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DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018 ENGLISH EDITION FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018 RUSSIA CALLING INSIDE RUSSIA 2018 MATCH SCHEDULE WWW.FIFA.COM/MAGAZINE

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Page 1: FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018 RUSSIA CALLING€¦ · the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia . Some of the best shots from the draw in Moscow. 20 Lady Luck always has an important role to play

DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018ENGLISH EDITION

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

RUSSIA CALLING

INSIDE

RUSSIA 2018

MATCH SCHEDULE

WWW.FIFA.COM/MAGAZINE

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Roberto Di Matteo

DEAR READERS OF FIFA 1904,

I still remember the day my dad signed me up

for a football club. I was only six years old at

the time. I would later go on to score 16 goals

in one game for FC Schaffhausen, the local

club in the Swiss town where I was born.

We won that match 21-1, and for every goal

that I scored, my dad put a little pebble in his

trouser pocket. It was full to bursting by the

end of the match!

I also have very fond memories of Italy becom-

ing world champions for the third time just a

few years later, in 1982. How we celebrated!

One player who really stood out for me in

that team was Gaetano Scirea because of his

elegance, his incredible technique and his

persona on the pitch. He was my role model.

These days, I have to be a role model for

others. As a FIFA Legend, it is important for

me to inspire and motivate young girls and

boys to play the game. This is something that

we do day in, day out as FIFA Legends – using

our passion for the game, whether it is in a

match, in the media or in our personal lives.

As far as my other objectives go, my immediate

priorities lie with my family. In time, however,

I want to enjoy more success as a coach.

Whether you are a coach or a player, there is

no better feeling in the world than lifting a

trophy at the end of the season.

Yours sportingly,

Roberto Di Matteo

LETTER FROM A FIFA LEGEND

1FIFA 1904 /

imag

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16

22

8

CONTENTS

COVER PICTURERussian ballet soloist

Viktorina Kapitonova poses at the Zurich Opera House.

Photo: Gian Paul Lozza

8 Russian football has a long and glorious tradition. With just a few months to go until the World Cup, we take a closer look at the hosts’ footballing pedigree.

16 The wait is over – now we all know the groups for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. Some of the best shots from the draw in Moscow.

20 Lady Luck always has an important role to play in draws, but she has also decided between victory and defeat before when teams have had to draw lots...

22 Ever heard of bandy? This popular sport is played with sticks on ice, but it also has a lot of similarities with football. Read our report from Krasnoyarsk.

30 Ballet is Russia, and Russia is ballet. Football fits in perfectly.

38 Russian World Cup stamps: enough to get football fans’ hearts aflutter.

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

30

2 / FIFA 1904

Pres

se S

port

s, G

ian

Paul

Loz

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50

62

58

4

47

4 THE MONTH IN PICTURES An inconsolable Gianluigi Buffon, The Best FIFA Goalkeeper 2017 – A floodlit idyll set against Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

40 FIRST LOVE Derbent, Russia.

47 PANINI Frank Lampard.

54 THEN AND NOW From Bjärreds Saltsjöbad to São Paulo.

58 PHOTO ARCHIVE A World Cup draw in good hands (Paris, 5 May 1938).

43 President’s message: “The benefits of involving the member associations in decision-making are immediate and visible,” says Gianni Infantino about the FIFA Executive Football Summits. In order to facilitate the work of the member associations, “the agendas of the 12 meetings that we will organise between now and March 2018 will vary according to the participants’ priorities.”

FOOTBALL IN PICTURES

THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL 44 FIFA NEWS

46 THE FIFA/COCA-COLA MEN’S WORLD RANKING

48 NEWS FROM FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

56 A FIFA LEGEND’S CAREER Nwankwo Kanu.

61 CARTOON Mordillo.

62 INNOVATIONS What do you do with old artificial turf pitches?

63 FANS A Costa Rican fan reveals his expectations of the 2018 World Cup.

64 PUBLICATION DETAILS/COMING UP

3FIFA 1904 /

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THE MONTH IN PICTURES

4 / FIFA 1904

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Goodbye to a world champion Gianluigi Buffon kept goal 175 times for Italy, but the 39-year-old bowed out from the international game after the Azzurri failed to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit in their World Cup play-off against Sweden at the San Siro on 13 November 2017.

5FIFA 1904 /

Marco Bertorello / AFP

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Floodlit paradise Lake Geneva provides a stunning backdrop for the pitch in this picture, taken from Mont de Gourze in Riex, Switzerland on 5 October 2017.

THE MONTH IN PICTURES

6 / FIFA 1904

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7FIFA 1904 /

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

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A BIG COUNTRY WITH BIG DREAMSThe Soviet Union and Russia have never been ones to dream small. In six months’ time, the football world will decamp to Russia, and people will once again be asking – can the hosts bring back the good old days?By Alan Schweingruber

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

8 / FIFA 1904

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European Championship 1960 The USSR national team, built around the great Lev Yashin, before the final against Yugoslavia (2-1 AET).

9FIFA 1904 /

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FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

In the mid-2000s Russia abandoned a

grand plan: to win a major trophy

with a Russian coach at the helm of

the national team. Russia had not

won any trophies since the break-up

of the Soviet Union in 1991, and so

began the search for internationally

successful, charismatic and expensive

coaches from the heart of Europe.

Easier said than done. The really good

ones were already working somewhere

for a top club, or weren’t minded to

go off on an adventure, and the Russians

weren’t interested in the average ones.

That left only the aces of the older

generation, those who wanted one

last shot – or maybe two – at the big

time.

This project – let’s call it plan B – began in

2006 with the appointment of Dutchman

Guus Hiddink, the somewhat cranky

but accomplished football connoisseur.

He was followed by Dick Advocaat, a

compatriot of Hiddink’s who was

renowned for having led a number of

teams to success in a short space of time

(and who is now working for the Dutch

Third-place play-off, Rome The USSR, pictured here before taking on England, finished fourth at the European Championship in 1968.

10 / FIFA 1904

PRES

SE S

PORT

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MANY RUSSIANS BELIEVE THAT A NATIONAL COACH HAS TO HAVE A RUSSIAN MENTALITY AND KNOW THE COUNTRY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE A RUSSIAN TEAM.

national team for the sixth time). Finally,

there was Fabio Capello, the grumpy

commissario tecnico, although friends

from Italy’s easternmost reaches said he

had a sunny disposition.

But what does “grumpy” actually mean?

Many people like to ruminate. Wrinkles

and pits appear on their faces, and their

eyebrows touch. Capello is a good

example. His pensive style had become

the hallmark of success and with it he

won 11 titles (not including the two

scudetti with Juventus that were struck

from the record books), not to mention

a UEFA Champions League triumph.

Who could deny the genius of the signore

from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region?

When he then broke into a big ironic

smile, there were no doubters left:

he was going to do great things with

Russia, too.

Yet don’t foreign challenges always follow

their own rules? Many Russians believe

that a national coach has to have a

Russian mentality and know the country

in order to be able to manage a Russian

team. After Hiddink took up the role,

fellow football coach Valery Gazzaev said

that “The Russian national coach must

be a true patriot infused with our national

identity, character and traditions, and

thus must have been born here.”

VAST EXPANSESGazzaev was proved right, as all three

trainers from the heart of Europe failed to

make a success of an apparently difficult

plan B, which nonetheless lasted nine

years. Capello and Advocaat managed a

win ratio of around 50%. Hiddink, who

was the most popular in Russia due to his

character, managed 56%. On the other

hand, a nation that has failed to get past

the first round of a World Cup since 1986

shouldn’t necessarily be dreaming of glory

just because it has a manager with a big

Fabio Capello

personality. Otherwise, you could just as

easily give Darth Vader the reins.

The truth is, the Sbornaya, as the Russian

national team are known, still have some-

thing of the Soviet Union about them.

And the Sbornaya from the old days also

had a record worth shouting about: three

World Cup quarter-finals (1958, 1962,

1970), a World Cup semi-final (1966)

and four appearances in the final of the

European Championship, winning one

(1960). Even if there was, in the end, a

little bit of luck involved in that European

Championship triumph in France. West

Germany did not participate, while

Spain’s dictator, General Franco, banned

the national team from flying to Russia

for the first game of their two-legged

quarter-final, leaving the way clear for

the USSR. Incidentally, Franco’s order

came so late that the superstars of the

team, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ladislao

Kubala, were already at the airport.

So rather unexpectedly, the European

champions were the Soviet Union, a

country bigger than any other on earth by

millions of square kilometres.

So big, in fact, that even

after its collapse into

15 separate nations in

1991, a giant Russia

still emerged. This

country, with its endless steppes

and icy wastes, is big enough to hold

both the USA and Australia. How small

they suddenly seem, the superpowers of

Europe: France, England and Germany. Is

that maybe why the expectations of

Russian football are so high? It would be

understandable.

REMOTE OUTPOSTS OF FOOTBALLProfessional football is not played

in every corner of Russia.

The children and young-

sters in the remotest

11FIFA 1904 /

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regions would love that to be the case,

of course – their bedroom walls are no

doubt also adorned with posters of

Neymar and David Luiz – but the climatic

conditions there make professional

football operations difficult. In Yakutsk,

for example, where 270,000 people live,

it’s cold and dark for many months a

year. From November to February,

temperatures of -40°C are the norm.

There is a club, however, whose first

team have been playing in the top

division for the first time for the past few

months: FC SKA-Energia Khabarovsk, a

newly promoted team from an isolated

city in the far east of the country, right

by the border with China. If you type

Khabarovsk into a search engine, the first

hits are maybe a little surprising: images

of people walking around the city

dressed in shorts. Professional football

and the Russian Premier League face a

different challenge here – distance.

There are seven time zones between

Moscow and Khabarovsk. The flying time

between the cities is seven-and-a-half

hours. From Makhachkala, it’s another

three hours on top of that. And then,

of course, you’ve got to allow for

changing planes, transfers and the time

difference. For a top athlete from the

centre of Europe it would be hard to

imagine how FC SKA’s players overcome

this obstacle all season long – even if

the team always play two away games in

a row when they head west.

There’s always plenty to do at the airport

and on the plane though, right? As a

holidaymaker you might have a glass of

bubbly or a beer, or browse the brochure

for your hotel one more time, admiring

the idyllic images of the pool. Yet when

you are not flying off on holiday, when

you clock up hundreds of hours in the air

every year for football, the potential for

sleeping, reading, watching Tom Hanks

films and duty-free shopping will be

exhausted at some point. When that

happens, the old footballing names

from the Soviet era may well pop up in

sleepy players’ conversations – Lev Yashin,

Oleg Blokhin, Valeriy Lobanovskyi and

the rest.

The USSR was never short of pioneers,

and if some modern-day pundits proclaim

German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to be

a revolutionary “sweeper keeper”, then

what exactly was Lev Yashin?

YASHIN’S EXPERIMENTSIt’s often said Yashin smoked three to

four packets of cigarettes a day. If true,

that would leave little time for football.

Maybe that was part of the reason why

he originally wanted to be world

champion at chess – although that was

only ever a hypothetical idea. The

Muscovite went on to be named the

Soviet Union’s goalkeeper of the century,

and without wanting to stretch the term,

it must be said that there has not yet

been any other Soviet or Russian

goalkeeper who has been able to play

so consistently well at the highest level

and, while doing so, find the freedom

to experiment. Yashin was the first

goalkeeper who punched the ball clear.

He would also launch attacks with long

throws from the back, and he was of

course also renowned for his spectacular

saves. Yashin was a goalkeeper, a

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

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Life in a northern town Football on snow-bound pitches

is a common sight in Lovozero, some 1,200km north of Saint Petersburg.

13FIFA 1904 /

Stef

ano

Mar

zoli /

LUZ

/ fot

oglo

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HYUNDAI is a registered trademark of Hyundai Motor Company. All rights reserved. ©2017 Hyundai Motor Company.

Predictions prove a bright future for you. Our autonomous vehicle will be safer, smarter and instinctively more brilliant than anything on the road.

worldwide.hyundai.com

Always one step ahead of the game.

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strategist and an organiser. In computer

speak, he was the firewall.

By the end of his career, he had amassed

326 appearances for his only club,

Dynamo Moscow, as well as 74 caps for

the Soviet national team. And, alongside

his European Championship title, he also

won Olympic gold and the Ballon d’Or,

which he is still the only goalkeeper to

win. These trophies have now been

spread far and wide, and even today a

match-worn Lev Yashin shirt will change

hands on the internet now and again.

The summer before last, the collector and

former president of Montpellier HSC,

the late Louis Nicollin, bought one for

5,000 euros.

When Russian footballers take to the

world stage, they always do so with one

eye on history. When will we be able to

build on the successful days of the Soviet

Union? The current coach is Stanislav

Cherchesov, a Russian, and proof of the

fact that the coach you appoint is a matter

of the heart, not just the head. The media

recently decided he was grumpy. But what

does grumpy actually mean?

2018 FIFA WORLD CUP™ OFFICIAL POSTERThe official poster for the 2018 World Cup in Russia depicts Lev Yashin pulling off a

one-handed save. “The Black Panther”, who kept goal for the Soviet Union 74 times,

was known for his incredible reflexes. The poster was designed by Latvian artist Igor

Gurovich and is the first in the World Cup poster series to feature a famous face, and

only the third – after Italy 1930 and Switzerland 1954 – with a goalkeeper on it.

© F

IFA

TM

15FIFA 1904 /

FIFA

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FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

The moment of truth On 1 December at around 19:00 local time, the Final Draw comes to an end in Moscow. Results: Portugal against Spain, Belgium against England, Russia against Uruguay ... it’s only the group stage, yet the round of 32 promises plenty of excitement at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ (14 June – 15 July 2018). You can find the full match schedule in the centrefold.

16 / FIFA 1904

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Presentation of the trophy World champion Miroslav Klose brings the famous World Cup Trophy on stage.

Who will be the top coach in 2018? After the draw, the 32 national team coaches pose for a group photo.

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FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

Will they meet in the semi-finals? Germany’s coach Jogi Löw (left) and general manager Oliver Bierhoff (centre) talk to the Spanish general manager Fernando Hierro (top picture). In the centre photo, Klose presents the trophy, shortly before presenters Gary Lineker and Maria Komandnaya conduct the draw.

A bientôt! France’s coach Didier Deschamps (centre) shakes hands with Belgium’s coach Roberto Martínez (right). Left, Belgian FA General Secretary Koen de Brabander. The earliest the two teams could meet is in the semi-finals.

18 / FIFA 1904

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Captured in time The ever-popular Pelé receives a kiss from Diego Maradona and shares a joke with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (3rd from left), Gordon Banks (far left) and Lothar Matthäus (2nd from left).

Ready for the show FIFA President Gianni

Infantino (left) and Vladimir Putin at the

draw opening (top right), former Brazilian

national players Ronaldo and Ronaldinho (right)

holding their phones up and Russian World Cup

ambassador Victoria Lopyreva in the

audience (below).

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“The coin-toss of Rotterdam” Belgian referee Robert Schaut (middle), surrounded by FC Cologne and Liverpool players, reporters and security officials (24 March 1965).

The balls have been drawn and we all know who will play whom at Russia 2018. There have been times, however,

when the winners and losers have been decided by chance. By Perikles Monioudis

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

A GAME OF CHANCE

20 / FIFA 1904

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between FC Zurich and Galatasaray. Both teams

won their home games 2-0, and a play-off

on neutral ground in Rome then ended in a

2-2 draw. In the end, a coin-toss decided the

winners – and the Swiss came out on top.

The next season, after two goalless draws in

the quarter-final between FC Cologne and

Liverpool, the two sides met in a play-off in

Rotterdam, which also finished in a 2-2 draw.

Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions for their

fans! As penalty shoot-outs had not yet been

introduced – that wouldn’t happen until the

1970/71 season – the referee again tossed a

coin, which promptly landed on its edge in

the mud. So again the coin was tossed high in

the air, and this time it landed on tails – which

meant Liverpool progressed.

NOT ALL IS LEFT TO CHANCEBut when it comes to the World Cup draw,

there is so much more at play than mere chance.

When the teams are assigned to the pots for

the draw, FIFA uses the FIFA/Coca-Cola World

Ranking, which is drawn up and published every

month by the governing body, to divide the

teams into pots that ensure that the strongest

teams don’t knock each other out in the early

stages and leave a “fluke” winner at the end of

the competition.

Without this fail-safe, it would be entirely

possible in an open draw for the strongest

teams to meet in the group stage, which would

ultimately only benefit the rather “less-fancied”

teams. Such a scenario would distort the

competition and be unfair. It goes without

saying that such mechanisms aren’t needed

in a league system, as the whole point of a

league is for each team to play every other team,

more often than not on a home-and-away

basis.

But a tournament is a whole different beast, one

that is played – in the case of the World Cup –

over a period of a mere few weeks, at the end

of which there can only be one winner – and a

deserving winner at that.

On 6 June 2015, Mali and Uruguay

came face to face at Waitako

Stadium in Hamilton, New

Zealand, in the group stage of

the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that this was just

another World Cup game, but if so you’d be

wrong. To many observers, it was clear what

would happen out on the pitch. Neither team

showed any great interest in taking the game to

their opponents, and as a result the match

petered out into a tame draw – which, as you’ve

probably guessed by now – was exactly what

both sides needed to secure their place in the

next round. And yet the psychology of modern-

day footballers does not really sit well with the

thought of simply playing for a draw – the risk of

conceding a (late) goal is far too great.

Be that as it may, the Malians and Uruguayans

did draw that game 1-1, a 17th-minute goal from

La Celeste’s Franco Acosta being cancelled out by

a strike from the eventual adidas Golden Ball

winner, Adama Traoré, just after half-time. Both

sides had secured their passage to the round of

16 on the same number of points, with the same

goal difference, and having scored the same

number of goals. But who would finish in second

and who in third? Lots would have to be drawn.

Both teams watched on via live video link as the

drawing of lots in Auckland left Uruguay as

group runners-up, with the Malians in third.

STEP UP, LADY LUCKMexico 1970 was another tournament in which

lots had to be drawn, with the Soviet Union

finishing top of Group 1 ahead of the hosts,

who had the same number of points, only thanks

to the luck of the draw even though the Soviets

had a superior goal difference of 6-1, ahead of

Mexico on 5-0. Four years later, FIFA introduced

the rule that says that the number of goals

scored will be used to separate teams that finish

with an identical record.

It is not just the World Cup that has history with

such drama, however. Take the 1963/64 European

Cup, for example, and the round-of-16 clash

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FOOTBALL ON ICE

Bandy in Siberia The popular sport is one of the fastest around.

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

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Ninety minutes, 11 v. 11, one ball, two goals and a big pitch. Oh, and offside and corner flags too. No, we aren’t talking about football but about bandy – or “football on ice”. We dropped in on perennial Russian champions Yenisey in Krasnoyarsk.By Annette Braun (words) and Sergei Bobylev (pictures)

23FIFA 1904 /

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Krasnoyarsk This city in Siberia, home to Yenisey, has a great bandy pedigree. Top: action from a Yenisey youth team training session. Bottom: the Yenisey first team in league action against Sibselmash later the same day.

parts of any bandy fan’s matchday ar-

moury as again, just like football, bandy is

a game played outdoors.

Krasnoyarsk, one of the main junctions on

the Trans-Siberian Railway and a couple of

hundred kilometres closer to Moscow

than it is to Vladivostok, is a bandy hot-

bed. Yenisey won three consecutive

Russian league titles in 2014, 2015 and

2016 as well as the 2015 Bandy World

Cup, a competition featuring the best club

sides in the world.

ENGLISH ROOTS Bandy, in its current form, has been

around since the middle of the 18th centu-

ry and its origins – just like football – can

be traced back to England. The first

regular bandy game was played in London

in 1875, and the National Bandy Associa-

tion, the governing body in England, was

founded 16 years later. The game failed to

take off in countries with moderate

winters, however, and it had to take even

more of a backseat after the emergence

of ice hockey in purpose-built indoor

arenas. In Russia though, and particularly

in Siberia, bandy – or “hockey with a ball”

– has always been a very popular sport for

men and women alike.

Some 10,000 fans can cram into the

Yenisey Stadium. And although the action

takes place on ice, that is as far as the

comparisons with ice hockey truly go. The

pitch is similar in size to a football pitch,

and bodychecks – so prevalent in ice

hockey – are banned in bandy.

QUICK, SHARP PASSING In bandy, it’s not all about stamina and

power, but primarily about pace as a

bandy ball does not react in the same way

as a puck. The key to success is often

precise passing – tiki taka on ice, if you

will. Goalkeepers have to have a little bit

of Manuel Neuer and co. about them too,

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

The wind is bitterly cold

on this November day, a

sure sign that winter has

arrived on the streets of

Krasnoyarsk where

thermometers are show-

ing temperatures below

zero. Having said that, “cold” is rather

relative in these parts as temperatures

can easily fall as low as -20ºC here, the

third-largest city in Siberia.

So from that point of view at least, today

is almost balmy – particularly if you are

dressed for whatever the weather can

throw at you, just as these people getting

off the bus at the Cultural Place 1 May bus

stop are. They are all, without exception,

wrapped up in warm, colourful coats with

scarves wound tightly around their necks

and their hats pulled down over their

faces.

WATCH OUT FOR OFFSIDE! You’ll often hear “Perfect weather for a

spot of bandy!” here as the crowds

shuffle off. Sorry? “Bandy”? In Russia,

bandy is also known as “hockey with a

ball”, a description that is rather apt as

players use and wear much the same gear

as their ice-hockey counterparts – sticks,

helmets and skates – and also compete on

ice. But that is as far as the similarities go,

because bandy is also rather reminiscent

of football with goal lines, corner flags, an

offside rule and penalties. You would be

hard pressed to find a puck on a bandy

pitch too as the game is played with a

brightly coloured ball that is smaller than a

standard football but, statistically speak-

ing, hits the back of the net more often.

A closer look at these people getting off

the bus reveals that they are actually

diehard fans of the local bandy club, and

they are all heading for the Yenisey stadi-

um armed with cushions to sit on and

polystyrene blocks to stand on – vital

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FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

guarding their goals with gloves and

reflexes but without a stick. With so many

similarities to football, it is little wonder

that the stars and fans of bandy also tend

to know rather a lot about the beautiful

game (see our interview with Russian

bandy star Sergei Lomanov on page 29).

Bandy fans are also experts when it

comes to tactics and the finer points of

the game as they are accustomed to

staying focused on such a fast game. The

break-neck speed of the game means that

it is not ideal for live TV coverage, but the

exact opposite holds true if you are

fortunate enough to catch a game in

person. The below-zero temperatures are

part of the experience, the fans’ cold

breath drifting across the pitch to add to

the other-worldly atmosphere.

Today, Yenisey’s fans will go home happy

after watching another victory for their

team. Slowly they make their way home,

their Russian flags safely packed away for

another day, perhaps until the summer

when they will be brought out again in

support of the Russian football team in

the World Cup.

The final at the Bandy World Champion-

ship is often between Russia and Sweden.

If football were to take its lead from

bandy with a World Cup final between

the same two teams, there would be a lot

of bandy fans with absolutely no objec-

tions whatsoever...

Weatherproofed Watching a game of bandy is always fun, even in sub-zero temperatures – if you’re dressed appropriately, of course.

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BANDY IS ONE OF THE MOST POPU-LAR WINTER SPORTS IN THE WORLD. OVER A MILLION PEOPLE PLAY THE SPORT IN RUSSIA ALONE, WHERE THERE IS A PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE WITH 14 TEAMS AND STA-DIUMS WITH CAPACITIES OF UP TO 15,000. THE REIGNING RUSSIAN CHAMPIONS ARE SKA-NEFTANYIK FROM THE CITY OF KHABAROVSK. BANDY IS MAINLY PLAYED IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE AS WELL AS IN NORTH AMERICA. AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, THE TWO MOST SUCCESSFUL TEAMS ARE RUSSIA AND SWEDEN. THE FEDERATION OF INTERNATIONAL BANDY (FIB) WAS FOUNDED IN SWEDEN IN 1955 AND CURRENTLY HAS 27 MEMBERS. THE FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WAS HELD IN 1957, FOLLOWED BY THE INAU-GURAL WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPI-ONSHIP IN 2004. THE FIB IS AN OFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE IOC.

BANDY

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FIFA PARTNER

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“EVERYTHING CAN CHANGE IN A MINUTE”Nine-time bandy world champion Sergey Lomanov talks about the simila-rities between bandy and football, and about the special pressure of playing in a World Cup at home. Annette Braun asked the questions.

How would you describe the

fascination of bandy? Bandy,

or hockey with a ball, is

famous for its speed and the

individual actions of the

players, as well as for the very fast transi-

tions from defence to attack. Everything

can change literally in a minute. There have

been games in which a team was two or

three goals down but turned it around in

the space of five minutes. There is some

kind of unpredictability in the result.

Do you have an example in mind? The

World Championship final in Khabarovsk

in 2015 is memorable for me. We were

3-1 down but came back to win 5-3. In

two or three minutes, we changed the

dynamics and result of the match. The

stadium was full. The Prime Minister of

Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, was there too.

He congratulated us and awarded us our

gold medals.

Bandy has a long tradition in Russia. Ten

years ago, stadiums held up to 25,000

people and fans were coming the day

before the match to take their seats. They

brought hot coffee or tea with a nip of

something warming in it ... that’s not

allowed anymore. Nowadays, families love

their comfort and would rather go to

indoor stadiums. Few people will sit in an

outdoor stadium at minus 20 degrees.

What do you need to become a great

bandy player? Talent, but also a great

work ethic and the desire to achieve your

goals. It’s important to always work on

yourself and never be satisfied with what

you’ve achieved. Keep looking forward

and do not pay too much attention to

things such as victories. Forget them and

move on quickly. There are defeats, of

course, but you learn from them, analyse

them and come back stronger.

Can football help you succeed in bandy?

The two sports are intertwined and quite

comparable. Our sport is closer to football

than it is to ice hockey. We play with the

same number of players and on a similar-

sized pitch. The only thing that we do not

have is grass, but ice is much faster. We

also have the same vision, we like to play

with two touches, we use the entire width

of the pitch, and even the tactics are

similar.

Have you ever played football yourself?

I lived in Sweden between the ages of nine

and 15. In the summer, I played football for

a club called Sirius, and in the winter I

played hockey for the same team. When I

was 14, a coach asked me: “What kind of

sport do you prefer?” I chose bandy and do

not regret it at all, although I played foot-

ball quite well and was involved in various

team tournaments at my age level.”

What do you expect from the Russian

football team at the World Cup next

summer? Everybody is longing for victories

but in my opinion the result is not the

most important thing. We will be playing

at home and we need to show that we

can handle this special situation. Fans love

beautiful football with lots of goalscoring

opportunities, so I’m looking forward to

some good games from our team, which

would have a great impact on the develop-

ment of sport and the youth in our coun-

try. They need to come out and play like

we know they can – for the team, for their

team-mates, and for the fans who will

come and support them.

Sergey Sergeyevich Lomanov was born in

Krasnoyarsk on 2 June 1980 and made his

senior debut for Yenisey Krasnoyarsk

Bandy Club in 1997. He has been part of

the Russian national bandy team since

2000 and has nine World Championship

titles to his name. His father, Sergey

Ivanovich Lomanov, is also a successful

bandy manager and a former player.

29FIFA 1904 /

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FOOTBALLET

Ballet is Russia and Russia is ballet. Football fits in perfectly. We played football with Russians Viktorina Kapitonova and Elena Vostrotina, soloists of the Ballett Zürich.

By Perikles Monioudis (text) and Gian Paul Lozza (photos).

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

/ FIFA 190430

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31FIFA 1904 /

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32 / FIFA 1904 AFP (4), Getty Images (2)

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33FIFA 1904 /

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FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

Viktorina Kapitonova is a Russian world-class ballet dancer. She explains what ballet and football have in common: team spirit, training schedules, and focusing on the same aspects of the body but using different techniques. Perikles Monioudis met the Zurich ballet soloist.

Are you looking forward to

the World Cup?

Viktorina Kapitonova: I’m really excited for

football supporters from all over the world

to see for themselves just how wonderful,

friendly and diverse the Russian cities and

people are. The choice of cities is really far

and wide, and includes cities close to my

heart, such as Kazan, where I studied to

become a ballet dancer, which is also a

city of Tatars close to my cultural back-

ground of Chuvashian people in the east

with more similarities to Asia than Europe.

has their role. Although there are no

“winners” in ballet, the audience can be

mesmerised by a wonderful, strong

performance of the corps – the body of

the ballet – just as they can by the defence

of a football team. If the corps or the

defenders do not perform, the ballet

soloists or strikers won’t be able to do

their job very well.

So would you say there are other

similarities?

Football players in these modern times,

with stars like Messi and Ronaldo, focus

on their bodies, their training, and what

they eat as much as ballet dancers do.

As a ballerina, I train eight hours, six days

a week on my balance, coordination,

power, and the finer details of my

technique, with performances in the

evenings. I think that football players have

similar training schedules, focusing on the

same aspects of the body but using

different techniques. I think it would be

fun to show a footballer our ballet

training in exchange for a day of football

training. I think a lot could be learnt in

both directions.

Viktorina Kapitonova, who hails from Russia, studied at the Kazan Ballet School and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre Academy. A winner of “The Young Ballet of Russia” competition and of the “Arabesque” contest, she started dancing at the Jalil Opera House in Kazan in 2005. She was a member of Moscow’s Stanislavsky Ballet for the 2008/2009 season, and she joined Ballett Zürich in 2010.

“PERFORMING TOGETHER AS ONE”

I am also excited for fans to experience the

great ballet cities of Moscow and Saint

Petersburg in the west. I am sure the Russian

people will deliver a really wonderful event,

and I hope it brings people from all coun-

tries closer together. For me personally, I

am excited that it will be the first World

Cup for my son, Henry, who will be old

enough to cheer with us for Russia.

How do you think the Russian team

will perform?

To perform at home feels so much easier

and better for every performer. It is true

of ballet that a supportive audience can

often bring on a great performance from

dancers – you share a bond from the

opening of the curtains. I think that

Russia, with the support of an audience of

144 million, could be able to do something

really special. Russian people will be proud

to know that their team tried their best

whatever happens.

What does football have in common

with ballet?

In football as in ballet, natural ability can

really show on the pitch and the stage,

and in most cases great artists are born to

be great stars, like Pelé or Rudolf Nureyev.

It captures the imagination when people

see someone who grew up poor in Brazil

make it in football, or in Russia for ballet,

and to then have the world at their feet

– and not in their hands, of course. The

importance of performing together as

one, for each other and with each other,

is key in ballet as it is in football. A ballet

company is like a football team, and even

though there may be stars, every person

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World-class soloists Ballet dancers Viktorina Kapitonova (left) and Elena Vostrotina.

35FIFA 1904 /

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M A S T E R C O N T R O L

adidas.com/football© 2017 adidas AG

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Camp Nou. This is something special that

you won’t forget. The people, united, in a

way, their energy – the players. That was

art! Yes, that was art.

In which way is football art?

The similarities start with the training at a

very young age. You are drawn by the

passion to do something, be it dancing,

football or something else. You put all

your energy into what you’re doing. You

devote yourself to it – to the arts or sport.

And, again, dancing and football happen

in the moment – unlike cinema, where

you see the result at the end. Both foot-

ball and dancing are performing acts. It’s

now or never: you win or lose.

In football you play to win.

Do you really dance to win?

I feel a strong exchange of energy with

the audience. It is hard to put in words

the feeling you have when on stage. You

feel the presence of the audience, but not

all the time. So you treasure it when it

happens. You feel the audience following

you and maybe even stop breathing when

they’re really into what you are doing.

Winning on stage therefore means losing

yourself. Losing yourself in time and space

and becoming that stage character.

In football that’s called “flow”.

Yes, that’s it, the flow, something that

happens so naturally. You go with it!

With the flow. You lose yourself, but at

the same time you are more yourself than

ever. You really get in touch with your

inner self.

Also, as a dancer you are part of a team.

It’s all about teamwork, always. My

performance depends on how my fellow

St Petersburg-born, world-class ballet dancer Elena Vostrotina is very much looking forward to the World Cup in Russia. Dancing, she says, like football, is about the flow, about feeling the energy of your colleagues and the power from the audience. Perikles Monioudis talked to her in a rehearsal room at the Zurich Opera.

Elena Vostrotina, what is your

connection to football?

I have a rather direct link to football,

because my father is a professional foot-

ball and ice-hockey coach. I grew up in a

family in which football played a big role

– sport in general. We often watched

games with my father when I was little.

Later, I also went to games with my

friends. Football is very popular in Russia,

it brings people together.

Have you ever fancied becoming a

football player?

Well, of course I tried it out a little. As a

kid I had a lot of energy, I loved running,

and I found it fun to kick the ball around.

So I tried, but didn’t quite succeed [laughs].

Do you have fond memories

of football?

When my father took me to the stadium

for the first time – the Petrovsky Stadium

in St Petersburg – we watched an FC Zenit

game, and I was amazed at the energy at

the stadium. There was so much energy

there, I felt it run through my body and

my bones. And then of course there was

the game itself. When you watch a game,

you are caught in the moment, it capti-

vates you. I had more or less the same

feeling when I had the chance, some years

ago, to attend an FC Barcelona game in

dancers perform. As a soloist, I love to feel

them on stage, they give me the strength

I need to perform at my very best. Even a

smile works. I believe that between

players there’s also this kind of connection.

Will you attend a World Cup game

in Russia?

Yes, I really hope so. I miss home. I will

be in St Petersburg next summer.

How will your team do?

I really don’t know. My father always says:

“The field is flat and the ball is round.”

Elena Vostrotina from St Petersburg completed her ballet training at the Vaganova Ballet Academy, and in 2003, she became a member of the Mariinsky Ballet. In 2006, Vostrotina was with the Semperoper Ballett, Dresden. There she was appointed a soloist and danced a wide repertoire of classical, neoclassical and modern ballet. This season she joined the Ballett Zürich.

“YOU ARE MORE YOURSELF THAN EVER”

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STAMP OF APPROVAL FOR THE WORLD CUP

Collecting stamps is rather a big deal in Russia, and with the clock ticking down to the 2018 FIFA World Cup™, football-related stamps are all the rage.

By Annette Braun

FINAL DRAW FOR RUSSIA 2018

Official Mascot for 2018 Zabivaka, a wolf who radiates charm and confidence, is inspiring millions of fans all over the world.

38 / FIFA 1904

Mar

ka

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Olympic gold medal in 1956 and three

World Cup appearances (1958, 1962, 1970).

It of course remains to be seen which

Russian players will emerge as heroes next

summer, potentially putting themselves in

the frame for stamps in their honour in

the future, but the focus has already fallen

on next summer’s big event with stamps

for Zabivaka, the wolf chosen as the

tournament’s official mascot by Russian

fans, the FIFA World Cup Trophy that all

32 teams will be hoping to hold aloft on

15 July 2018, and Moscow’s Luzhniki

Stadium, the arena that will see the new

world champions crowned.

And who knows, maybe the sight of

these stamps in the run-up to and during

the World Cup will encourage people to

start writing letters again. Whatever

happens, these stamps are yet another

sign that Russia is ready and waiting to

host the World Cup, giving stamp

collectors and football fans alike so much

to look forward to. It’s almost time to

stamp those passports and to let the

journey begin!

Lev Yashin (1929-1990) The Soviet legend won the European Championship in 1960 and was one of the best goalkeepers of the 20th century.

Gavriil Kachalin (1911-1995) The long-serving coach guided the USSR team through their most successful period (Olympic gold in 1956, European Championship title in 1960).

For collectors, stamps are first and fore-

most a hobby but they can also be a solid

investment. For those fortunate enough to

be depicted on a stamp, meanwhile, it is a

question of prestige and recognition –

after all, if you make it onto a stamp, you

must have done something right and have

left a lasting impression somewhere.

With the 2018 World Cup now just

around the corner, the newest stamps to

hit the Russian market have started to

focus on the country’s football history as

well as on the upcoming tournament

itself, the subtle mix of nostalgia and

anticipation underlining Russia’s rich

football pedigree while also whetting

people’s appetite for all that lies in store

in just a few months’ time.

FOURTH PLACE IN 1966Some of these new stamps look back at

the glory days of the USSR national team

that made its World Cup debut in Sweden

in 1958 before going on to claim the

country’s best-ever placing so far with a

fourth-place finish in England eight years

later. Some of the heroes of that time are

obviously taking centre stage and being

cast in a new light. There is a stamp

commemorating the great Lev Yashin, the

Russian goalkeeping legend and a Euro-

pean champion in 1960, who is shown

gazing into the distance, and another for

Gavriil Kachalin, the coach who led the

Soviets to the European title in 1960, the

Whether it is

cosmonaut Alexey

Arkhipovich Leonov

floating through

space, or the

United Nations headquarters standing

resplen dent in the sunlight, stamps are

incredibly popular in Russia, where they

commem orate some of the biggest events

in history such as the first spacewalk in

1965 or the foundation of the UN in

1945. These days, however, the world

of digital communication has almost

consigned old-fashioned letter-writing to

the past, particularly in our private lives,

because who wants to wait a couple

of days for the post to arrive when you

can send a message with the click of a

button? The humble stamp has survived it

all though, whether as a collector’s item

or as a solid investment.

SPECIAL STAMPSThe stamp has done even more than

merely survive, as new technology has

opened even more doors for it to develop

and move with the times, from the UK’s

first stamp – the famous Penny Black

– way back in 1840 with Queen Victoria

to the first Russian Empire stamp with

the country’s coat of arms, which was

printed in typography in brown and blue.

These days, these perforated pieces of

paper can be printed in 3D, and even in

special sets that can smell and taste of

chocolate.

39FIFA 1904 /

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PLACE Derbent (Dagestan), RussiaDATE 15 July 2017TIME 18:30PHOTOGRAPHER Caio Vilela

FIRST LOVE

40 / FIFA 1904

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41FIFA 1904 /

fotogloria

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FACILITATING THE WORK OF THE MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

I have a very vivid memory of the inaugural FIFA Executive Football

Summit in Paris, just over a year ago. I remember a specific moment

at the beginning of that meeting, when the president of a member

association started to explain a situation his country faced. I looked

around and noticed how his fellow presidents were staring at each

another: you could tell that they were marvelling at the differences

and similarities – especially the similarities – between their challenges

and those that they were hearing about. At that moment, I knew

that the idea to organise regular summits had been the right one.

It is a good idea for a very simple reason: it is logical. The 211 member

associations are not only important for FIFA: they are FIFA. Serving

its members is FIFA’s very raison d’être. For that, we must listen to

them. Listen carefully and constantly – a process that naturally

leads to the FIFA Executive Football Summits.

The benefits of involving the member associations in decision-making

are immediate and visible, to the point that the summits themselves

have been improved, for example. It was based on associations’

feedback that we decided to enhance a few elements for this second

cycle, which started in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 21 November.

While we still take geography and language compatibility into

account, the groups are now even more diverse, with representatives

of at least three confederations present at each of the summits.

Member associations have also had a say on the topics to be

discussed: the agendas of the 12 meetings that we will organise

between now and March 2018 will vary according to the

participants’ priorities, but will also share a few common topics:

the next cycle of the FIFA Forward Programme for development;

the future of FIFA’s youth and women’s competitions; and possible

improvements to the transfer system and the international match

calendar. Even decisions like these, which affect the whole world

of football, must be discussed with those who know what

the game is like in their specific territories.

Football is so fantastic because it is played and loved in every

corner of the globe. It seems very clear to me that you cannot

hope to act as the governing body of such a widespread and

magical phenomenon by making centralised decisions. The power

to promote the game lies in the daily groundwork carried out by

the 211 member associations. FIFA exists to facilitate it.

Yours in football,

Gianni Infantino

FIFA President

PRESIDENT´S MESSAGE

43FIFA 1904 /

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FIFA NEWS

At its meeting in Kolkata, India, the FIFA Council approved a 12%

increase in prize money for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ from

USD 358 million in 2014 to USD 400 million. It also ratified the

Bureau of the Council’s decision of 6 September 2017 to approve

stringent bidding regulations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ and

appointed the members of the Bid Evaluation Task Force. Other

matters discussed by the Council were the establishment of a FIFA

Foundation to provide a legal and institutional basis for FIFA’s

social commitment, a consultation phase during which to review

FIFA’s women’s, youth and club competitions and the introduction

of an international transfer matching system for women’s football

on 1 January 2018.

FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR THE WORLD CUP

ENGLAND’S U-17 TEAM TRIUMPHS IN INDIA

The Human Rights Advisory Board, which was created in early

2017 to provide independent advice on FIFA’s human rights

responsibilities, has published its first report. In it, the expert

group of eight representatives from the UN System, civil society,

trade unions and FIFA sponsors discusses FIFA’s work on human

rights and outlines a set of specific recommendations to FIFA.

“This report shows that FIFA is making important progress in

integrating respect for human rights throughout its wide range

of activities,” said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura. The

advisory board stated: “We recognise that FIFA has taken impor-

tant steps, particularly by adopting a new Human Rights Policy,

fighting discrimination connected to matches and integrating

human rights requirements into the 2026 FIFA World Cup bidding

documents. We also make 33 detailed recommendations on issues

FIFA should focus on, including, as a priority, building on what has

FIRST REPORT OF FIFA’S HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISORY BOARD

England convincingly over-

came Spain 5-2 in the FIFA

U-17 World Cup final in

Kolkata to join their U-20

counterparts at the summit

of world youth football, the

elder Three Lions having

prevailed in Korea Republic

four months previously.

Spain were left licking their

wounds after letting a

two-goal lead slip and

suffering their fourth U-17

World Cup final defeat. A

total of 1.35 million specta-

tors – almost 30,000 per

match – attended the tour-

nament, beating the previ-

ous record of 1.23 million set

at the inaugural competition

in China PR in 1985.

been done to date by continuing to strengthen efforts to address

risks to workers’ rights on FIFA World Cup stadium construction

sites in Russia and Qatar.”

44 / FIFA 1904

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Since its launch in 2004, the FIFA Interactive World Cup has

enjoyed rapid growth and set new standards for the virtual game

on the EA SPORTS™ FIFA platform, as well as giving gamers a

global stage on which to develop their talent at elite level. To

reflect the e-sport’s continued rise in popularity, FIFA and its

partner EA SPORTS™ are taking the biggest global tournament

for the EA SPORTS™ FIFA series to a new level by launching

the FIFA eWorld Cup. Qualification for the Grand Final in 2018

will take place via the new FIFA 18 Global Series.

FIFA EWORLD CUP

FIFA referees from all over the world came together in Abu Dhabi

from 25 to 30 November for a seminar so that those who would

be deployed in the FIFA Club World Cup UAE could use the

following six days to put the finishing touches to their

preparations for the tournament. As well as taking part in

theoretical and practical sessions, the referees worked with

video assistant referees (VARs) and simulated situations that

call VARs into play. The FIFA Club World Cup 2017 is being held

from 6 to 16 December in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

REFEREES PUT THROUGH THEIR PACES IN ABU DHABI

Football’s ability to inspire people was again in clear evidence at

the FIFA Diversity Award ceremony in London. FIFA Secretary

General Fatma Samoura presented the prize to Soccer Without

Borders, an organisation that uses football to build the confidence

of young refugees in places, such as the USA and Uganda and

FIFA DIVERSITY AWARD help with their integration. The decision was made by a jury of

11 prominent figures from the fields of global football and

diversity in sport. “It is FIFA’s duty to promote diversity on the

pitch, in the stands and in each area of society that is touched by

the most popular sport in the world. The Diversity Award is part

of this,” said the Secretary General.

45FIFA 1904 /

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http://www.fifa.com/worldranking

FIFA/COCA-COLA MEN’S WORLD RANKING

Last updated:23 November 2017

Rank Team + / – Points Rank Team + / – Points Rank Team + / – Points Rank Team + / – Points

1 Germany 0 1602

2 Brazil 0 1483

3 Portugal 0 1358

4 Argentina 0 1348

5 Belgium 0 1325

6 Spain 2 1231

7 Poland -1 1209

8 Switzerland 3 1190

9 France -2 1183

10 Chile -1 1162

11 Peru -1 1128

12 Denmark 7 1099

13 Colombia 0 1078

14 Italy 1 1052

15 England -3 1047

16 Mexico 0 1032

17 Croatia 1 1018

18 Sweden 7 998

19 Wales -5 985

20 Netherlands 0 952

21 Uruguay -4 924

22 Iceland -1 910

23 Senegal 9 884

24 USA 3 867

24 Northern Ireland -1 867

26 Costa Rica -4 850

27 Tunisia 1 838

28 Slovakia -4 817

29 Austria 10 815

30 Paraguay 6 812

31 Egypt -1 805

32 Republic of Ireland -6 798

32 Iran 2 798

32 Scotland -3 798

35 Ukraine -5 781

36 Congo DR -1 764

37 Serbia 1 756

38 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 753

39 Australia 4 747

40 Morocco 8 738

41 Romania 4 737

42 Turkey -9 735

43 Bulgaria -7 719

44 Burkina Faso 11 705

45 Cameroon -3 696

46 Montenegro 8 681

47 Greece 0 680

48 Czech Republic -2 677

49 Bolivia 1 674

50 Nigeria -9 671

51 Ghana 1 657

52 Venezuela -1 639

53 Hungary 0 630

54 Jamaica 5 625

55 Japan -11 623

56 Panama -7 621

57 Haiti -1 607

58 Norway 0 573

59 Korea Republic 3 563

60 China PR -3 561

61 Côte d'Ivoire 0 557

62 Albania 9 553

63 Saudi Arabia 0 539

64 Algeria 3 537

65 Russia 0 534

66 Guinea 0 532

67 Finland 7 531

68 Cape Verde Islands -4 530

69 Slovenia -1 522

70 Honduras -1 521

71 Ecuador -11 508

72 Mali 0 493

73 United Arab Emirates -1 474

74 Uganda -4 471

75 Zambia 2 449

76 FYR Macedonia 9 446

77 Libya 10 442

77 Syria 0 442

79 Iraq 1 438

80 Uzbekistan -4 437

81 South Africa -7 434

82 Benin -3 427

82 Palestine 2 427

84 Luxembourg 9 407

84 Estonia -4 407

84 Curaçao 5 407

87 Lebanon 13 404

88 Guinea-Bissau 0 403

89 Trinidad and Tobago -6 402

90 Armenia 0 383

91 Cyprus -5 373

92 Belarus -1 372

93 Gabon -1 370

94 Canada 2 369

95 Faroe Islands 0 364

96 Congo -2 362

97 Sierra Leone 2 360

98 Israel -16 355

99 Mauritania 2 354

100 El Salvador -3 352

101 Oman 9 350

102 Qatar -5 336

103 Zimbabwe 1 323

104 Georgia 3 322

105 India 0 320

106 Nicaragua 2 315

107 Jordan 6 311

108 Madagascar -5 309

108 Niger -2 309

110 Mozambique 1 304

111 Kenya -9 300

112 Turkmenistan 2 292

113 St Kitts and Nevis -5 291

114 Korea DPR 18 283

115 Bahrain 10 282

115 Kyrgyzstan 5 282

117 Azerbaijan -2 281

118 Philippines -2 280

119 Namibia 10 274

120 Rwanda -2 269

121 Yemen -9 268

122 New Zealand 0 267

123 Togo 1 266

123 Central African Republic -4 266

125 Vietnam -4 265

126 Malawi -9 260

127 Tajikistan -4 255

128 Suriname -3 245

129 Guatemala -1 242

130 Comoros -3 235

131 Latvia -2 233

132 Thailand 6 230

133 Swaziland 7 225

134 Liberia 1 224

135 Chinese Taipei 8 221

136 Kazakhstan -3 220

137 Sudan 4 219

138 Burundi -9 216

139 Andorra 5 215

140 Antigua and Barbuda -4 209

141 Angola -2 201

142 Tanzania -6 193

143 Hong Kong -1 189

144 Lesotho 2 188

145 Equatorial Guinea -12 187

145 Ethiopia 6 187

147 Afghanistan 7 181

148 Lithuania -3 179

148 Solomon Islands 4 179

150 Myanmar 5 176

150 Botswana -3 176

152 South Sudan 1 172

153 Tahiti -5 149

154 Indonesia 11 144

154 Barbados 6 144

156 New Caledonia -6 139

157 Maldives -1 135

157 Belize 4 135

159 Mauritius -1 134

160 Grenada -3 132

161 Papua New Guinea -2 126

162 Dominican Republic 1 121

163 Gambia 1 120

164 Guyana 1 117

165 Puerto Rico 2 112

166 Dominica 3 111

166 Moldova 1 111

168 Chad -19 110

169 St Vincent and the Grenadines 3 99

170 Nepal 6 98

170 Cuba 9 98

170 Singapore 3 98

170 Cambodia 0 98

174 Kosovo 9 97

174 Malaysia -4 97

174 St Lucia 0 97

177 São Tomé e Príncipe -1 94

178 Fiji -3 93

179 Aruba -1 92

180 Bermuda 1 72

181 Malta 1 66

182 Macau -2 65

183 Djibouti 2 64

184 Laos -22 62

185 Vanuatu 3 55

185 Bhutan 5 55

187 Liechtenstein 0 54

188 Kuwait -2 52

189 Seychelles -1 51

190 Brunei Darussalam -6 45

191 Guam 0 43

192 Bangladesh 4 38

192 American Samoa 1 38

192 Cook Islands 1 38

192 Samoa 1 38

196 Timor-Leste -4 32

197 US Virgin Islands 2 26

198 Montserrat 2 20

199 Mongolia -2 17

200 Sri Lanka -2 16

201 Pakistan 0 15

202 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 13

202 Cayman Islands 0 13

204 San Marino 0 11

205 British Virgin Islands 0 6

206 Anguilla 0 0

206 Bahamas 0 0

206 Eritrea 0 0

206 Gibraltar 0 0

206 Somalia 0 0

206 Tonga 0 0

46 / FIFA 1904

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A CAREER IN PANINI STICKERS

FRANK LAMPARDFIFA Legend, 106 caps for England.

UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League winner.

47FIFA 1904 /

© P

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INAUGURATION OF THE GIRLS’ INTER-SCHOOL TOURNAMENT IN PARAGUAY

An excellent day

was had with

the inauguration

of the Women’s U-11 and

U-13 Inter-School Football

Tournament, organised by

the Paraguayan Football

Association (APF) under the

auspices of FIFA. The event is

part of FIFA’s initiative under

the Evolution Programme to

promote women’s football in

Paraguay and throughout

South America. The APF’s

development division, presided

by Douglas Martínez,

celebrated in style by holding

the event, with the participants’

parade, folk dancing and the

first matches, which showed

just how good the players

from the various teams are.

VAR IN BRAZIL programme instructor, Manoel

Serapião. During these activities,

he also advised on how referee

signals should be made while

employing this technology.

The afternoon, in turn, was

scheduled for a practice

session. While one team stayed

in a room with TV monitors

showing footage recorded by

seven cameras, in addition to

enabling the replay feature, a

pair of referees proceeded to

the pitch to receive instructions

from the VAR and to practise

hand signals. There were three

people in the booth: a replay

operator (responsible for

technical operation of the

The training programme

for the use of video

assistant referee (VAR)

technology by the Refereeing

Committee of the Brazilian

Football Association focused on

a key issue. In the city of Águas

de Lindóia, São Paulo, partici-

pants attended theoretical and

practical activities that were

split into three shifts. The day

kicked off with referees and

assistants watching specific

refereeing-themed videos that

showcased controversial plays

and calls, thereafter undergoing

assessments carried out by the

equipment), a video referee

(analysing all footage angles)

and a VAR (in charge of the

camera placed at the offside

position). Finally, an assistant

and a referee with electronic

earpiece communication were

positioned on the pitch.

The athletes partaking in the

activity, members of the Brasilis

FC U-17 squad, were told by

CBF instructors to carry out

actions that would leave

referees and assistants in doubt.

In penalty kicks, for instance,

the goalkeeper would wait until

the ball was right above the line

before proceeding to defend it.

The purpose of the VAR is to

help clubs and football avoid

being affected by errors that

can be amended. As a conse-

quence, the referee will also

not suffer from pressure. “The

main purpose, however, is to

validate results, help football be

more ethical and prevent a

club’s title going to the wrong

club due to a refereeing error

that can be amended,” stated

Manoel Serapião. On the night

shift, the instructors showed

footage of activities carried out

throughout the day and made

general comments on commu-

nication, gestural and postural

assessments.

FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

48 / FIFA 1904

APF

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New Zealand Foot-

ball confirms it will

enter into formal

talks before the end of the

year with the New Zealand

Professional Footballers’

Association (NZPFA) regarding

a new collective agreement for

the employment of all senior

international football players.

New Zealand Football High

Performance Manager,

Becoming the first

woman in Papua New

Guinea to receive an

OFC B licence has left

Margaret Aka feeling both

humbled and grateful. The

former international said the

path to this achievement has

been long and arduous, and

without the backing of the

Papua New Guinea Football

Association (PNGFA) and her

coaching colleagues, she’s

unsure she would have made

it to the end. “I have to take

the time to thank PNGFA for

giving me the opportunity to

be involved in football and the

Franco Foda is

the first

German to become Austria’s

manager. The 51-year old will

replace the Swiss, Marcel

Koller, whose contract expired

and was not renewed, after

SPORTS MEDICAL COURSE IN URUGUAY

The Sports Medical

Course on Preventing

Injury from a Young

Age was initiated at the

Uruguayan Football Associa-

tion and was organised by the

CONMEBOL Medical Commit-

tee and the AUF’s develop-

ment department. Raúl Möller,

director of this department,

welcomed those present and

thanked them for supporting

the permanent training for

medical staff required for the

well-being of athletes. Mr

Möller encouraged them to

make use of the training

provided for the overall devel-

opment of sport in general

and particularly football. The

course is aimed at 31 partici-

pants, including doctors,

physiotherapists and kinesiolo-

gists, who will attend lectures

held by Doctors Francisco

Forriol, Jorge Cheyre, Daniel

Rienzi and José Veloso.

NZF TO NEGOTIATE NEW PLAYERS’ AGREEMENT

AKA BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Serbia have terminated

the contract of head

coach Slavoljub Muslin

three weeks after the former

Lokomotiv Moscow and

Red Star Belgrade boss led

them to 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russia qualification. His

SERBIA PART COMPANY WITH SLAVOLJUB MUSLIN

FODA TO BECOME AUSTRIA’S MANAGER

OFC technical team for provid-

ing that pathway for me to be

an accredited coach,” said

Aka. “The road to the OFC B

licence wasn’t an easy one.

I’ve sacrificed a lot of family

time, but the hard work and

persistence has paid off in the

end. And I certainly wouldn’t

have done it without the

support and assistance from a

lot of great people around

me.” When her playing career

came to a close after almost

20 years, Aka knew she had

more to offer. As a volunteer,

she was soon given an oppor-

tunity to attend a grassroots

coaching course and hasn’t

looked back since. She’s led

the OFC Just Play Programme

in Papua New Guinea and in

2014 found herself in charge

of the national U-15 girls’ team

which competed at the Youth

Olympic Games in Nanjing,

China. It was this opportunity

which really set Aka on her

coaching journey as she then

went on to lead the Papua New

Guinea U-17 women’s team to

silver at the OFC U-17 Women’s

Championship in 2016.

Dwayne Woolliams, is looking

forward to building on FIFA’s

relationship with the NZPFA

and working together to

produce an agreement that

satisfies all parties. “The

prospect of a single collective

agreement, providing equal

terms and conditions for our

men and women, is exciting

and indeed a natural step from

the current agreements which

already provide for pay equality.

New Zealand Football is

committed to a robust

bargaining process which

builds on the common ground

we currently have with the

NZPFA and respects the

confidentiality of both parties.

As such, we will not be making

further public comment until

negotiations are concluded.”

assistant, Mladen Krstajić –

who had 59 appearances for

the senior team – has taken

the reins until a successor is

appointed. Muslin was given

the role in May 2016 and

tasted competitive defeat only

once, courtesy of a late goal

in a 3-2 loss in Austria, on the

way to guiding the South

Africa 2010 qualifiers back to

the World Cup as Group D

winners in Europe. Six wins

from their ten games saw

them clinch progression with

victory over Georgia ahead of

the Republic of Ireland and

Wales. Of his 15 games at the

helm he won eight, losing just

two in total. Russia 2018 will

be the second appearance for

Serbia at the finals as an

independent nation, having

exited at the group stage

seven years ago.

49FIFA 1904 /

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MADJER TAKES CHARGE OF ALGERIA

SHADDAD RETURNS TO THE HELM OF THE SUDAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Algeria legend

Rabah Madjer has

been appointed as

head coach of the Algerian

national team following their

unsuccessful bid to qualify for

the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russia. Algeria were knocked

out of World Cup contention

after failing to win any of their

first five matches in a difficult

Group B, which paired them

with Nigeria, Zambia and

Cameroon. Les Fennecs have

turned to experienced coach

and former forward Madjer to

succeed the outgoing Lucas

Alcaraz to get them back on

track ahead of the 2019 CAF

Africa Cup of Nations

qualifiers next year. Madjer,

who had a distinguished

playing career with Porto and

the Algerian national team as

a forward, has coached Les

Fennecs on two previous

occasions (1994-1995 and

2001-2002).

Veteran football

administrator Kamal

Shaddad has been

elected president of the Sudan

Football Association (SFA) for a

four-year term. Shaddad, 82,

beat incumbent Mutasim

Gaafar by 33 to 28 votes at

the Elective General Assembly

of the SFA held in Khartoum

on Sunday, 29 October 2017.

Previously head of the SFA

between 2001 and 2010,

Shaddad returns to the helm

bringing an end to months of

internal wrangling within the

SFA. The General Assembly

was supervised by CAF

Executive Committee member

Suleiman Hassan Waberi and

FIFA Regional Development

Manager David Fani.

HISTORIC MILESTONE FOR SOMALI FOOTBALL

Football is helping

bring a level of

happiness to the

citizens of Somalia, a country

that has long been ravaged by

upheaval. The end of October

marked a historic moment

with the laying of a founda-

tion stone for the Somali

Football Federation’s (SFF)

new premises, the national

association having operated in

rented offices for over half a

century. Located in the Horn

of Africa, Somalia has a long

to nominate an “off-pitch”

club leader, such as a chairman

or club secretary and an

“on-pitch” club coach devel-

oper, such as a head coach,

manager or development

officer to attend the day. As

such, players, coaches, staff,

volunteers, board members,

and managers from all over

the country attended the

conference to hear from some

top-class speakers. Key-note

speakers who addressed both

groups were Gavin Levey and

Steven Sweeney of Aberdeen

FC and the Aberdeen FC

Community Trust, as well as

former Manchester United

coaches Paul McGuiness and

Jim Ryan. Speaking specifically

to coach developers were

Liverpool FC’s Michael Beale

and Stuart Ferrier from the

sportscotland institute of

sport. Whilst the club leaders

heard from Peter Davidson

of the Links Park Community

Trust and Greig Mailer,

the Scottish FA’s recently

appointed Head of Marketing

and Communications. Scottish

FA Coach Education Manager

Greig Paterson said: “This

type of conference was the

first of its kind delivered by

the Scottish FA as we seek to

bring best practice from both

the domestic game and the

wider world of sport to help

support the development

of football in Scotland. We

were treated to a host of

interesting presentations with

a lot of interesting ideas,

which I hope can be utilised

by clubs across Scotland.

This will be the first of many

Austria’s failure to qualify for

the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russia™. Under Koller, Austria’s

manager since November

2011, the team qualified for

the UEFA EURO 2016, but

despite a strong performance

in their qualifying group, were

immediately knocked out in

the group stage, without

winning a single match. In the

qualifiers for Russia 2018 they

finished fourth in the European

Group D behind Serbia, the

Republic of Ireland and Wales.

“The fact that Franco Foda

was unanimously elected is a

reflection of his professional

reputation. He knows Austrian

football as a player and as a

coach. He is a meticulous

worker. He could become a

figurehead”, said Austrian FA

President Leo Windtner. “It is

a great honour for a coach to

manage the Austrian national

team. I am looking forward to

the task and to working with

the players and I am convinced

that together we will be a

success,” said Foda.

DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE IN SCOTLAND

The Scottish FA

welcomed more than

140 club leaders and

coach developers from all

parts of the pathway to the

recent Club and Coach

Development Conference at

the University of Stirling. The

conference was available to

clubs at all levels of the game

and each club was encouraged

as the development of clubs

and coaches in Scotland

continues.”

FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

50 / FIFA 1904

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o

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Canada Soccer has

partnered with

Ontario Soccer,

Own the Podium, Sport

Canada, the Canadian Sport

Institute Ontario, and Bill

Crothers Secondary School in

Markham, Ontario, to launch

its third Regional EXCEL (REX)

Super Centre in Canada. The

Ontario Regional EXCEL Super

Centre will be launched in

January 2018 and provide

Canada’s top youth talent with

a centralised daily training

environment that supports

Canada’s elite female youth

ARENA RESIGNS AS USA COACH

Bruce Arena has

stepped down from

his role as USA head

coach. Arena’s decision to

resign as national team

manager comes after the

country failed to qualify for

National coach and

former national

team captain,

Jamal Abu Abed (photo) has

been officially appointed as

head coach of the men’s

senior national team for the

upcoming phase. Abu Abed

was introduced to the media

in a press conference that took

place at the Jordan Football

Association headquarters.

Jordan FA General Secretary

Sizar Soubar stressed that the

appointment of Abu Abed was

ABU ABED APPOINTED AS JORDAN HEAD COACH

CANADA SOCCER LAUNCHES DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

association with football

dating all the way back to

1951, but never before has the

governing body had premises

to call its own. The new

headquarters are being built

on a portion of land that was

recently donated to the SFF

by the Ministry for Youth

and Sport, as announced

by Minister Hon Khadija

Mohamed Diriye. The associa-

tion has indicated their plan

to apply for funding from

FIFA’s Forward Development

Programme for the new base

which is expected to be

completed next year. “The

construction of these new

headquarters will end more

than half a century of the

Somali Football Federation

serving in rented offices,” said

SFF President Abdiqani Said

Arab. “This will be the first

building owned by the associ-

ation in its whole history. It is

being built thanks to the new

development initiatives creat-

ed by FIFA President Gianni

Infantino. The headquarters

will be home to the entire

football family of Somalia.

Having more space to work

will help the development of

football in the country.”

the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russia. A 2-1 defeat away to

Trinidad and Tobago on 10

October, combined with

Honduras and Panama’s

recording victories over Mexico

and Costa Rica respectively,

meant the Stars and Stripes

finished fifth in CONCACAF’s

Hexagonal standings. It is the

first time the USA have failed

to qualify for the World Cup

since Mexico 1986. “It is the

greatest privilege for any

coach to manage their

country’s national team, and

as I leave that role today, I am

honoured and grateful to have

had that opportunity twice in

my career,” said Arena, who

coached the USA at Korea/

Japan 2002 and Germany

2006 during his first stint as

national team manager.

players through an advanced

curriculum. Talented U-14 to

U-18 players will be offered a

comprehensive training

programme aligned to Canada

Soccer’s national curriculum

that will provide them with the

opportunity to accumulate

high-quality training hours

while developing world-class

skills across Canada Soccer’s

entire development

programme. The 28 players

attending the first intake of

the Ontario Regional EXCEL

Super Centre in January will

engage in a full-time pro-

gramme and train or play five

days per week from January to

June in a “best with best”

environment with national

and internationally licensed

coaches, while attending Bill

Crothers Secondary School.

“Canada Soccer’s EXCEL

Program was designed to

ensure Canada is consistently

producing female soccer

players with the necessary

skillset by design, rather than

by chance,” said John Herdman,

Canada Soccer’s Women’s

National Program Director and

Women’s National Team Head

Coach. “By cementing the

connection between Regional

EXCEL Centres across the

nation, Canada Soccer’s

National EXCEL Program and

the Women’s National Team

Program, Canada Soccer is

aligning Canada’s talent pool

to ensure talent is identified

and nurtured so players have

a clear pathway towards

representing our nation on

the international stage.” Since

the inception of the Women’s

EXCEL System in 2014, player

development progress has

improved across all age

groups, and a significant

number of youth players have

excelled for Canada Soccer’s

women’s national team,

including bronze medalists

Deanne Rose, Kadeisha

Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence,

Rebecca Quinn, and Jessie

Fleming.

51FIFA 1904 /

JFA

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FIFA CHIEF WOMEN’S FOOTBALL OFFICER VISITS AIFF

COACHING STUDY PROGRAMME IN JAPAN

The Japan Football

Association invited

five coaches each from

Cambodia and Myanmar as

part of a joint project with the

Japan Foundation Asia Center

to a coaching study

programme specialised for

youth development. The youth

coaches visited Japan from

22 September to 1 October.

Since both football associations

have been focusing on youth

development in recent years,

they were keen to join the

programme which was

arranged in cooperation with

the JFA Academy and Omiya

Ardija (a J1 League club). Two

of the overseas coaches from

Japan, Ohara Kazunori

(Technical Director of Football

Federation of Cambodia),

and Koga Takuma (Coach of

Myanmar Academy) also

joined the programme.

Representatives of

the All India Football

Federation (AIFF) met

FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football

Officer Sarai Bareman at the

AIFF headquarters in New

Delhi to discuss the progress

of women’s football in India.

The AIFF briefed the FIFA

Chief Women’s Football

Officer on the roadmap for

women’s football in India and

discussed at length possible

methods to ensure rapid

progression in women’s

football. “Women’s football in

India is clearly on the rise with

the AIFF launching a domestic

league (Indian Women’s

head coach’s seat for the

Green Falcons. Bauza’s first

task will be to prepare the

team for the World Cup next

summer, where they are

returning to the world finals

for the first time since 2006.

The 59-year-old coach will be

the fourth South American to

take charge of Saudi Arabia

at a World Cup, following in

the footsteps of Jorge Solari

(at USA 1994), Carlos Alberto

Parreira (at France 1998) and

Marcos Paqueta (at Germany

2006).

League),” said Bareman.

“The AIFF has linked the FIFA

Live Your Goals project very

efficiently with the AIFF

Grassroots Programmes and

it is refreshing to see how

young girls are being encour-

aged to take up football.

Organising school-level

tournaments is the next big

step in ensuring that the

development in women’s

football penetrates deep

within the grassroots,” she

added. The AIFF launched the

Indian Women’s League early

this year, wherein six teams

vied for a place in history.

Eastern Sporting Union

defeated Rising Students 3-0

in the final to become the

first team to win the Indian

Women’s League.

not temporary, stating that the

Jordan FA, represented by its

Executive Committee, as well

as President HRH Prince Ali Bin

Al Hussein, had put their faith

in the national coach to lead

the Nashama in the upcoming

period of time. For his part,

Jordan FA Technical Director

Belhassan Maloush welcomed

the appointment of Abu Abed

and stressed that Abu Abed

would be leading the national

team in the upcoming AFC

Asian Cup finals in the UAE in

2019. The newly appointed

head coach expressed his

delight to take charge of the

national team, and made it

clear that he would be making

changes in the planning and

squad in the upcoming phase,

in order to meet the expecta-

tions of Jordanian fans.

BAUZA TO LEAD SAUDI ARABIA AT WORLD CUP

Argentinian head

coach Edgardo

Bauza has replaced

Bert van Marwijk as head

coach of Saudi Arabia and will

lead the team to next summer’s

2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

Bauza was named head coach

of the UAE back in May 2017,

and oversaw a 1-1 draw in

Thailand, 2-1 victory over

Saudi Arabia and 1-0 defeat

by Iraq in World Cup qualifiers

during his time with the UAE.

Bauza and the UAE FA were

able to reach a mutual

agreement with the Saudis for

the Argentinian to take the

53FIFA 1904 /

AIF

F

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THEN

Table tennis at a World Cup training base: Germany’s manager Helmut Schön and Horst Eckel against Aki Schmidt and Herbert Erhardt (left to right). Horst Szymaniak (in light trousers) and Hans Cieslarczyk look on.

1958BJÄRREDS SALTSJÖBAD, SWEDEN

54 / FIFA 1904

imag

o

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NOW

Teqball perfection: Brazilian players Gabriel Jesus, Dani Alves, Neymar and Philippe Coutinho (left to right) after training for a World Cup qualifier.

2017 SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

55FIFA 1904 /

Mig

uel S

chin

cari

ol/A

FP

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A FIFA LEGEND’S CAREER

It was often said that Nwankwo Kanu was an unpredictable player, with opponents never sure what he would do next. The two-time African Footballer of the Year, who was the captain of the Nigeria side that won Olympic gold in 1996 and scored two crucial goals in the semi-final against Brazil, was also known for his excellent technique. His success with clubs such as Ajax, Internazionale and Arsenal paved the way for the next generation of African players to follow in his footsteps in Europe.

1992-1993 Iwuanyanwu Nationale 1 league title. 25 games, 15 goals.

Kanu’s goals fire the team to the league

title and secure his place in Nigeria’s squad

for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The Golden

Eaglets go all the way in Japan, defeating

Ghana in the final, and Kanu catches the

eye of many top European clubs.

1993-1996 Ajax3 league titles, 1 Champions League,

1 Intercontinental Cup. 54 games, 25 goals.

“I was enjoying myself, playing African

football, dribbling, entertaining and

displaying all my skills. But Louis van Gaal

came to me and said, ‘Hey, listen, this is

business. Every team needs to have their

pattern and you have to follow the pattern.’

Ajax was like a school and I am glad that I

went to that school.” Nwankwo Kanu

1996-1999 Internazionale1 UEFA Cup. 12 games, 1 goal.

After a medical examination reveals a

heart problem, football has to take a

back seat for a while. Faced with the

possibility of never playing football

again, Kanu goes under the knife and

makes his comeback in 1997.

1993

Queen Elizabeth II decides to

open up Buckingham Palace’s

state rooms to visitors for eight

weeks a year. All tickets for the

next three years are promptly

snapped up shortly after going

on sale.

1992

The Toronto Blue Jays

become the first-ever

team from outside the

USA to win baseball’s

World Series.

1996

US rapper Tupac

Shakur is shot and

dies from his injuries

six days later.

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD...

56 / FIFA 1904

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“My best moment was at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta because we were the first African country to reach the final of the Olympics and win it.”Nwankwo Kanu

1999-2004 Arsenal 2 league titles, 2 FA Cups.

119 games, 37 goals.

If one game cemented Kanu’s reputation

as a super-sub, then it was Chelsea v. Arsenal

in 1999. The Gunners are 2-0 down when

Kanu comes off the bench to turn the

match on its head with a 15-minute

hat-trick. His strike to make it 3-2 is Kanu in

a nutshell: technique, ingenuity and artistic

perfection.

2004-2006 West Bromwich Albion 58 games, 9 goals.

If you want to know what kind of

impression Kanu made on West Brom, just

look at where their fans hail from. On the

club’s social media platforms, the vast

majority of Baggies supporters come from

the UK. In second place? Fans from Nigeria.

2006-2012 Portsmouth 1 FA Cup. 141 games, 20 goals.

During his time at Pompey, the Nigerian

striker writes himself into club folklore with

the goal that clinches the FA Cup in 2008,

a feat that earns him a new nickname:

“King Kanu”.

2006Google purchases YouTube

for USD 1.65 billion.

2004George W. Bush is elected

US President for a second and

final four-year term.

1999

“SpongeBob SquarePants“ airs on

Nickelodeon for the first time,

going on to spawn numerous

movies, video games, comic books

and a wide range of merchandise.

57 FIFA 1904 /

Illu

stra

tio

n: T

ob

ias

bel

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PHOTO ARCHIVE

World Cup draw in good hands FIFA President Jules Rimet (left) holds the urn so that his grandson can draw the teams for the 1938 World

58 / FIFA 1904

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Cup in France (Paris, 5 May 1938).

59FIFA 1904 /

AFP

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MORDILLO

61FIFA 1904 /

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INNOVATIONS

RECYCLING FOOTBALL PITCHES

What do you do with old artificial turf pitches that are past their sell-by date? FIFA is setting an example by recycling them.

By Perikles Monioudis

Remember the old days when football pitches were so heavy that

even wearing boots with extra-long studs couldn’t guarantee

that your feet wouldn’t get stuck in the mud at a vital moment in

the game? Or playing as a kid on clay-type surfaces that were

rutted with holes, and screw-in studs provided precious little grip?

The 1954 World Cup final in Switzerland is a famous example of

the former, while the latter evokes memories of the type of

rough-and-ready neighbourhood pitch beloved of kids looking for

a kick-about.

Such pitches are fast becoming a thing of the past thanks to

artificial turf, which was used for some World Cup qualifying

matches and has even featured in a Women’s World Cup, and

many leagues and cups are also won and lost on such surfaces.

But the reason they are so popular is that they can be used

anywhere in the world, thus adding to the game’s global appeal.

Thanks to artificial turf, more children and adults alike can

experience the enjoyment that comes from playing on a decent

surface, which means that it has become vital to worldwide

football development.

Work has recently been completed on relaying the surface of

FIFA’s artificial turf pitch at its headquarters in Zurich. It is just one

of 3,437 such FIFA-certified pitches in 149 countries that have

been installed since 2006.

As the normal life of artificial turf is around eight years, operators

around the world are starting to wonder how to dispose of their

old turf. In FIFA’s case, rather than throw it away after years of

sterling service, the decision was made to recycle it.

In its environmental impact study, FIFA also explains how to

dispose of artificial turf elsewhere in the world in a more

environmentally friendly way that enables 99% of the materials

to be recycled, thus consigning even the happiest memories of

boggy pitches to oblivion.

Good for the environment 99% of the artificial turf at the Home of FIFA is being recycled.

62 / FIFA 1904

FIFA

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FANS

“I CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH ICELAND”

Fans have the last word: after the Final Draw in Moscow, Luis Arredondo Jiménez from Costa Rica is licking his lips ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Recorded by Annette Braun

I get goosebumps whenever I think

about Brazil 2014. It was a tournament

that changed the history of my country,

Costa Rica. We took the world by

surprise by reaching the quarter-finals

and only lost in a penalty shoot-out to

the Netherlands. Expectations of us will

be high next year, and nobody will

underestimate us any more, which is

why it’s going to be tough to reach the

quarters again, but I hope we can do it.

The Final Draw gave us a taste of things

to come at the World Cup – all of the

emotions, the people, the dreams –

that’s what makes this tournament great.

I can’t wait to watch Iceland, who were

pretty impressive in qualification. I’m

looking forward to seeing Panama’s

so-called golden generation at its first

World Cup, as well as Egypt, who last

qualified 28 years ago. An African team

could cause an upset with their speed

and ability to play deep.

The World Cup gives young and experi-

enced players alike a platform. How will

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

perform in what will probably be their

last tournament on the global stage, and

will rising talents such as Gabriel Jesus,

Kylian Mbappé, Adrien Rabiot and

Ousmane Dembélé take the world by

storm? I have a hunch that the big star

could be the Spanish boy wonder Marco

Asensio.

I’ll watch the games on TV and follow

them on social media, as will most other

people in my country. Football is like a

religion in Costa Rica. As a kid, you live

and breathe it, and I was no different.

I’ve followed the national league, the

national team and clubs like Juventus,

Barcelona and Real Madrid right from the

start. Players like Alessandro Del Piero,

Robert Pires and David Beckham were

my heroes.

Some of my most treasured memories

involve football – like the 2002 World

Cup, where Costa Rica were the only

team to score twice against Brazil, who

went on to become champions, or the

opening match in 2006 against hosts

Germany. There will be new memories

to come in Russia, that’s for sure. Brazil

and France have a very good chance of

winning, but Germany must be the

favourites. Joachim Löw could field four

teams of equal quality, with the depth

of talent available to him.

But regardless of who takes the trophy

home, the World Cup will be a football

fiesta that will bring people together

around the world, all of them speaking

one language: that of the beautiful

game.

At the hallowed Bernabéu Luis Arredondo Jiménez at the home of his beloved Real Madrid.

63FIFA 1904 /

HO

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Stars from different worlds Sylvester Stallone and Pelé on the Escape to Victory set (1981).

FEBRUARY 2018 FILMS AND FOOTBALL »

»

PUBLISHER FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20,

P.O. Box, 8044 Zurich, Switzerland

Phone +41 (0)43 222 7777,

fax +41 (0)43 222 7878

PRESIDENT Gianni Infantino

SECRETARY GENERAL Fatma Samoura

CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Fabrice Jouhaud

HEAD OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS

Rüdiger Müller

CHIEF EDITOR Perikles Monioudis

STAFF WRITERS Alan Schweingruber (Deputy

Editor), Annette Braun

ART DIRECTION Marc Salvador

PICTURE EDITOR Peggy Knotz

LAYOUT Susanne Egli, Linda Schwartz

TRANSLATION AND PROOFREADING

English: Timo Eugster, Andrew Hurley,

Stuart Makin, Milica Sajin;

French: Alexandre Adriano, Alexandre Hubert,

Alexandre Károlyi, Nicolas Samier,

Estelle Valensuela;

Spanish: Irene Antolín Pérez, José Ibarra,

Juan F. López Vera, Natalia Pita Álvarez;

German: Sandra Locher, Yves-Manuel Méan,

Gabriela Straube-Zweifel

PRODUCTION Philipp Mahrer / Hans-Peter Frei

PRINTING ZT Medien AG

CONTACT [email protected]

INTERNET www.FIFA.com/Magazine

Reproduction of photographs and articles of

FIFA 1904 in whole or in part is only permitted

with prior editorial approval and with reference

to the source (FIFA 1904, © FIFA 2017).

The editor and staff are not obliged to publish

unsolicited manuscripts and photographs.

The views expressed in FIFA 1904 are not

necessarily those of FIFA.

FIFA and the FIFA logo are registered trademarks.

Made and printed in Switzerland.

PUBLICATION DETAILS: FIFA 1904 – PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (FIFA).

COMING UP

Pure emotion! Football and films have rather a lot in common:

they draw huge crowds, provide fantastic entertainment and turn their stars into household names.

Our next issue, which will be published on 26 January 2018, will take a closer look at some of the best football films

and reveal which actors and directors are big football fans.

64 / FIFA 1904

imag

o

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Football is a powerful unifying force. Participating in the beautiful game is a joy, but it also means we all have a responsibility: to treat each other with respect and sportsmanship, whether we are players, officials or fans.

What happens on the pitch is not restricted to the touchlines: it can inspire the world.

MY GAME IS FAIR PLAY