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ISSUE 45/2015, 13 NOVEMBER 2015 ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

AFRICA TRIUMPHS

U-17 WORLD CUP CHILE

ISSA HAYATOU FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION

ACROSS THE GLOBE

KOREA REPUBLIC JEONBUK HYUNDAI MOTORS

CROWNED CHAMPIONS AGAIN

MEXICO COACH OSORIO’S LABOUR OF LOVE

T H I S W E E K I N T H E W O R L D O F F O O T B A L L

North and Central America 35 members www.concacaf.com

South America 10 members www.conmebol.com

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Africa triumphsNigeria’s U-17 team successfully defended their title at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, defeating African champions Mali 2-0 in the final.

Tom Dulat / FIFA via Getty Images

6 U-17 World Cup Chile 2015

Nigeria broke yet more FIFA U-17 World Cup records in South America by lifting the title for the fifth time, defeating Mali 2-0 in an all-African final. Annette Braun, Alan Schwein-gruber and Perikles Monioudis reflect on the many highlights of this successful tournament.

15 Korea Republic Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC wrapped up the championship with two matches remaining to successfully defend their title.

18 Juan Carlos Osorio “I identify with coaches who like to take the initiative in games and have an attacking mindset,” says the new Mexico coach in an interview.

28 “FIFA 11 for Health” Samuel Eto’o travelled to Sierra Leone and Ghana to see the progress being made by FIFA’s health campaign.

16 Slovenia Andraz Sporar’s goals have propelled NK Olimpija Ljubljana to the top of the table.

2 7 FIFA Puskas Award Who scored the most stunning goal? (Pictured: Nominee Carli Lloyd)

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T H I S W E E K I N T H E W O R L D O F F O O T B A L L

Europe 54 members www.uefa.com

Africa 54 members www.cafonline.com

Asia 46 members www.the-afc.com

Oceania 11 members www.oceaniafootball.com

37 Oleg Kuzmin One of Russia’s newest internationals speaks about the joy of a late-career call-up.

22 Germany How a teacher called Konrad Koch introduced a nation to football.

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U N C O V E R E D

For many players, the FIFA U-17 World Cup was a first major competition and first appearance on football’s global stage. First times are always special and can often be full of sur-

prises – and the tournament in Chile proved no exception.Fans flooded through the turnstiles: 15,000 spectators wit-

nessed the Golden Eaglets being crowned champions, while 21,000 watched the semi-final between Nigeria and Mexico. It was in this latter game that Diego Cortes provided one of the highlights of the competition, astounding onlookers with his goal to make it 2-2 in the 59th minute. Mexico’s number two re-ceived the ball on the right-hand touchline, skipped past his marker and dribbled past another four Nigerian players into the box before beating the goalkeeper.

The 17-year-old remained grounded afterwards: “I got the ball, started running and just looked for a gap. Suddenly I was in front of the goal and I scored. I don’t do that very often but it’s a great feeling.” Our coverage of many such stories written at the tour-nament begins on page 6. Å

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The FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 drew to a close with a thrilling final in which defending champions Nigeria beat Mali 2-0. Annette Braun, Alan Schweingruber and Perikles Monioudis report on the recordbreaking victors’ joy, the pride of the runners-up and the tournament’s most special moments.

AFRICA’S GOLDEN MOMENTS

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Delirious with joy Nigeria’s U-17 team celebrate their title.

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A boy is clutching something yellow in his hand. He looks at the small treasure with a big grin on his face and a glow in his eyes as if he would not give it away for anything in the world. The boy has just witnessed the enthralling final of the FIFA U-17 World

Cup™ in Vina del Mar, where Nigeria beat Mali 2-0 and successfully defended their 2013 title. He drew attention to himself after the final whistle by shouting and waving, and eventually succeeded in obtain-ing the object of his desire: Kelechi Nwakali’s captain’s armband. The young fan was as overjoyed as the Nigerian team. After their success-es in China in 1985, Japan in 1993, Korea in 2007 and the United Arab Emirates in 2013, this was the fifth time that Nigeria have won the tournament at this age level.

With their impressive record, the Golden Eaglets went into the tournament in Chile as favourites and throughout the competition kept their eyes on the prize. “We approached every game with the right work ethic and attitude,” said Nwakali after the final. After topping their group they produced convincing wins over Australia in the last sixteen and Brazil in the quarter-finals. Mexico offered a tougher challenge in the semi-final but Nigeria eventually came through 4-2, with a superb free-kick from Nwakali helping his team on their way to an all-African final.

U17 W O R L D C U P C H I L E 2 015

The tournament in African handsReigning under-17 world champions Nigeria met the reigning African champions Mali in a hard-fought clash at the Estadio Sausalito. A missed penalty disrupted Nigeria’s rhythm in the first half but they started the second half with intent, and two goals within three min-utes from Victor Osimhen (56) and Funsho Bamgboye (59) were enough to secure victory. “To play in a World Cup final and lift the trophy is just fantastic. And not only have we won the tournament, but also defended our title,” said Nwakali, who was in the provision-al squad in 2013 but did not make it to the tournament.

It was a combination of commitment, discipline and individual quality that made Nigeria virtually unstoppable in Chile. Leading the team was Emmanuel Amuneke, a coach who as a player was involved

“Not only have we won the tournament but also defended our t it le.”Nigeria’s U17 captain Kelechi Nwakali

RECORD BREAKERS

Mission accomplished Coach Emmanuel Amuneke is thrown into the air by his players.

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Predator Victor Osimhen netted ten goals in the tournament, including the opening goal in the final.

in Nigeria’s greatest successes on the pitch. He was part of the Super Eagles team that won the CAF African Cup of Nations in 1994 and took part in the FIFA World Cup in the USA in the same year. His performances earned him the ’African footballer of the year’ award and in 1996 he topped that with a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Team spirit and individual qualityAmuneke said after their victory in the final in Chile: “Football is in my blood as both a player and coach. I want to pass this on.” The tournament showed that he has certainly instilled passion and a win-ning mentality in his team. As well as Nwakali, who was named play-er of the tournament, Victor Osimhen stood out. With an impressive yield of ten goals he not only secured the golden boot award but also broke the record for the most goals scored by a player at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. His tenth goal came in the final against Mali, breaking the previous record of nine set by Souleymane Coulibaly (2011) and Sinama Pongolle (2001).

While Nwakali, Osimhen and their teammates danced with the trophy and the young fan gazed with joy at his captain’s armband, Amuneke was already looking ahead. “We will do everything we can to push them further and improve them – their journey is far from over,” the coach made clear, before joining in the celebrations on a special evening in Vina del Mar. Å

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At times of particular disappointment or sadness, other aggra-vating factors have a nasty habit of adding to your discomfort. That was certainly the case for Mali’s U-17 side earlier this week. Sunday night had been restless enough following their

painful defeat to Nigeria in the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015™, but to add insult to injury, the exhausted squad now faced a long wait to check in at the airport in Chile, where condi-tions were said to be chaotic.

The loss to the Nigerians hit Mali’s youngsters hard, particu-larly after playing such an exciting brand of football for the major-ity of the tournament in South America. An uneventful goalless draw against Belgium in their opening match had been followed by successive victories over Ecuador (2-1) and Honduras (3-0). “Some-thing huge happened when we beat Honduras,” said attacker Bou-bacar Traore. “It was at that point that we began saying out loud that we could go all the way to the final. We worked so hard to get there, but Nigeria brought us back to reality. We really wanted to win the cup.”

Following in Keita's footsteps?The inconsolable Traore would do well to remember his compatriot Seydou Keita, who went on to enjoy a glittering career after a dev-astating defeat in the 1997 edition of the tournament. Keita missed his crucial spot-kick in a penalty shoot-out against Germany at the quarter-final stage, but the highly talented midfielder did not allow this early blow to shape his future in the game. He became a house-

MALIAN FESTIVITIES SET TO CONTINUE

Runners-up The U-17 Africa Cup of Nations winners won five games on the trot in Chile, but lost the final 2-0 to Nigeria.

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NWAKALI, OSIMHEN AND DIARRA STRIKE GOLD

FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 - Official FIFA Awards

adidas Golden Ball AwardAward Player Team/No.adidas Golden Ball NWAKALI Kelechi (NGA, 10)adidas Silver Ball OSIMHEN Victor (NGA, 9)adidas Bronze Ball MALLE Aly (MLI,9)

The Golden Ball is awarded to the best player in the final competition on the basis of a ranking compiled by the FIFA Technical Study Group.

adidas Golden Boot AwardAward Player Team/No.adidas Golden Boot OSIMHEN Victor (NGA, 9)adidas Silver Boot EGGESTEIN Johannes (GER, 9)adidas Bronze Boot NWAKALI Kelechi (NGA, 10)

The Golden Boot is awarded to the player who scores the most goals in the final competition. If two or more players score the same number of goals, the number of assists (as determined by members of the FIFA Technical Study Group) will be decisive. If two or more players are still equal the player playing fewer minutes will be ranked first.

adidas Golden Glove AwardAward Player Team/No.adidas Golden Glove DIARRA Samuel (MLA, 1)

The Golden Glove is awarded to the best goalkeeper on the basis of a ranking compiled by the FIFA Technical Study Group.

FIFA Fair Play Trophy (maximum: 1000 pts.)Team Points (Avg.) Matches PlayedEcuador 891 5 matches

This award is awarded to the team with the best fair play record, according to a point system and criteria stipulated in the Regulations of the FIFA U17 World Cup Chile 2015. M

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Excellent Kelechi Nwakali (C) of Nigeria, winner of the adidas Golden Ball, poses with Victor Osimhen of Nigeria (R, adidas Silver Ball) and Aly Malle of Mali (L, adidas Bronze Ball) after the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup 2015 final match between Mali and Nigeria at Estadio Sausalito on November 8, 2015 in Vina del Mar, Chile.

hold name, appearing for Olympique Marseille, Sevilla and Barce-lona before joining current club AS Roma in 2014. Now 35, the Mali captain is the senior national team’s record appearance holder.

Images of the jubilant Nigerians may have dominated the press coverage – even in Mali – but this did not deter the fans from giving their young team a rapturous reception when they finally touched down on home soil. After all, a solitary defeat to Nigeria was no reason to call a halt to the seemingly never-ending festiv-ities in the West African nation. Earlier this year, the same team had won the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, while the Malian U-20s achieved a sensational third-place finish at the World Cup in New Zealand in June. “People know us back home because of our vic-tory at the African U-17 Championship,” added Traore. “Our in-credibly warm welcome home is massively encouraging for the future of Malian football.”

Fickert’s key contributionThe recent success of Mali’s youth sides is certainly not down to chance. The country has followed a systematic youth policy, based on the European model, for a number of years. One man who has played a particularly pivotal role in shaping the future of Malian football is Joachim Fickert. The German has been working as a coach and advisor in Africa and Asia for over 30 years, but the potential of youth football in Mali left a lasting impression on him. Having been forced out of the country by the recent conflict, he now plies his trade in Ethiopia.Whenever Malian coaches talk about the German’s work, they do so with a note of optimism. U-17 head coach Baye Ba, for one, has high hopes for the future: “Fickert intro-duced a new grassroots policy in his role as technical director. It’s all about continuity. The Germany team that won the World Cup in Brazil was the Mesut Ozil generation, which had spent many years together. That’s the model that inspired us: bringing a group of play-ers together for a period of time until they start maturing.” Å

Mali suppor ters gave their heroes a rapturous reception when they touched down at the airpor t .

Pre-match ritual The Malian players warm up for their match against Croatia with a dance routine, before going on to win 1-0 . To

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Around 100 Mexican fans sang beautifully behind one of the goals during El Tri’s Play-Off for Third Place against Belgium, serenading their compatriots on the pitch with a lengthy rendition of the well-known

Mexican song “Cielito lindo”. They were ultimately una-ble to inspire the side to victory, but the players applaud-ed the supporters’ efforts after the final whistle sealed their defeat.

The Belgian youngsters were keen to emulate the achievements of their heroes in the senior side, even if they finished third while the seniors took over top spot in the FIFA World Ranking this month. Nevertheless, the junior Red Devils managed to secure their best ever finish at an U-17 World Cup thanks to the creative attack-ing talents of Dante Vanzeir, who downed Mexico almost singlehandedly with two goals and an assist in a 3-2 triumph.

ALL ABOUT YOUTH

Focus on Fair PlayDefending champions and title favourites Nigeria won the trophy after defeating a Mali side that unexpectedly made it all the way to the final. The runners-up perfected two qualities at the tournament: taking an early lead, such as against Ecuador and Honduras, and playing at an aston-ishingly high tempo. European champions France did not have the anticipated impact in Chile, while Germany, FIFA World Cup™ winners at senior level, also went home emp-ty handed. Germany captain and defender Felix Passlack, who shouldered responsibility for the decisive goal Croatia scored in stoppage time of the sides’ Round of 16 tie, con-gratulated his Croatian counterpart Josip Brekalo after the final whistle: “I told him he’s a great player and I wished him luck for the rest of the tournament.” Croatia did not stay in South America much longer though, as they were eliminated in the next round by Mali.

The U-17 World Cup in Chile developed into a veritable football festival. Sunil Gulati, chairman of the tourna-ment’s Organising Committee, was very impressed with the average attendance of 9,000 spectators per game and gave his thoughts on budding stars of the future – one of the most interesting topics of conversation at a competition in this age category. “Who’s going to be the next James Rod-riguez or Kaka? We all have some predictions but we’ll keep those private for now,” said the Indian, whose home-land will host the 2017 edition of the competition.

Third-place play-off Belgium’s Dante Vanzeir (No7) celebrates scoring against Mexico.

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GREETINGS FROM THE U-17 WORLD CUP!A selection of the countless social media posts showing players and fans enjoying themselves in Chile.

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FIFA U-17 World Cup17 October – 8 November 2015, Chile

Round of 16 · 28 / 29 OctoberMatch 37 Brazil New Zealand 1:0Match 38 Mexico Chile 4:1Match 39 Nigeria Australia 6:0Match 40 Korea Republic Belgium 0:2Match 41 Croatia Germany 2:0Match 42 Mali Korea DPR 3:0Match 43 Russia Ecuador 1:4Match 44 France Costa Rica 0:0 (3:5 pen.)

Quarter-finals · 1 / 2 NovemberMatch 45 Brazil Nigeria 0:3Match 46 Croatia Mali 0:1Match 47 Ecuador Mexico 0:2Match 48 Belgium Costa Rica 1:0

Semi-finals · 5 NovemberMatch 49 Mali Belgium 3:1Match 50 Mexico Nigeria 2:4

Match for third place · 8 NovemberMatch 51 Belgium Mexico 3:2

Final · 8 NovemberMatch 52 Mali Nigeria 0:2

Knockout stage

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In total around 200 million people in 170 countries watched the tournament. “We want to leave a legacy of infra-structure, to make it inclusive and appealing to people who would not normally go to the stadium, to young people and whole families who can enjoy the game,” said Cristian Varela, chairman of the Local Organising Committee. “We are very happy that more than 450,000 people went to the stadiums. And we achieved our dream of taking all these games to the different regions of the country.”

“Sing and don’t cry”Hosts Chile were knocked out in the last 16 following a 4-1 defeat to Mexico, but Varela believes “the tournament’s spir-it maintained itself nevertheless.” The semi-final between Nigeria and Mexico was witnessed by 21,000 spectators, while a further 15,235 were in the stands for the title-decider be-tween Nigeria and Mali.

Colin Smith, FIFA Director of Competitions, expressed his delight with the figures. “The U-17 World Cup is a tournament, perhaps more than any other tournament, which brings together two cornerstones of what FIFA is all about, which is top class competitions and development.” Approximately 2,000 children across the seven host cities took part in grass-roots activities, while 80 Chilean coaches and 24 coaches from the rest of South America also attended training sessions. “This competition was a very good tournament for Fair Play,” added Smith. The fact that not a single card was shown in the fiercely contested semi-final between Nigeria and Mexico is testament to that. “It’s the result of the combination of our work with the referees and the Fair Play programmes that run throughout our competitions,” Smith concluded.

“Ay, ay, ay, ay, canta y no llores,” runs the chorus of “Cielito lindo” - “sing and don’t cry.” Indeed, the only reason for tears is that the tournament is already over. Å

Almost 200 million people in 170 coun-tries watched the tournament

Grassroots A coach gives children instructions in the Parque Deportivo de la Caja in Santiago.

Hosts in action A group stage game between Chile and Croatia in Santiago in mid-October.

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O N T H E I N S I D ETA L K I N G P O I N T S

in charge of the South Korea national team from 2011 to 2013, watched on as his side failed to win in October: losing 1-0 to Pohang Steelers and drawing 0-0 at FC Seoul. Finally, at the start of November, Jeonbuk edged past Jeju with the only goal of the game to become the first side since record champions Seongnam FC in 2002 to retain the title. After selective recruitment in the close

K o r e a R e p u b l i c : K - L e a g u e C l a s s i c

Choi Ka nghee ’s fa mous fou r

Roland Zorn is a Frankfurt-based football correspondent.

It is often said that defending a title is harder than winning it in the first place. Jeonbuk

Hyundai Motors FC proved that adage this season by suffering a mystifying temporary loss of form before retaining their domestic crown with a battling 1-0 win at Jeju United. Choi Kanghee’s side now boast an unassaila-ble nine-point cushion over second-placed Pohang Steelers with two matchdays of the K-League Classic remaining.

While it may have taken longer than expect-ed, ‘The Greens’, as they are known across Korea Republic, have yet again established what is, in their eyes at least, the natural order of things in Asia’s oldest professional league. Founded in 1993 and backed by motor giant Hyundai, Jeonbuk have developed into one of the K-League’s most powerful clubs.

Four titles in the last seven seasons (2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015) are testament not only to their current strength but also to the brilliance of 56-year-old coach Kanghee. The latest triumph means he is the first South Korean to have coached a side to four league titles, and his success does not end there. Kanghee also led the Jeonju outfit (located 230 kilometres south of Seoul) to the AFC Champions League title in 2006, when they became the first South Korean club to win the tournament, and to the third of the club’s three Korean FA Cup wins in 2005. So recognisable is Kanghee’s preferred style of play that it is known simply as ‘Dak-Gong’, which roughly translates as ‘attack’.

Jeonbuk netted more goals – 54 – than any other side during the regular K-League season, and duly finished top at the end of the regular season. In the championship group, however, in which the top six sides face off after 33 games for the final five matches (with the bottom six in the relegation group), the champions have been uncharacteristically toothless in front of goal.

Kanghee, who secured qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ during his spell

season, Jeonbuk’s collective strength once again proved too much for the competition. Lee Jae-sung, who found the net five times during the regular season, struck the winner in Jeju, a goal which will live long in Jeonbuk fans’ memories. With it, the young midfield-er ensured himself a permanent place in the club’s history books. Å

Outstanding Lee Jae-sung of newly-crowned champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC.

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Decisive days aheadAlan Schweingruber is a staff writer on The FIFA Weekly.

The next few days are crucial for Slovenian football. While other European national

teams travel around the continent for relaxed friendly matches this week, Slovenia are faced with one key question: what will summer 2016 hold for them? It will soon become clear whether next year’s UEFA EURO 2016 finals in France will take place with or without coach Srecko Katanec’s side. Qualification would mean a second European Championship appearance for this small nation of two mil-lion people to add to the two FIFA World Cups at which they featured in 2002 in 2010. The first leg of their play-off against Ukraine kicks off in Lviv on 14 November, with the return match taking place in Maribor three days later.

The setting for this decisive second leg is also the home of serial Slovenian champions NK Maribor. This prolific club have lifted the Nogometna-Liga trophy on the past five

occasions, winning a total of 13 league titles and reaching the group stage of the UEFA Champions League twice. Few teams have come close to challenging their dominance over recent years.

With 17 rounds of matches completed this season, a different team now sit at the top of the table: NK Olimpija Ljubljana. The club know what it is to hog the headlines, winning Slovenia’s first four league titles after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991. Despite cele-brating the kind of success they had not known since their sensational run to the Yugoslav Cup final in 1970 during those years, massive financial problems awaited the capital city side at the turn of the 21st century, ultimately leading to the conclusion all fans dread: the liquidation of the club and a fresh start in Slovenian football’s fifth tier.

Last June Milan Mandaric acquired NK Olimpija Ljubljana for €4 million – big news when you consider the Serbian-American multi-millionaire’s track record of ambitious and lavish investments in the sport stretching back over many years. The 77-year-old was known for his impatience while serving as chairman of major English clubs such as

Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday, hiring and firing coaches at a far higher-than-average rate.

Milan Mandaric’s attention has now turned to NK Olimpija Ljubljana, who made their return to the top flight in 2009. His offer this summer came at an opportune moment for fans who revolted against the club’s former owners at the start of this year.

With the four-time champions defeating Rudar Velenje 3-1 away from home last week-end, the current question facing Ljubljana is not how long coach Marijan Pusnik will keep his job under Mandaric but how much longer they can hold on to star striker Andraz Sporar. The 21-year-old’s brace in his team’s visit to north-east Slovenia were his 12th and 13th goals of the season – not a bad return from only 14 appearances. Å

Andraz Sporar scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season last time out.

How long can NK Olimpija Ljubljana hold on to their star striker?

Man of the match Ljubljana’s Andraz Sporar celebrates after scoring his first goal against Rudar Velenje.

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E g y p t : P r e m i e r L e a g u e

El Daklyeh spoilt for goalkeeping choice

Annette Braun is a staff writer on The FIFA Weekly.

Age is no obstacle for a goal-keeper. Indeed, it is often the case that the more experience

keepers accumulate, the better they become. Gianluigi Buffon, for example, is 37 and seem-ingly coming to the end of his career, yet he continues to produce top-quality performances on a regular basis for Juventus and the Italian national team, betraying not even the slightest hint of rustiness. The same is apparently true of Ahmed Fawzi, the no. 2 goalkeeper at Egyptian Premier League outfit El Daklyeh. Like Buffon – a year his junior – Fawzi is also proving that when called upon, he delivers.

A goalkeeper is always happiest when he keeps a clean sheet, and four rounds of games into the new Egyptian campaign, El Daklyeh’s first-choice keeper Mahmoud El Gharabawy –

Fawzi’s rival between the posts – is yet to be beaten following his side’s 2-0 win over El Ittihad. The season could hardly have started much better for El Daklyeh. Not only have they not conceded a single goal, the side have taken maximum points from their four games this term and now sit top of the standings.

The club from Cairo are setting the pace in the nation’s top flight thanks to an impenetrable defence and a dangerously effective attack, but also to strength in depth that allows them to compensate for losses in personnel. Against El Ittihad, El Gharabawy had to be withdrawn at half-time with the game in the balance. On came Fawzi to continue that remarkable defensive record with an assured performance. Coach Alaa Abdelaal could scarcely have imagined a better start to the season, and the fans of the club founded as recently as 2005 may even be even dreaming, albeit fancifully, of a maiden Premier League title. Becoming champions is an achieve-ment that Al Ahly are all too familiar with. Honoured as Africa’s ‘Club of the Century’ in 2000, they have been Egypt’s top dogs on a record 37 occasions, most recently in 2014, and their haul of eight CAF African Champions League wins outstrips every other club on the

continent. Theirs is no doubt an illustrious and glorious history, but such success breeds high standards, and at present, the current crop of players are struggling to meet them.

Al Ahly could only manage a runners-up spot in the league in 2014/15, a finish made even less satisfactory considering they were pipped to the title by bitter rivals Zamalek. This year, the objective is to set the record straight, and Jose Peseiro’s team have made a promising start, winning their first three games before a 1-0 defeat to Misr El-Makasa on 4 November left them third in the table. Once again, then, Al Ahly are behind Zamalek in the standings, who themselves trail league leaders El Daklyeh by a point, having managed three wins and a draw in their four matches.

There is much football still to be played, howev-er, and champions Zamalek will be optimistic that Basem Morsy rediscovers his goalscoring touch. The 23-year-old, who was the league’s top marksman last season, is yet to score this term, but he will be hopeful of ending his barren spell by the time his side play Al Ahly in a highly anticipated clash at the beginning of January. Å

Lying in wait Al Ahly (in red) and Zamalek (in blue) are hot on the heels of league leaders El Daklyeh.ZU

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NameJuan Carlos Osorio ArbelaezDate and place of birth6 August 1961, Santa Rosa de Cabal, ColombiaPositionMidfielderClubs played for1982-1984 Deportivo Pereira1984-1985 Internacional1986-1987 Once CaldasClubs coached2006-2007 Millonarios2007 Chicago Fire2007-2009 New York Red Bulls2010-2011 Once Caldas2011-2012 Puebla2012-2015 Atletico Nacional2015 Sao PauloSince 2015 Mexico national team

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T H E I N T E R V I E W

Your appointment caught a few people by surprise in Mexico, where you’re not particu-larly well known. What kind of coach would you describe yourself as?

Juan Carlos Osorio: In terms of my vision of the game, I identify myself with coaches who like to take the initiative in games, who have an attacking mindset and want to take the opposition on. I believe in controlling games by controlling possession, though I also know that attack and defence are inextricably linked. That’s why we always work on things like how to defend in attack, which involves pressing opposing players as soon as you lose possession. I like my defenders to pinpoint the players that might be about to receive the ball when possession is lost.

What tactics do you use to put that theory into practice on the pitch?

I like wide players. My teams generally play with three forwards: two out wide slightly and one down the middle. Then you’ve got three defenders and four midfielders either in a diamond or spread out across the pitch. One variation is to have four defenders and three midfielders, with two wide men up front and an outandout striker down the middle.

Who are your coaching role models?I’ve got quite a few. In my book there are

different types of coaches, First, you’ve got the strategists, the attackminded coaches like Pep Guardiola, and the defensive ones like Jose Mourinho. Of the old coaches I loved Alex Ferguson, who always won with an attacking game. To my mind he always played 424 and not the 442 people said he used. Then come the tacticians, the strategic innovators, a category that Guardiola can also come into, or Louis van Gaal, to name an

attackminded coach. As for defensive ones you’ve got Mourinho or Diego Simeone. What I most enjoy – or enjoyed before I took on this job – is actual coaching. I see training sessions as a series of real gameplay situations that you work on and repeat consciously so that players do them subconsciously, an area in which I think Marcelo Bielsa, Van Gaal and Jorge Sampaoli really excel. If I had to choose one? As a national team coach that would be unfair because there’s a lot of them. At club level, I’d go for Ferguson for his ability to rotate and select the best players for each game.

How are you handling the transition from club to national team coaching?

That was my biggest dilemma when the call came from Mexico. Was it worth making that change at the age of 54? It really appealed to me, though. It is a big challenge and an opportunity to take charge of a team with bags of talent and a similar style to the Colombia team, one I know well. It goes without saying that I know I’ll need to make an adjustment in coaching a national side. I won’t have my players with me every day and I’ll have to go and watch a lot of games and a lot of players and also anticipate the situations that might come up on the pitch. I know it won’t be easy but it does excite me.

What kind of person are you off the pitch?I dedicate a lot of my time to football,

sometimes as much as 80 percent. Aside from that, I like to be with my family. I’m pretty flexible as a parent. The only thing I expect from my children is that they study and do sport, and I give them the responsibility to lead their own lives. I do pretty much the same with my players! When all’s said and done, though, I know I’m the one who’ll be

held to account and that it’s down to me whether my children and my players achieve the success they aim for. If they do, then it’ll be down to them. If they don’t, then the problem is mine.

How can you ensure they’ll be responsible enough to be successful?

I like to have players who want to be winners. That’s something I learned from Alex Ferguson. They have to understand that the most important thing is football, the game in itself, and not fame, partying or money. I want players who are honoured to play for the national team. You can’t change mindsets at this level, so all you can do is try to get to know them, chat to them and identify the players who have that dream.

Your debut match is a big one, a 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ qualifier against El Salva-dor. What are your expectations of that game and the CONCACAF qualifiers in general?

It’s going to be tough, but then everyone knows that. Technology has ensured that the gap between national teams is closing all the time and it’s no coincidence that Mexico have struggled in the last few qualifiers. If we’re going to prevent that from happening again, we need to understand what type of game our opponents play and how, before deciding on the gameplan we’re going to adopt for each game. Once we’ve done that, we’ll try to select the right players and give ourselves the best possible chance of winning. Å

Juan Carlos Osorio was talking to Martin Langer

After months of searching, the Mexico national team finally has a new head coach: Juan Carlos Osorio. Here, the Colombian discusses his

coaching style and the type of player he likes to work with.

“I like players who want to be winners”

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P l a c e : P a n g k a l P i n a n g , I n d o n e s i a

Da t e : 1 2 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 4

T im e : 9 . 4 5 p . m .

Ph o t o g r a ph e r : S i m C h i Y i n

First Love


VII 21T H E F I FA W E E K LY

G E R M A N Y

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Braunschweig at the end of the 19th century Army recruits and footballers share the city’s military parade ground, where a football pitch was set up.


Football is steeped in tradition in Germany and the game has long enjoyed widespread popularity in the country. With four FIFA World Cup™ wins and three European Championships to their name, Germany are also one of the sport’s most successful nations. Indeed, it seems like football has been played in the country for centuries, but that could not be further from the truth.

Students of the game may be familiar with terms such as Episkyros, Harpastum and Popo, which are all early descriptions of perhaps the most important invention in human history: the ball - or the football to be more precise. Objects have been kicked around since time imme-morial, be it a stone or a bone, as may have been the case back in the Stone Age. Over 3,000 years ago the Chinese used animal skins stuffed with hair or feathers as a ball in a game called Tsu chu, a precursor of modern football.

The game’s roots do not go as far back as that in Germany and it was not until 29 September 1874 that the first match was played in the country – in the face of considerable resistance. The man responsible for importing it was Konrad Koch, a teacher who had lived in England for a time before returning to a secondary school in Braunschweig that year.

Handball allowedHe was the first man to introduce the game to German schools and also founded the first school team. Initially it was played as a version of rugby – a rugby ball was even used - and accordingly players were al-lowed to pick the ball up with their hands under certain circumstances. It was not until later that Germany’s football pioneer adopted the Eng-lish ‘Association Football’ rules that prevented players from using their hands. Whistles and penalties would also become common features further down the line.

A year after the inaugural football match on German soil, Koch produced the game’s first rules written in the German language. “The objective of each team is to kick the ball over the crossbar of the op-position’s goal”, he wrote in his guidelines, which also mentioned the four Fs of ‘frisch, fromm, frohlich, frei’ (fresh, pious, cheerful, free) laid down by the so-called ‘father of gymnastics’ Friedrich Ludwig Jahn. The inclusion of that motto clearly indicates that Koch viewed football as a branch of gymnastics rather than as an alternative in its own right.

Yet it was the German Gymnastics Association and the gymnastics teachers’ unions who expressed some of the strongest reservations about the game, labelling it an “English disease”. That hostility inspired Koch to translate specific football terminology into German himself in order to help the sport take root in the country. To do so he borrowed heavily from military vocabulary, and as such the German terms for defence, attack, striker and penalty, among others, are still used to this day.

G E R M A N Y

While football was played in China over 3,000 years

ago, it only took root in Germany relatively recently.

It was thanks to a teacher named Konrad Koch that

the game was introduced in schools in the 1870s, writes

Thanh Nguyen.

It was not until 1874 that the f irst match was played in Germany – in the

face of considerable resistance.


Hostilit y to the game inspired Koch to translate specif ic football terminology into German himself.

Five-man frontlineEven the formations teams were to use were set down in Koch’s rule-book. At that time sides employed a five-man frontline, a tactic unim-aginable today, and delighted in playing attacking football in a 2-3-5 line-up. Yet regardless of the rules, the game’s pioneers were convinced that football had a power to unite people, bringing rich, poor, schooled and ill-educated together into a team that could only succeed as a col-lective.

Nevertheless, Koch initially had to fight against the people he wanted to help through football, as school pupils and teachers were banned from playing it for a time. However, his efforts gradually paid

The decision makers The board of the Central Committee for Patronage of Youth and Popular Games in Germany. Konrad Koch can be seen on the back row on the right.

FROM KOCH TO KICKERStarting out is always difficult. While foot-ball experienced its fair share of setbacks as it began to emerge, two pioneers called Koch and Bensemann ultimately put the sport on the right track.

Konrad Koch (1846-1911) The teacher believed in the educational value of modern games.

Advertisement Sporting equipment manufacturers Dolffs & Helle sold their first footballs in the 1870s.

Scorn and derision Gymnasts dismissed football as Fusslümmelei or “lumping a ball around”.

G E R M A N Y


off and once the first German football club for youngsters was found-ed, clubs were soon established in Hannover and Bremen and the game’s popularity quickly spread. Paradoxically, Koch disapproved of the colourful jerseys worn in England, as well as matches against foreign teams, training, large crowds of spectators and above all, professionalism.

‘Kicker’ magazine launchedWalter Bensemann picked up the baton later after recognising the game’s commercial potential. In 1900 he was one of the original found-ers of the German Football Association and shortly afterwards launched the football magazine Kicker, which remains a respected publication today. What happened next is universally known. Football developed into the world’s most popular sport and Germany subsequently pro-duced countless top-class players. At the very latest it was the 1954 World Cup triumph, the Miracle of Berne, that put the black, red and gold of Germany firmly on the global footballing map.

Over 140 years have now passed since the country staged its first match. Nobody knows what the next 140 may hold, but it seems certain that football will continue to play a huge role in Germany’s future. Å

G E R M A N Y

Walther Bensemann (1873-1934) The German recognised the sport’s commercial potential and launched publications including Kicker.

Specialist periodical The first issue of Kicker was published on 14 July 1920.

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Football builds bridges. It has a unique power to inspire friendship, respect and equality. FIFA’s Say No To Racism campaign is part of our commitment to tackle all forms of discrimination in football. Everyone should have the right to play and enjoy football without fear of discrimination. Say no to racism. For more information visit FIFA.com

Football breaks down barriers

P R E S I D E N T I A L N O T E

Best wishes, Issa Hayatou

Users of FIFA.com and francefootball.fr will be able to choose from the ten goals between 6 and 30 November, when the three goals with the most votes will be disclosed. Immediately after the an-

nouncement on 30 November, FIFA.com and francefootball.fr users will be able to vote again for their favorite from the three remaining goals. The winner will be revealed on the day of the FIFA Ballon d’Or on 11 January 2016. Voting will close during the show.

The ten goals are (in alphabetical order of the scorer’s names):

Å David Ball, 29.03.2015, Fleetwood Town - Preston North End, League 1 (England)

Å Gonzalo Castro, 12.04.2015, Real Sociedad - La Coruña, Primera Division (Spain)

Å Alessandro Florenzi, 16.09.2015, AS Roma - FC Barcelona, UEFA Champions League

Å Wendell Lira, 11.03.2015, Atletico-GO - Goianesia, Campeonato Goiano (Brazil)

Å Carli Lloyd, 05.07.2015, USA - Japan, FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™

Å Lionel Messi, 30.05.2015, Athletic Bilbao - FC Barcelona, Copa del Rey (Spain)

Å Philippe Mexes, 25.07.2015, AC Milan - Inter Milan, Friendly Match

Å Marcel Ndjeng, 13.07.2015, SC Paderborn - Bolton Wanderers, Friendly Match

Å Esteban Ramirez, 02.11.2014, Herediano - Deportivo Saprissa, Primera Division (Costa Rica)

Å Carlos Tevez, 09.11.2014, Juventus - Parma Calcio, Serie A (Italy)

The FIFA Puskás Award, created in honor and in memory of Ferenc Puskás, the captain and star of the Hungarian national team during the 1950s, will be presented for the seventh year in a row at the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015, which will be held at the Kongresshaus in Zurich. Å

tfw

F I F A P U S K Á S AWA R D

Ten best goals

Videos of the ten goals, as well as the list of scorers and the voting tool, can be found here: http://www.fifa.com/ballon-dor/puskas-award

The equality movement has made inspiring progress – from the fight against racism to the empowerment of women, and great-er rights for people of all sexual orientations and identities.

Thanks to the efforts of brave campaigners, we live in a fairer world. But we are still a long way from equality in society, and football.

It is heartbreaking and infuriating when we hear of any discrimination in football. Those who commit such acts do not belong in our game. We all have a duty to stand up against them. Those who oversee football must do more to cut the levels of discrimination that still exist, on and off the pitch.

For FIFA, this means putting pressure on the confederations, our member associations and clubs to enforce our regulations and to apply punishments that will deter bad behaviour.

In line with the resolution agreed at the 2013 FIFA Congress, it is time for our 209 members to deliver individual action plans to tackle discrimination. Each association has until March 31 to submit a structured, ambitious plan.

In October, we launched the FIFA Good Practice Guide on Diversity and Anti-Discrimination to help our members improve their efforts in this crucial area and to deliver their plans.

The guide builds on the existing excellent work of our Sustain-ability team and the FIFA Task Force Against Racism and Discrim-ination under new chairman Constant Omari, and it follows on from the launch in May of the FIFA Anti-Discrimination Monitor-ing System. This system will improve the documentation of discrimination at matches to make it easier to punish offenders.

These are concrete steps that will make a real difference, em-bedding respect in the DNA of our institutions.

There is still much for us to achieve, but we remain committed to positive change. We look forward to receiving 209 credible action plans from our members. This will show there is a strong global consensus in football for tough action against all forms of discrimination.

No place for discrimination

FIFA


vulnerable communities, especially children affected by the Ebola epidemic. As well as visiting the Grafton orphanage in Freetown, which takes care of very young children who have lost their entire families to the Ebola vi-rus, Eto’o also went in to local schools in Sier-ra Leone and Ghana to communicate and pro-mote the “FIFA 11 for Health” messages.

The four-time African footballer of the year was one of the first players to support the “FIFA 11 for Health” programme , which harnesses the power of football and scientific research to in-spire girls and boys to lead healthy lifestyles. The programme seeks to improve children’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviour around vi-tal health issues such as HIV, TB, malaria, dia-betes, obesity and hypertension. It has been a success in more than 20 countries around the world since its introduction ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

After visiting several health projects, Sam-uel Eto’o said: “I’m excited to be home in Africa and proud to see what my brothers in Sierra

Leone have achieved in successfully fighting against the Ebola virus. Health is the most im-portant thing in life: with health and a strong dream you can achieve anything. Football has an important role to play in teaching kids to live a healthy lifestyle.”

“Football has the power to make people listen”

The delegation’s trip to Sierra Leone ended with a visit to Her Excellency Ms Sia Koroma, First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone. “I would like to thank FIFA and football for their valuable contribution to the fight against Ebo-la. Football has the power to make people listen and be aware of important health messages. I’m also proud of Samuel Eto’o, not only for what he has achieved as an African footballer, but also of what he is willing to give back to society and the people of Sierra Leone with his visit,” said the First Lady.

Isha Johansen, President of the Sierra Leo-ne Football Association and a key figure in the

As the Ebola epidemic in West Africa reached its peak in November 2014, FIFA launched the “11 against Ebola” cam-paign to provide emergency aid. A year later, world football’s governing body is now introducing its longer-term health

promotion campaign, “FIFA 11 for Health”, in Sierra Leone. A delegation led by FIFA Chief Medical Officer Prof. Jiri Dvorak and supported by Cameroonian superstar Samuel Eto’o has just completed a visit to Sierra Leone and Ghana to experience first-hand the progress of FIFA’s health campaigns. The timing of this visit could not have been more symbolic, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) official-ly declaring Sierra Leone free of Ebola just three days earlier on 6 November 2015.

Eto’o’s leading roleKnown for his social engagement and strong commitment to the African continent, Samu-el Eto’o took the opportunity during his visit to Sierra Leone and Ghana to interact with

F I F A 11 F O R H E A LT H

Role model Samuel Eto’o proves extremely popular with the children and staff at the Sierra Leone Football Association’s youth academy.

Lessons for lifeFIFA is supporting the wellbeing of people in West Africa with its “FIFA 11 for Health” campaign. Samuel Eto’o joined a delegation on

a visit to Sierra Leone and Ghana.

FIFA

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F I F A 11 F O R H E A LT H

implementation of the project, said: “I am proud to look back upon all that football and the ’11 against Ebola’ campaign has achieved in the fight against this deadly virus.” FIFA Chief Medical Officer Prof. Jiri Dvorak added: “It has been an emotional experience witnessing the positive impact that FIFA’s ’11 against Ebola’ campaign has had on the local communities here in Sierra Leone. When football talks, peo-ple tend to listen. It is only thanks to the close partnership between the world’s best football-ers, the WHO, the World Bank, the Sierra Leo-ne Football Association and the Sierra Leone government that FIFA has been able to contrib-ute to the fight against the virus. A healthy society is fundamental for the wellbeing of a country and we will continue with our objec-tives.”

20,000 students reaping the benefits in Ghana

The “11 against Ebola” campaign was put to-gether last year by FIFA with the support of the World Bank and WHO, using the voices of world-famous players such as Cristiano Ronal-do, Didier Drogba and Neymar to inform the local population about important measures that could be taken in order to avoid spreading the Ebola virus.

Anders Nordstrom, head of the WHO dele-gation in Sierra Leone, also praised the initia-tive: “It was an extreme situation trying to find ways to fight against the Ebola epidemic. FIFA’s campaign provided a very useful tool to sup-port the challenge of battling the virus, as the messages were simple, strong, and easy to apply and distribute in the country.”

After the visit to Sierra Leone focusing on the Ebola response, the delegation then trav-elled to Ghana where the longer-term “FIFA 11 for Health” campaign has been running suc-cessfully for three years. Prince Pambo, FIFA’s national project leader in Ghana who is ready to launch the fourth stage of the programme, explained: “I’m excited to welcome FIFA and Samuel to Ghana to witness the implementa-tion of the programme. Three hundred schools across Ghana with 600 teachers and about 20,000 students have gone through the train-ing programme.” Å

Jasmin Frei, Alois Hug

In focus The four-time African footballer of the year visits a school in Freetown.

In training The superstar puts young footballers through their paces on the pitch.

In discussions Samuel Eto’o, Sia Koroma, Isha Johansen and Prof. Jirí Dvorak (from left to right).

“When football talks, people tend to listen.” FIFA Chief Medical Officer Jirí Dvorak

FIFA

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Everywhere You Want To Be

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With 3 world titles, 3 goals in the fi nal of the FIFA Women’s World CupTM and a ticket to Brazil, she’s just getting started. Visa is proud to support Carli Lloyd and her dreams.

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The week ly column by our s t a f f wr iters

F R E E K I C K S P O T L I G H T O N

GENERAL INFORMATION

Country:

JamaicaFIFA Trigramme:

JAMConfederation:

CONCACAFContinent:

North and Central AmericaCapital:

Kingston

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Surface area:

10,991 km²Highest point:

Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 mNeighbouring seas and oceans:

Caribbean Sea

MEN’S FOOTBALLFIFA Ranking:

61stWorld Cup:

1 appearance 1998Best performance:

Group stage

WOMEN’S FOOTBALLFIFA Ranking:

67thWorld Cup:

No appearances

LATEST RESULTSMen’s:

Korea Republic - Jamaica 3:0 13 October 2015

Women’s:

Dominica - Jamaica 0:13 25 August 2015

FIFA INVESTMENTSSince 2003:

$ 4,890,000

As Sergio Ramos recently discovered, beauty comes at a cost. The Real Madrid captain scored a sensational goal against Sevilla but

ended up paying for it dearly. In the 22nd min-ute of the encounter he met a corner from Isco, burying it into the bottom right corner with an incredible scissor kick. However, the Spain in-ternational fell so awkwardly on his shoulder that he was unable to celebrate, instead re-maining prone on the grass, his face contorted with pain. The 29-year-old tried to continue playing but only lasted another ten minutes before being substituted, and is now expected to miss Spain’s upcoming friendlies. To make matters worse, Ramos’ goal was not even enough for victory, with Madrid losing for the first time this season in a 3-2 reverse. The result means that arch-rivals Barcelona are now top of the table going into the ‘Clasico’ on 21 No-vember after the international break.

Barcelona made no mistake against Vil-larreal, easing to a 3-0 victory in a match in which another sublime goal was one of the main talking points. In the wake of Lionel Messi’s injury-enforced absence at the end of September, there had initially been some doubt as to whether the Catalans would be able to perform. Yet those reservations were soon swept away thanks to the brilliant part-nership between Neymar and Luis Suarez. In eight games without their Argentinian team-mate, the duo have an impressive combined total of 18 goals and nine assists. They were

once again decisive against Villarreal and Barcelona’s third goal in particular was one to savour. Bursting forward on the counter, Suarez delivered a left-footed cross to Ney-mar. The Brazilian controlled the ball, deli-cately flicked it over his marker’s head before spinning around and smashing an unstoppa-ble shot from 12 yards past Villarreal goal-keeper Alphonse Areola.

Their efforts have whetted the appetite for more, and on 11 January 2016 the Puskas Award will be presented at the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala. Vote for your favourite goal at www.fifa.com/ballon-dor. Å

Sarah Steiner

Stunning goals

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Germany’s 1974 FIFA World Cup winning goalkeeper Sepp Maier takes a quick nap.

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T H E A R T O F F O O T B A L L Q U O T E S O F T H E W E E K

“I’ve written to Father Christmas to ask for a striker. But what I really want over the transfer window is for Michy

to score lots of goals.”Marseille coach Michel on 22-year-old

Belgian Michy Batshuayi

“There’s a fearless spirit that is ingrained in American women’s soccer

that we all owe to Abby Wambach.”USA midfielder Megan Rapinoe

“Liverpool are a good team and showed that against Chelsea – so, we are still better than Chelsea.”Rubin Kazan head coach Valeriy Chaly

“He’s a good goalkeeper, there’s no doubt about that. But he’s an uncon

trollable lunatic – he’s completely mad. And for this reason he’s a risk.”

Former Juventus goalkeeper Stefano Tacconi on Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny

“Sport is movement. You can be No 1 in the world in March and No 250 in May. For me, life is movement and

can be questioned.”Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

“I can only advise the fans to criticise the manager and not the players. It ’s very dif ficult to play for Manchester

United with all that pressure.”Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal

“We have worked very hard for this success and we hope to continue. The

players will go home now but their journey is not over yet. I have football in my blood, as a player and as a coach. This is

what I want to pass to my players.”Emmanuel Amuneke, coach of Nigeria’s U-17

What follows is an authenticated histor-ical account of a fundamental cultural misunderstanding. While being given

a tour of Kyoto on a state visit to Japan, the president of a major Western nation chanced upon an extraordinary scene in the courtyard of the city’s palace. A group of men were playing a ball game while clad in flared harem trousers and swathed in elaborate capes that seemed far too cum-bersome to allow for any kind of sporting activity. As if that were not enough, the players also wore peculiarly tall hats se-cured to their heads by a string around the chin. “That’s strange,” the visiting digni-tary may well have wondered, “but why not?” Suitably inspired by the tableau un-folding in front of him, the visiting digni-tary joined in with the game for a while. Once he had had enough, he decided that everything had gone to plan and called to his entourage: “We won!” As has already been hinted, this turned out to be a misin-terpretation of the situation.

The aim of the game in Kemari, as this sport is called, is not to win but to appease the gods. Played on a square pitch marked out by bamboo sticks at its four corners, this football variant has remained practi-cally unchanged ever since it was estab-lished in Japan some 1,400 years ago. A Shinto priest brings the ball out of the temple and tethers it to a maple branch

before praying for a fruitful harvest. The ball itself represents the sun that must never set, something for which the sun goddess Amaterasu is responsible. As a result, the key difference between this and the beautiful game as we know it is that those playing Kemari never find them-selves waiting for the final whistle to sound.

On the contrary, the aim here is to keep the match going indefinitely to reflect the harmony between man and the universe. As the ball represents the sun that must never set, it must never touch the floor, with players using their feet to keep it in the air for as long as possible. While most Western footballers are unlikely to have heard of Kemari, they will at least recog-nise this game as an enjoyable training exercise. Perhaps, then, this ancient Japa-nese sport could serve as a lesson to foot-ballers all over the world consumed with nothing other than defeating their oppo-nents once they get out on the pitch. It would teach them that winning is not everything. After all, if there is anything to be won from a game of Kemari, it is the love of a goddess. Å

Great loveRonald Duker

Get

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FIFA PARTNER

In Turning Point , personali t ies re f lec t on a decisive moment in their l ives .

T U R N I N G P O I N T

NameOleg Aleksandrovich KuzminDate and place of birth9 May 1981, Moscow, RussiaPositionDefenderClubs1997–2000 Spartak Moscow2001–2004 Uralan Elista2003 Chernomorets (loan)2004–2008 FC Moscow2009–2010 Lokomotiv MoscowSince 2010 Rubin KazanRussia national team3 caps, 1 goal

I had already come to terms with never having the opportunity to play for my na-tional team, so when I received my first ever call-up and made my international debut against Sweden on 5 September 2015 at the age of 34, it was all the sweet-

er for it.My father and grandfather are both die-

hard Spartak Moscow fans. They passed on their passion to me at an early age, and after playing in the club’s youth academy I even-tually made the step up to the first team. However, I moved clubs when I was 20 in or-der to keep developing.

I later rejected an offer to join Tatarstan side Rubin Kazan, which was a mistake that luckily I was able to rectify a few years later. When they approached me again I didn’t hes-itate to say yes, in part because they played in the Champions League back then. That transfer was a decisive step in my career, which started all over again at the age of 29. I enjoyed great success and was even made captain, a fact I believe was crucial in me be-ing included in the national set-up for the first time, even though I’ve known national team coach Leonid Slutsky for several years. We worked together at FC Uralan and later at FC Moscow and have always kept in touch and sent each other text messages.

I’m very happy and proud to play for Rus-sia but am also aware of the huge responsi-bility that brings. Although I’m one of the older and more experienced players I don’t

necessarily see myself as one of the team’s leaders – I’m not conscious of that being the case at any rate. When I’m on the pitch the only thing I think about is helping my team. Fortunately I was able to do that by scoring an important goal against Montenegro in EURO 2016 qualifying. Å

Oleg Kuzmin was talking to

Emanuele Giulianelli

Oleg Kuzmin is enjoying an Indian summer in his career, having been called up to the Russian national team for the first time at the age of 34.

“ My transfer to Rubin was decisive”

Cor

bis


1 Belgium 2 1440

2 Germany 0 1388

3 Argentina -2 1383

4 Portugal 0 1364

5 Chile 4 1288

6 Spain 0 1287

7 Colombia -2 1233

8 Brazil -1 1208

9 England 1 1179

10 Austria 1 1130

11 Switzerland 1 1073

12 Uruguay 8 1051

13 Italy 4 1040

14 Romania -1 1039

15 Wales -7 1032

16 Netherlands -2 976

17 Czech Republic -2 974

18 Turkey 19 941

19 Croatia -3 924

20 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 923

21 Ecuador 10 921

22 Côte d’Ivoire -1 890

23 Russia 3 885

24 Mexico 3 881

24 France -2 881

26 Algeria -7 872

27 Slovakia -9 857

28 Ukraine -4 806

29 Northern Ireland 6 797

30 Ghana -5 793

31 Iceland -8 792

32 Cape Verde Islands 9 762

33 Hungary 0 759

33 USA -4 759

35 Denmark -7 743

36 Albania -4 723

37 Greece 7 718

38 Poland 5 712

39 Senegal -1 678

40 Costa Rica 2 671

41 Tunisia -5 668

42 Republic of Ireland 12 659

43 Iran -4 651

44 Scotland -4 649

45 Sweden 0 647

46 Norway -12 637

47 Paraguay 14 610

48 Korea Republic 5 606

49 Serbia 14 605

50 Japan 5 603

51 Cameroon -3 597

52 Congo -3 593

53 Guinea 2 589

54 Trinidad and Tobago 5 588

55 Congo DR 5 587

56 Finland 8 586

57 Egypt -6 583

57 Peru -7 583

59 Nigeria -7 582

60 Australia -2 573

61 Jamaica -4 559

61 Israel -14 559

63 Mali -1 552

64 Slovenia -18 547

65 Panama 0 515

66 Bulgaria 12 497

67 United Arab Emirates 3 495

68 Uganda 7 491

69 Equatorial Guinea -2 487

70 Belarus 28 479

71 Uzbekistan 3 477

71 Zambia 0 477

73 Haiti 4 470

73 Gabon -8 470

75 South Africa -2 461

76 Cyprus 38 444

77 Bolivia -10 442

78 Montenegro -6 426

79 Morocco 1 422

80 Saudi Arabia 8 417

80 Antigua and Barbuda 3 417

82 Jordan 17 411

83 Venezuela -14 408

84 China PR -3 403

85 Qatar 7 397

86 Liberia 9 394

87 Iraq -2 392

88 Togo -9 386

89 Faroe Islands -4 385

90 Estonia -3 370

91 Guatemala -9 367

92 Oman 10 365

93 Burkina Faso -17 363

94 El Salvador 0 361

95 Honduras -6 359

96 Rwanda -3 356

97 Malawi 4 351

98 Angola -1 344

99 Latvia 4 342

100 Nicaragua -5 341

101 St Kitts and Nevis 11 340

102 Canada 2 335

103 Benin -3 333

104 Mauritania -15 328

105 Niger 15 327

105 Botswana 6 327

107 Burundi 6 321

108 Cuba 9 312

109 Zimbabwe 0 305

110 Central African Republic 16 302

111 Georgia -1 301

112 Aruba 3 299

113 Libya -8 297

114 Ethiopia -6 294

115 Bahrain 8 293

115 Azerbaijan -10 293

117 Belize 1 292

118 Madagascar 9 290

118 Namibia 7 290

120 Korea DPR 9 288

121 Sierra Leone 0 281

121 Turkmenistan 34 281

123 Lithuania -7 279

124 Kyrgyzstan 22 277

125 Kenya 6 274

125 Mozambique -18 274

127 Armenia -36 271

128 Sudan -44 267

129 St Vincent and the Grenadines -7 262

130 Swaziland 5 258

131 Kazakhstan 11 256

132 Syria -9 254

133 Kuwait -5 252

134 South Sudan 10 246

135 Tanzania 1 245

136 Chad 39 240

137 Philippines -3 236

138 Palestine -8 233

139 FYR Macedonia -7 230

140 Lebanon 0 228

141 Guinea-Bissau 6 216

142 Barbados 12 206

143 St Lucia -4 204

144 Thailand 1 202

145 Hong Kong 8 199

146 Luxembourg -4 197

147 Vietnam 2 193

147 Lesotho -7 193

149 Dominican Republic -30 187

150 Curaçao 2 182

151 Bermuda -13 181

152 Guyana -15 179

152 Singapore 5 179

154 Moldova -22 177

155 Guam -5 170

156 Afghanistan -6 168

157 São Tomé e Príncipe 36 165

158 Malta -1 164

159 New Zealand -11 163

160 Tajikistan 0 159

161 Myanmar 2 157

162 Timor-Leste 8 155

M E N ’ S W O R L D R A N K I N G

Rank Team +/- Points

163 Liechtenstein -7 154

164 Samoa -2 152

165 American Samoa -1 145

166 Maldives 10 141

167 Grenada -8 137

168 Gambia -7 135

169 Cook Islands -3 132

170 Puerto Rico -5 129

171 Malaysia 0 127

172 India -5 122

173 Mauritius -5 117

174 Indonesia -3 108

175 Dominica -1 104

176 Laos 3 90

177 Comoros 16 89

178 US Virgin Islands 0 88

179 Yemen 1 81

180 Bangladesh 2 80

180 New Caledonia -11 80

180 Bhutan -7 80

183 Cambodia 3 78

184 Suriname -3 77

185 Pakistan -8 76

186 Brunei Darussalam 1 74

187 Chinese Taipei -4 71

188 Montserrat -4 67

189 Seychelles -5 60

190 Fiji -1 59

191 Tahiti -3 56

192 Nepal -2 51

193 Cayman Islands -2 49

194 Sri Lanka -3 45

195 Macau -2 44

196 San Marino 0 35

197 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 33

198 British Virgin Islands 1 27

199 Solomon Islands -2 26

200 Tonga 0 17

201 Vanuatu 0 13

202 Eritrea 0 8

203 Mongolia 0 6

203 Somalia 0 6

205 Andorra 0 5

206 Papua New Guinea 0 4

207 Anguilla 1 0

207 Bahamas 1 0

207 Djibouti -1 0

http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/index.html

Rank Team +/- Points Rank Team +/- Points Rank Team +/- Points

LeaderMoves into top tenMoves out of top tenMatches played in totalMost matches playedBiggest move by pointsBiggest move by ranksBiggest drop by pointsBiggest drop by ranks

Belgium (up 2)Austria (10th, up 1)Wales (15th, down 7)172Ethiopia (5 matches)Turkey (up 224 points)Chad (up 39 ranks)Wales (down 163 points)Sudan (down 44 ranks)

Last updated:5 November 2015


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The objective of Sudoku is to fill a 9x9 grid with digits so that each of the numbers from 1 to 9 appears exactly once in each column, row and 3x3 sub-grid.

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