrastructure, and representatives of FIFA and the Indonesian football association (PSSI) recently travelled through the devastated coastal areas to see this for themselves. When the FIFA-PSSI delegation, which consists of David Borja (FIFA development manager for Asia and Oceania), Windsor John (FIFA Development Office Kuala Lumpur), Nugraha Besoes (PSSI general secretary) and Aceh-born Kaharuddin Syah (deputy PSSI general secretary), arrives in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, the heavens open. The sky is black, everything is wet, and the streets and fields are full of sludge and dirt. Tropical rainstorms are quite normal at this time of the year it is monsoon season after all. Despite these less than ideal circumstances, the FIFA/AFC Tsunami Solidarity Fund s reconstruction work is well underway. Before disaster struck, the heartbeat of football in the province of Aceh could be found at the Haji Dimurthala stadium in the Lampineung district of Banda Aceh, as it was here that Persiraja the only Aceh club in the top flight and former Indonesian league champions played their home matches. The stadium was flooded and badly damaged by the tsunami, but work to renovate the dressing rooms and the stands have already reached an advanced stage. Even the pitch, which six months earlier BY DAVID BORJA had been submerged beneath rubble and debris, now has 40cm ditches into which new drainage pipes will soon be laid. Further down the road from Lampineung is the Lambhuk club, and money collected by FIFA and the AFC will also be used to renovate their pitch, as well as those in the districts of Sigli, Samalanga and Julok. There is hustle and bustle everywhere. Drainage pipes are being replaced, and damaged walls and fences are being torn down and rebuilt. DEEP GRATITUDE People are truly grateful for even the slightest form of help, as could be seen on the faces of the people in Julok. After an arduous ten-hour car journey, the FIFA-PSSI delegation arrive in the remote resort, which until recently had been at the centre of a rebel stronghold and practically inaccessible for security reasons, late in the evening and are greeted by local dignitaries who have waited patiently for more than three hours. In incessant rain and pitchblack conditions, the party sets off on foot, guided by torches, down a muddy footpath towards a football pitch where the entire village has assembled. Illuminated by the dull glow of a light bulb, the village leader delivers a speech from behind one of the goals to express the people s gratitude for the help they have received. The governor of the province also gives a thank-you speech at a reception and gala dinner in honour of the FIFA-PSSI delegation, and he confirms that the decision to use donations to rebuild the football infrastructure was the correct course of action. The tsunami may have been a year ago, but here in Aceh, we still require a lot of things in order to survive, such as houses for example. Nevertheless, support from FIFA and the AFC is very important for us, as football will enable us to regain the joy of life. Although they were able to count on the support of local authorities, there was no cast-iron guarantee that work on football infrastructure projects would get underway. Unfortunately, although donations flooded into tsunami appeals in their billions, there were far too many reports of projects in the affected regions being delayed by bureaucracy and corruption. Controversial draft laws to redefine zonal planning, land ownership and residential rights also put the brakes on FIFA projects. In Aceh, for example, there was a proposal that nothing should be rebuilt within two kilometres of the sea, but the crucial breakthrough came when the Indonesian government decided that sports facilities must be reconstructed in all areas that played sport before the tsunami struck. REBIRTH OF A CLUB That decision also allowed FIFA to provide support for one of the most celebrated clubs in Aceh: Club Carlos, the local club in Banda Aceh s harbour district that was founded by a Portuguese man called Carlos during the Dutch colonial period. Before the tsunami hit, the club had 32 teams with a catchment area of around 20,000 people. Tragically, the entire district was wiped out by the tsunami and anyone unfortunate enough to be in the path of the waves had no chance of survival. Ten of Club Carlos 11 first-team players perished, as did the club president and most of the club s board. The local police commander, who is acting as the official representative of the now defunct club, leads the FIFA- PSSI delegation to where Club Carlos teams used to train and play their home matches. It is an eerie sight to behold and it is hard to believe that this bumpy piece of land, which is now covered by bushes and puddles, had actually been a football pitch just 12 months earlier. All that is left of the adjoining school are the foundations. 44 APRIL 2006 APRIL

8 magazine FIFA/AFC TSUNAMI SOLIDARITY FUND Right: Cristiano Ronaldo gives 7-year-old Martunis a Portugal shirt. Below: football is the sport of choice for Aceh youngsters. Thanks to FIFA, however, there are now plans to rebuild the entire area. Given the total level of destruction, Club Carlos will also receive other forms of support, such as shirts, balls and anything else that the club needs to start training and playing again. FIFA Marketing & TV AG Grafenauweg 2 P.O. Box Zug Switzerland SATISFACTION Apart from the reconstruction plans for Club Carlos and the work to rebuild a stadium and four pitches, FIFA have also held two refereeing and coaching courses for 30 people as part of the Football for Hope movement. On top of that, there have been seven football clinics, each for 100 children between the ages of 8 and 15, and 4,500 footballs, 1,000 T- shirts and a box of football equipment donated by The Football Association have also been distributed. Last but not least, a tournament with eight teams was financed and organised in April, and a similar event with three teams and six youth teams was held to mark the anniversary of the tsunami disaster. Given all of this, FIFA can certainly look back on its first 12 months of assistance and aid projects with a great deal of satisfaction. Plans have already been drawn up for spending donations in Four football pitches, together with stands and dressing rooms, are to be built, with two in Banda Aceh and another two in the town of Meulaboh, which was also wiped out by the waves. Ten thousand pairs of football boots will also be handed out to children. The Indonesian government and the independence-seeking Free Aceh Movement (GAM) of rebels signed a peace agreement in 2005 after years of guerrilla warfare, and as a result, FIFA and the PSSI will be able to work on plans for 2006 to show that football can indeed help to make the world a better place. There will also be a match for peace between a team of former GAM rebels and an Indonesian army XI. The ball certainly is starting to roll again in Aceh. In the wake of the tsunami, the PSSI agreed to let first and second division teams in Aceh take a one-year break from football and return to the same division after their absence. The season is due to get underway soon and the teams from Aceh are all set to rejoin the domestic league championship. WONDERFUL GESTURE Apart from the activities of FIFA and the PSSI, in July 2005 there was a further piece of news from Aceh that generated headlines for all the right reasons Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo came to town. The star decided to visit the area after hearing one of the countless remarkable stories that emerged in the aftermath of the disaster, namely the rescue of a 7-year-old boy called Martunis who had been swept out to sea by the waves before landing on a beach, where he was found by a British TV crew. Before he was saved by the reporters, Martunis had survived on his own for nearly three weeks, eating dry noodles and drinking water from puddles. A picture of Martunis wearing a Portugal football shirt was seen all around the world and the Portuguese FA soon invited Martunis to be a guest of honour at their World Cup qualifying match against Slovakia in Lisbon on 4 June As if that were not enough, they also bought Martunis and his family a new house and gave them 40,000 euros. It was certainly a wonderful gesture that will live long in the memories of people in Aceh. APRIL