the master planchina pr · 2019-03-10 · jose mourinho) norberto duarte / afp ,magoi tuo ill m....

WWW.FIFA.COM/THEWEEKLY

ISSUE 44/2015, 6 NOVEMBER 2015 ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

THE MASTER PLANCHINA PR

SWEDEN NORRKOPING’S

FOOTBALL FAIRYTALE

PARAGUAY CERRO PORTENO

AND OLIMPIA BATTLE IT OUT

GRASSROOTS NURTURING YOUNG TALENT

AT THE U-17 WORLD CUP

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

The FIFA Weekly app

FIFA’s magazine The FIFA Weekly is published in four languages every Friday and is also available free of charge on smartphone and tablet. http://www.fifa.com/mobile

The master planOur cover image shows two of the 2,400 players who train at Guangzhou Evergrande’s youth academy.

Kevin Frayer / Getty Images

6 The master plan

Youth development is now a top priority in China thanks to a 50-point plan that even incorporates football into the school curriculum. The aim is to return to the FIFA World Cup after just one previous appearance by the men’s national team in 2002. Our reporter Sarah Steiner speaks to Shanghai SIPG coach Sven- Goran Eriksson about the progress being made in Chinese football.

17 Sweden From the brink of relegation to the top of the table in just one season, Norrkoping’s story is a sporting fairytale.

28 Grassroots Festival in Chile Held alongside the FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA’s grassroots programme is bringing smiles to the faces of children and youth coaches alike.

35 Nottingham Forest The film ‘I Believe in Miracles’ tells the story of the English club’s footballing marvel in the late 1970s.

16 Paraguay Who will win the championship: Olimpia or Cerro Porteno? (Pictured: Alejandro Silva)

15 England Chelsea’s miserable run continues. (Pictured: Manager Jose Mourinho)

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2 T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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

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 BelgiumMatch 50 Mexico Nigeria

Match for third place · 8 NovemberMatch 51 Loser of Match 49 Loser of Match 50

Final · 8 NovemberMatch 52 Winner of Match 49 Winner of Match 50

Matches of the knockout stage

22 Bela Guttmann The former Hungarian coach proved to be both a blessing and a curse for Benfica, leaving a legacy that continues to this day.

18 Gennaro Gattuso “I’m a tough nut,” says the 2006 world champion and current Pisa coach in an interview.

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3T H E F I FA W E E K LY

GRASSROOTS

FIFA’s Grassroots programme is the core foundation of our development mission, aimed at encouraging girls and boys around the world to play and enjoy football without restrictions. Grassroots focuses on the enjoyment of the game through small-sided team games, and teaching basic football technique, exercise and fair play.

For more information visit FIFA.com

FIFA inspiring girls and boys to play football

U N C O V E R E D

In China the women’s national team have shown the way, featuring at the FIFA Women’s World Cup six times since its introduction in 1991 and finishing as runners-up in 1999 to spark unprecedented euphoria across the country.

Although their campaign at this year’s tournament in Canada came to an end at the quarter-final stage, China’s women can still count themselves among the best in the world.

The men’s national side dream of reaching similar heights and experiencing more FIFA World Cup adventures of their own, having only featured at the tournament once before, in 2002. By pursuing an extensive youth development programme, China are aiming to qualify consistently for future FIFA World Cups and host the competition in the foreseeable future.

Sven-Goran Eriksson, coach of championship runners-up Shanghai SIPG, is confident that the Chinese will achieve their objectives. Starting on page six, he discusses the country’s football and its immense potential in an interview with our reporter Sarah Steiner. Å

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A footballing dream

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“CHINA WILL BE SUCCESSFUL”

C H I N A P R

Sven-Goran Eriksson has been coaching in China since 2013. In an interview with Sarah Steiner, the Swedish tactician speaks about the changes taking effect in Chinese football.


C H I N A P R

Joel Marklunf/Bildbyrån/freshfoscus 7T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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Sven-Goran Eriksson, how do football and China fit together?

Sven-Goran Eriksson: In footballing terms, China is developing at lightning speed, especially at club level and in terms of youth development. Contrary to what people claim, it’s not at all difficult or complicated to work here. The players are motivated to succeed, they enjoy playing the game, they’re extreme-ly hard-working and very disciplined. They constantly want to improve. I really like China, and you sense it very clearly that football here is getting better. In ten to 15 years, Chinese football will have taken a major step forward and will be very competitive.

Are there targets that this development is working towards?

The development that the sport is cur-rently undergoing is huge, but football is also important to the government. The state president Xi Jinping has set the target of making China a footballing nation to be reckoned with and a massive development programme is in the works to help us reach those targets.

And what exactly would these targets be?To qualify for a FIFA World Cup™, to

host the tournament and to eventually win the trophy. Obviously these are very ambi-tious goals and it will take a few years to achieve even one of them, but I’m convinced that China will be successful. Not overnight, but at some point. China dominates lots of other sports – why can’t they also be good at football?

What has been the biggest obstacle to this up until now?

The biggest issue was the complete absence of grass roots football, which means kids between the ages of six and 12 hadn’t been pushed to play football. There were no youth schemes in place, no opportunities to play the game. From a young age, boys and girls play basketball, table tennis and volley-ball, traditional sports in China and ones in which the country has always been success-ful. But the kids here had never played any football at all.

Does football play an important role in school and education?

That’s the most important consideration of all. The integration of football in public schools is finally coming to fruition. Academic achievement is very important to kids in China and they’re pushed very hard. So if football also becomes a part of their educa-tion, then there’s a great chance that the game can become something big in this country.

Looking to the future: in China, the biggest emphasis is placed on talent promotion.

Investment in youth: Evergrande’s youth sides practice on over 50 training pitches.

In the name of football: star players getting involved at lunchtime as caricatures on the wall. Kev

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Team MP W D L GF GA P

1. Guangzhou Evergrande FC 30 19 10 1 71 28 67

2. Shanghai SIPG 30 19 8 3 63 35 65

3. Shandong Luneng 30 18 5 7 66 41 59

4. Beijing Guo’an 30 16 8 6 46 26 56

5. Henan Jianye 30 12 10 8 35 30 46

6. Shanghai Shenhua 30 12 6 12 42 44 42

7. Shijiazhuang Ever Bright 30 8 15 7 34 31 39

8. Chongqing Lifan 30 9 8 13 37 52 35

9. Jiangsu Sainty 30 9 8 13 39 48 35

10. Changchun Yatai 30 8 11 11 39 47 35

11. Hangzhou Greentown 30 8 9 13 27 35 33

12. Liaoning Whowin 30 7 10 13 30 46 31

13. Tianjin Teda 30 7 10 13 39 46 31

14. Guangzhou R&F 30 8 7 15 35 41 31

15. Guizhou Renhe 30 7 8 15 39 52 29

16. Shanghai Shenxin 30 4 5 21 30 70 17

Chinese Super League 2015: Final Standings

China’s current economic situation is some-what precarious. Could this have an effect on football?

That will probably be the case, yes, but the investment in football will nevertheless continue, I’m sure of that. Football is the most important and most watched sport in the world, and nothing else comes close to it. So people are prepared to invest good money in it.

What is Chinese football like at club level? How do Chinese clubs compare with their European counterparts in terms of youth development, for example?

Clubs are investing more and more in youth talent promotion. Many have their own academies, but they’ve also looked abroad and sought to establish partnerships with big European clubs like Real Madrid or Chelsea, and to learn from those clubs’ experiences. There are lots of these projects going on and domestic football in China is profiting enor-mously from them. They’re helping Chinese football take a major step forward.

You’ve been coaching SIPG Shanghai since 2014, having previously been at Guangzhou R&F. What is life like for a Swede in China?

I feel at home here and the people trust me. The only stumbling block is the language. I’ve tried to learn it – and I’ll continue to tack-le that challenge – but it’s extremely difficult. There really are no similarities or compari-sons with other languages that I know and speak, or understand. So when I’m working with the players and communicating with them, I use translators. It’s imperative that the squad understands my instructions.

Many star names entering the twilight of their careers have come to China recently, players like Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and even Robinho. Have these players really brought something to the league and is that still continuing?

The objective of club owners here is to improve the league, and that’s the reason these foreign players have been signed. Fresh blood and new ideas always give you some-thing extra, and sometimes they can also make the difference.

Par tnerships with clubs like Real Madrid and Chelsea are helping football in China take a major step forward.

C H I N A P R

READ MORE ON PAGE 12 »

Many of these players do not stay in China for long, however…

That’s not quite true. Take Dario Conca, for example. He won the league title in Chile with Universidad Catolica and in Brazil with Fluminense, and he was even Brazil’s Player of the Year in 2010. Then he came to China and won the Asian Champions League with Guangzhou Evergrande in 2013. After that, he went back to Fluminense, but playing in South America no longer appealed to him, and today he’s back in China playing for me.

Another player in your squad is Asamoah Gyan, who arrived in the summer for over 15 million Euros. How has he settled in so far and how satisfied are you with his perfor-mances?

Lessons in tactics: Chinese school children listening attentively to their coach.

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China are cur rent ly in the midst of their 2018 FIFA Wor ld Cup Russia™ quali f y ing campaign. Coach Alain Perr in’s side are bat -t l ing i t out with Qatar, Hong Kong, the Maldives and Bhutan in

Group C of AFC quali f y ing for a coveted t icket to the wor ld’s great -es t football tournament . Str ikers Yang Xu and Yu Dabao play a ma -jor par t in this Chinese dream, hav ing scored si x of their countr y ’s nine goals in the campaign so far. “A good blade must be ground down in order to be sharpened” is a Chinese proverb that carr ies

par t icular s ignif icance for China internat ional Yang Xu. As recent ly as a year ago, the l ight at the end of the Shandong Luneng s tr iker ’s tunnel was fading fast as a combinat ion of injur ies and poor form

led to jus t a handful of appearances and, before long, a permanent place on the bench. A lthough the 28 -year - old then spent last season on loan to Changchun Yatai before returning to Jinan for the cur -rent campaign, he refuses to complain – quite the opposite in fac t . “In retrospec t I should even be grateful for that per iod because I learned some valuable lessons,” he says with admirable serenit y. “I ’m now much more aware that there are no shor tcuts to success and that you can only achieve your goals with hard work ,” he con -t inues. “I knew the oppor tunit y would pass me by i f I didn’t tr y to

ROCKY ROAD TO THE WORLD CUPChina are aiming to qualify for their second FIFA World Cup after making their tournament debut in 2002. The hopes of a nation rest on strike pair Yang Xu and Yu Dabao.

make the most of i t . I began to ref lec t on my past and focus on the future, which means I ’m now all the more appreciat ive whenever I get the chance to play.” The s tr iker showed great determinat ion to f ight his way back into content ion and become one the most prol i f ic goalscorers in the AFC Champions League, net t ing si x t imes before Shandong’s ear ly ex i t . He also found the target seven t imes in the recent ly concluded Chinese Super League campaign to take his team to third in the f inal s tandings.

A versatile attacking playerWith the 2015 Super League now done and dusted, Xu is fully focused

on representing China they seek to qualif y for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. As things stand, the national team’s third place in Group C is not enough in a competit ion where only the eight group winners and four best -placed runners -up move on to the continent ’s third and f inal round of qualif y ing matches. Never theless, China are the only team in their group to have only played four games and, with just a three -point def ic it to second place, st il l have ever y thing to play for.Team Dragon began their quali f y ing campaign against Bhutan back in June in a match Yang Xu remembers well . His impressive display

C H I N A P R

Lucky charm Yu Dabao is the man tasked with scoring China's important goals.

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AFC QUALIFYING

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proved that his keen goalscor ing ins t inc ts are beyond doubt as China recorded a resounding 6 - 0 win agains t a s ide placed 173rd in the FIFA/Coca - Cola Wor ld Rank ing. Xu net ted a hat - tr ick and set up an -other s tr ike for his team that day, while his 17 internat ional goals and commanding per formances have even prompted compar isons with China’s al l - t ime leading goalscorer Hao Haidong. “I ’ve been asked about that a lot recent ly,” the s tr iker says, “and my answer is always the same: t imes have changed. We no longer l ive in an age when one

exceptional player is synonymous with an ent ire era,” he adds. “Before i t was the age of Hao, but now the team comes f irs t . We need a whole ar ray of talented players to make the leap to the nex t level .”

An apprenticeship in LisbonOne of these talented footballers is Yu Dabao, who also contr ibuted two goals in the win over Bhutan. The 27-year - old s tr iker is held in high regard among the countr y ’s fans, hav ing helped his team to

v ic tor y with impor tant goals on more than one occasion. Despite s tr ik ing twice against the Maldives in a Wor ld Cup quali f ier in Sep -tember to earn his team more v ital points, Dabao dismisses the idea of being a lucky charm. “As a player you’ve got to work hard to make sure you’re ready to do what ’s expec ted of you whenever you get the chance,” he explained, before acknowledging that he has Chi -na’s new coach to thank for his inc lusion in the squad. “While there’s no doubt that I earned my call - up, I ’m grateful to Perr in for giv ing me this oppor tunit y.”

Football has been par t of Dabao’s l i fe for as long as he can remem-ber ; indeed, he took to the game so quick ly that he was inc luded in Qingdao’s youth team at the tender age of 11. It was not long before the nat ional team also picked up on his talent , and in 2004 he was called up to a China youth side that won the AFC U -16 Championship and quali f ied for the FIFA U -17 Wor ld Cup in Peru. “P lay ing at that

tournament was a fantast ic exper ience,” he recalls . “It was a total eye - opener for me. For the f irs t t ime I had the oppor tunit y to play with the wor ld’s most talented young footballers . We learned that i t ’s not enough for a player to work hard; you’ve got to use your head too.”

In 2007 Dabao became the f irs t Chinese player ever to sign for a Por tuguese c lub. “I moved to Benf ica at the age of 18,” he says. “Dur -

ing my four years there my mindset , professional ism and sk i l ls al l improved. I learned to read the play, and that exper ience helped me a great deal on my return to the Chinese league.”

Unafraid of QatarXu also learned his trade in prest igious surroundings, tak ing his f ir s t

tentat ive s teps towards a career in the beaut i ful game at the re -nowned Dongbeilu School in the footbal l ing s tronghold of Dal ian, where s tars such as current nat ional team goalkeeper Wang Dalei and former AFC Women’s P layer of the Year Ma X iaoxu were among his c lassmates. The promising young for ward joined Yu in making his f irs t internat ional waves at the 2004 AFC U -16 Championship, scor ing three goals as China s tormed to the t i t le . He s t i l l remembers his f ir s t F IFA tournament c lear ly : “A l though we went to the Wor ld Cup as reigning Asian champions, the s trength of our opponents f rom else -where in the wor ld was apparent as soon as we arr ived,” he recalls . “ That meant expanding our hor izons f rom cont inental level to a glob -al perspec t ive. We learned that we s t i l l had plent y of work to do i f we were to hold our own with the wor ld’s best teams.”

A decade on, Xu once again has the chance to take par t in a FIFA tournament . With Qatar, Hong Kong, Bhutan and the Maldives as their group opponents, there wil l never be a bet ter oppor tunit y for

China to reach the f inal round of Asian quali f y ing for the f irs t t ime since 2002, and i t is a group Xu bel ieves his s ide must tr y to win. “ To be honest , the bat t le in our pool is between China and Qatar,” he says. “A lthough we’ve considered Qatar to be our biggest r ivals f rom the beginning, we cer tainly can’t af ford to underest imate our other opponents and need to tr y to take maximum points f rom each of them.”

A matter of dutyThere have already been occasions when the s tr iker could have heeded his own advice bet ter. His team were unable to break the deadlock in a goalless draw with Hong Kong as the Chinese Spe -c ial Adminis trat ive Region proved themselves to be wor thy oppo -nents . While this result made v ic tor y against Qatar al l the more v i tal , China PR suf fered a narrow 1- 0 loss in Doha even though Dabao was conv inced before the match that his team would emerge v ic tor ious f rom the encounter. “ They aren’t bet ter than us,” he said. “A lthough we’ve los t some mental bat t les to them in the past , we aren’t af raid of Qatar.”

In the wake of these ear ly games, one thing is c lear : China can -not af ford to s l ip up again. When Team Dragon s tep onto the pitch to face Bhutan on 12 November, get t ing back to winning ways wil l be nothing less than a mat ter of nat ional dut y.

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C H I N A P R

I’m very, very happy to have him in my team. We’d been in touch with a lot of players’ agents and names like Mario Ba-lotelli and Carlos Tevez were thrown around. Then suddenly, Asamoah Gyan cropped up and soon after that, he’d signed for us. He’s a great player who’ll make us better. He had some bad luck with a long-term injury, but he’s back fit now and played in the last few matches. He’s found a house and settled in well in Shanghai, and I think he’s happy to be here.

You also have a lot of promising Chinese players in your squad. Which players do you rate among the best?

I’d definitely say Wu Lei. He’s the youngest player to ever play in a profession-al game in China, which he did when he wasn’t even 15. He’s now 23 and he’s an outstanding talent. He’s quick and scores a lot of goals and even in the national team he’s taken on a lot of responsibility. We also have a few others who’ve made it into the China squad as well: Yu Hai, Cai Huikang and our goalkeeper Yan Junling.

Do you think these players would have a chance of succeeding in Europe?

Obviously I hope they all stay here and play for me, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two of them in Europe one day.

Comparing your team with one from a top cub in Europe, you notice that there aren’t many players in your side under the age of 20. Why is that?

In Europe it’s become the norm that 17- or 18-year-olds are already part of the first-team fold. That’s not the case here. Young players in China usually play in the reserve side and build up their experience from there, and we then bring them into the first team gradually. This is another example of where the situa-tion in Chinese football, which I mentioned, comes into play. But as I’ve also said, that will definitely change too.

You narrowly missed out on the league title this year, finishing two points behind champi-ons Guangzhou Evergrande. How disappoint-ed are you by that?

We were obviously a little disappointed, especially as we had it in our hands to win the league. But if you lose important games, you can’t complain about finishing second.

Are you referring to the game against Ever-grande there?

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Goal guarantee: Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan (c.) of league runners-up Shanghai SIPG. Todd

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THE 50-POINT PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOOTBALL

In March 2015, C hina ’s S t a t e C ounc i l present ed a 50 - poin t p lan f or t he development o f f oo t b a l l in t he c ount r y. T he a im o f t he new progr amme is f or f oo t b a l l t o bec ome more a t t r ac t ive, t hereby inc re as ing t he number s o f young people t ak ing up t he spor t . P er-sona l l y suppor t ed by P res ident X i J inping, t he 50 - poin t p lan enc omp as ses f oo t b a l l a t ever y leve l : f rom t he na t iona l t eam and t he c ount r y ’s pro f es s iona l league t o loc a l c lubs . Two new nat iona l t r a ining c ent res a re a l re ady in t he pipe l ine, whi le by 2025 t he number o f p i t c he s w i l l inc r e a s e c oun t r y wide. Up t o 50,000 s c hoo ls w i l l a l s o begin t o o f f er spec ia l i s t f oo t b a l l t r a ining , w i t h t he n a t ion a l as s oc ia t ion t o bec ome independent o f po l i t ic a l invo l vement .

QR Codes and 3D imagesT he p lan f or r e f or m c on t a ins a number o f impor t an t pr ac t ic a l ch ange s , chie f among t hem t ha t chi ldren and young people should be t hose t o ad vanc e f oot b a l l in soc ie t y. To t ha t end, t he spor t has f ina l l y m ade i t s way on t o t he school c ur r ic u lum. Tex t book s have been des igned t o suppor t bot h p layer s and c o aches , wi t h seven vo lumes, each inc luding b as ic ins t r uc t ions f or b a l l c on t ro l and ex amples o f a t t ack ing moves , m ade ava i l ab le .

QR c odes f or sm ar t phones and 3D im ages o f t he exerc ises wi l l a l so be downlo adable . T he number o f f oo t b a l l s chools , c ur ren t l y s t anding a t 5,000, is se t t o r ise t o 20,000 by 2020 and t o 50,000 by 2025. At pr e s en t , pr o f e s s ion a l c lub s a r e t he m a jor f in anc ia l b acker s o f t hese schools , a l t hough wi t h loc a l au t hor i t ies required t o f ind ex t er na l in -ves t or s t o suppor t you t h f oot b a l l , t h is is ex pec t ed t o change.

Women first, then menC hin a ’s appr o ac h is t hr ee - pr onged . S hor t - t er m a im s inc lude t he s t and ar dis a t ion o f f oo t b a l l m anagement sys t ems and improv ing t he env ironment a round f oot b a l l develop -men t . In t he medium t er m, t he wor ld ’s mo s t populous n a t ion i s a iming f or a c le a r inc re as e in t he number s p ar t ic ip a t ing in you t h f oo t b a l l . A longs ide t his , t he women’s na t iona l t e am is ex pec t ed t o rec la im i t s p lac e among t he wor ld ’s e l i t e . T he Holy Gr a i l , and m ain long - t er m a im, is f or t he c ount r y t o bid f or and hos t a F IFA Wor ld C up™ and t o deve lop t he men ’s n a t ion a l t e am in t o one o f t he wor ld ’s be s t . P r e s iden t J inping is dre aming o f C hina l i f t ing t he t rophy on home t ur f, even despi t e t he p lan c oming wi t h a war ning o f “re asonable ex pec t a t ions ”.

C H I N A P R

Yes. We played against them with five games left of the season. We went into the match top of the league by a point, but we ended up losing 3-0.

That’s a pretty clear defeat…Absolutely. They were by far and away the

better team, but we should remember that finishing second means we qualified for the Asian Champions League. That was always our stated goal for the season and the dream of everyone connected with the club, and we managed to realise that. We can be proud of what we did in the campaign and now look forward to playing continental football next season.

What are your ambitions for SIPG going forward, and what personal goals do you have?

We achieved our biggest aim by qualify-ing for the Champions League. Now we want to mix it with the top clubs from Japan, Australia and South Korea and represent Chinese football in a positive way. We have the foundation we need to do that, since the club’s owner has said that he wants to make SIPG one of the biggest clubs in Asia. And me personally? Well I’m very happy here, and I have another year to run on my con-tract. So I guess we’ll wait and see what happens after that. Å

Name

Sven-Goran Eriksson

Date and place of birth

5 February 1948, Torsby, Sweden

Clubs coached1977–1978 Degerfors IF1979–1982 IFK Goteborg1982–1984 SL Benfica1984–1987 AS Roma1987–1989 AC Fiorentina1989–1992 SL Benfica1992–1997 UC Sampdoria1997–2001 SS Lazio2001–2006 England2007–2008 Manchester City2008–2009 Mexico2010 Cote d’Ivoire2010–2011 Leicester City2012 BEC-Tero Sasana2013–2014 Guangzhou R&Fsince 2014 Shanghai SIPG

More on Sven-Goran Eriksson: http://tinyurl.com/odf6nf9

China PR’s women’s national team delights in reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.

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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

track after starting his tenure as coach with a series of draws. Against Chelsea, Philippe Coutinho turned the game on its head, scoring in the 45th and 74th minutes before Christian Benteke killed the game off to hand Klopp his first league victory. The weight of expectation on the new man was clear to see not only at his unveiling, which galvanised the entire club and its fans, but also in the reaction to the victory over Chelsea. Asked in the post-match press conference whether the result would kick-start a title charge, Klopp replied in his inimitable, unpolished manner: “Are you crazy?” His response shows a rational grasp on the situation at hand, but also highlights the change in Chelsea’s status. Whereas previously a win at Stamford Bridge would mean a team was a title candidate, nowadays other clubs such as Manchester City and Arsenal, serve as a better yardstick.

That duo currently lead the table on 25 points. On Matchday 11 City beat Norwich 2-1 while Arsenal defeated Swansea 3-0 in a match in which Joel Campbell played a

E n g l a n d : P r e m i e r L e a g u e

Desperate t imes for Jose Mou r in ho

Annette Braun is a staff writer on The FIFA Weekly.

Chelsea could not be faulted for their effort and commit-ment against Liverpool last

week: the players were determined, fought hard and even took the lead through Ramires’ fourth-minute strike. However, once again they slumped to a defeat – their sixth of the season already. Starved of confidence and self-belief, the reigning champions simply cannot find their rhythm. Jose Mourinho argues with refer-ees, the players argue among themselves and the league table tells its own story: Chelsea are 15th after 11 games with only 11 points on the board.

That stands in contrast to Liverpool, where Jurgen Klopp appears to be on the right

leading role. The 23-year-old Costa Rican has been a peripheral figure at Arsenal since Arsene Wenger signed him four years ago before sending him out on loan to France, Spain and Greece. Yet against Swansea Campbell made his starting debut in the Premier League and crowned a fine display with a goal.

This season’s surprise package is Leicester City, who stayed third in the standings with a 3-2 triumph over West Bromwich Albion. They now have 13 points more than they did at the same stage last term, but coach Claudio Ranieri is still refusing to get ahead of himself, insisting the 40-point mark and avoiding relegation remain the primary objectives.

Ranieri’s success at Leicester will not have gone unnoticed at Chelsea, whose owner Roman Abramovich dismissed the Italian in 2004 before replacing him with Mourinho. Å

Matchwinner Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho (c.) celebrates the first of his two goals against Chelsea.Ia

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Ol impia tr iumph in 413th Superc lasico

Sven Goldmann is a leading football correspondent at Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin.

A bad run of results at the worst time is currently a

cause for concern for Cerro Porteno. Matchday 17 of the Paraguayan Clausura saw Cerro concede a second defeat in a week, and the fact that it came at the hands of old enemy Olimpia only made things worse. The 3-1 scoreline in the ‘Superclasico’ meant a change at the top of the Primera Division table and in the long-running power struggle between the two clubs from the capital city Asuncion. Olimpia now lead the way on 37 points, two points ahead of Cerro Porteno.

Five matches remain, and on current form Cerro will not be adding another league title to their total which currently stands at 31. The most recent of those was the last Apertura championship back in May of this year, when Cerro proudly finished 17 points ahead of their city rivals.

With 39 titles to their name Olimpia are the most successful club in Paraguayan football, although they have been somewhat living on past glories in recent years. In this millenni-um they have only won two championships, the last of which was four years ago. So it is about time that they claimed another, and rarely will they find themselves in a better position than after the 413th ‘Superclasico’ derby. The first-ever encounter between the two sides dates back to a 2-2 draw in 1913 and since then they have continued to be evenly matched – both have won 145 times, with the other 123 games ending in draws. In Paraguay, red and blue (Cerro Porteno) and black and white (Olimpia) are more than just colour combinations; they represent identi-ties and divide communities just like Boca Juniors and River Plate in Buenos Aires, Fluminense and Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro, or Nacional and Penarol in Montevideo.

Cerro Porteno likes to call itself the people’s club. A victory in the derby would have brought them one step closer to the title, so the pressure was on the challengers Olimpia

who dealt with it surprisingly well. Francis-co Arce’s side took control from the start and went ahead after only ten minutes through Claudio Vargas. Cerro’s 34 year-old journeyman Jonathan Santana equalised shortly after but Olimpia did not let the goal affect them for long. The game was not even half an hour old when Pablo Daniel Zeballos Ocampos finished off a perfect counter-at-tack to restore the visitors’ lead. Uruguayan defender Alejandro Silva then put the result beyond doubt with a third goal midway through the second half.

“That was a near perfect performance from my team,“ commented Olimpia coach Fran-cisco Arce. It was a particularly special day for the former Paraguay international who began his career at Cerro Porteno, before moving to Brazil where he played for Gremio and Sao Paulo club Palmeiras. The free-kick specialist won eleven trophies in total, two of them the Copa Libertadores. In 2013 Arce lifted his first league title as a coach with his first love Cerro Porteno, a feat that he will be hoping to repeat in a few weeks at the head of their fiercest rivals. Å

Euphoria Olimpia players and supporters celebrate taking the lead against arch-enemies Cerro Porteno.

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Nor rkoping w in fa i r y ta le t it le

Alan Schweingruber is a staff writer on The FIFA Weekly.

When IFK Gothenburg climbed to the top of the Allsvenskan table with

victory at Kalmar FF on 8 May, their title rivals might have been forgiven for fearing the worst. The 2-0 win, played out in glori-ous spring sunshine, delivered an ominous message to the 18-time champions’ closest challengers: “We’re top of the league and we’re here to stay.”

At first, it seemed as though Gothenburg would be true to their word. The 1982 and 1987 UEFA Cup winners set the pace at the top of the standings for the following five months, delighting their fans with several impressive victories along the way. At the

beginning of October, however, Gothen-burg’s title ambitions took a turn for the worse. A 1-1 draw at home to Halmstads BK allowed second-place IFK Norrkoping to leapfrog the Anglarna (Angels) at the sum-mit and, try as they might, Jorgen Len-nartsson’s side were unable to regain top spot before the season’s end.

Gothenburg and Norrkoping were not the only teams harbouring realistic ambitions of winning the league going into the 30th and final matchday of the campaign. Third-placed AIK needed to win their match and hope other results went their way to stand any chance of overhauling the two front-runners, but could only manage a 1-1 draw away at Orebro SK. Gothenburg were also forced to settle for a share of the spoils at home to Kalmar, allowing Norrkoping to put the seal on their first league title since 1989 with a 2-0 success at Malmo FF.

Scouts from some of Europe’s biggest clubs have been in regular attendance at Malmo’s Swedbank Stadium this season, but the

same cannot be said for Norrkoping’s Nya Parken. The south-east club were nearly relegated from the top division at the end of the 2014 campaign, but after opting against a major overhaul of their playing squad last winter, Jan Andersson’s side enjoyed a miraculous turnaround that culminated in their stunning title victory.

Before taking the reins at Norrkoping five years ago, Andersson had led Halmstads to the Alsvenskan title back in 2000. Had it not been for the faith of Norrkoping’s president Peter Hunt, however, his most recent success may never have come to pass. Hunt, a 63-year-old textile manufacturer, does not do things by halves. He saved the club from bankruptcy in 2009 and, despite heavy criticism from the club’s supporters, opted to stick by his head coach at the end of last term.

Andersson’s former club Halmstads, mean-while, will compete in the Swedish second tier next season after being relegated from the Allsvenskan for the first time since 2011. Å

Patience is a virtue Norrkoping head coach Jan Andersson celebrates winning the league titleim

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Gennaro, how are you enjoying life at Pisa?Gennaro Gattuso: I’m getting on very well.

I work for an illustrious club that had some fantastic times for so many years. The city is beautiful, and it lives and breathes football.

How have you found the experience of oversee-ing a match from the dugout as coach, rather than being at the heart of it all as a midfield general?

They’re two completely different jobs. Having been a good player can help you, but a coach’s job is much more complex. I’m no longer a student now; it’s my turn to teach football.

You were a famously passionate, hard-working and determined player. Do those same charac-teristics mark you out as a coach? How would you describe your style of dealing with players?

I demand a lot from myself, I’m picky and, above all, I’m someone who goes about things with a lot of professionalism and wants to do them properly. I’m a tough nut too and this flaw, if you want to call it that, has stayed with me as a coach. But in recent years I’ve changed my attitude with the players. I used to be tough on them too, whereas now my priority is to prepare the team in the best way possible. Once all the work is done I let the players have their own space; I’m not breath-ing down their necks all day.

You played under some truly great coaches. Are there any in particular you feel you learned most from? Any closest to you in terms of style?

With my personality it’s difficult to copy someone or adopt certain approaches. I have my own way of doing things and I have to convey that to my players. As a footballer I was lucky enough to play for big clubs and when I got there I knew exactly how to behave and what to do. As a coach I’m now working with a lot of young people, some of whom are coming straight out of the youth

ranks. With them I can’t behave in the same way that my coaches behaved with me. I have to make them understand the importance of the work and professionalism it takes to get to the top.

Many Italian players and coaches stay in Italy their whole careers, but you have moved abroad on several occasions – starting when you were just 19, signing for Rangers. Do you feel you’ve benefited from your experiences in Scotland, Switzerland and Greece?

Those experiences had a big and very positive influence on me. Whoever watches me working on the pitch immediately notices that my methods are slightly different from the Italian way - they’re closer to the English style. For example, I like to work at a very high tempo and on the day after a match I prefer to get straight back into training. Going abroad enriched me as a player, but also as a coach.

Please tell us about the 2006 World Cup. What do you remember most, and what was the key to Italy’s success?

I have so many memories of that experi-ence. I mean, for me, wearing the national shirt was always something special. When I was there in the middle of the pitch and I heard the national anthem, I got goose-bumps and thought back to my beautiful childhood. But perhaps my biggest impression of that World Cup was on our arrival at the training camp in Duisburg. In my 12 years in the national side, that was the only time that our training camp hotel didn’t have five stars and maybe that was one of the most important factors. But the key to our success was defi-nitely Marcello Lippi: he was our leader, we relied on him, he had charisma and made us feel valued and protected. The chief architect of that World Cup victory was him.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic said of you: “He gives everyone the motivation they need. On the

field he is an animal - without him we cannot do it.” Do you feel Milan and Italy could do with such an animal these days?

I think that Daniele De Rossi can play this type of role in the national team. He’s a player who’s been in the frame for years, a champion who always puts his heart and soul into things and demands respect. At Milan, I like [Nigel] De Jong: he’s a silent leader, unlike me, but has all the qualities to become a key man.

You were seen as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of your era. Who do you admire playing your position these days?

I really like Radja Nainggolan. Although we aren’t that similar, because he’s definitely better than me technically, I consider him to be one of the strongest players in that role. He knows how to link up the defensive and attacking phases of the game in a balanced way. Å

Gennaro Gattuso was talking to Stephen Sullivan

Gennaro Gattuso, a midfield legend at AC Milan, is now coach at Pisa. We hear how the Italian World Cup winner rates himself on the touchline.

“I’m no longer a student”

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NameGennaro Ivan GattusoDate and place of birth9 January 1978, Corigliano Calabro, ItalyPositionDefensive midfieldClubs played for1995-1997 AC Perugia1997-1998 Glasgow Rangers1998-1999 Salernitana Calcio1999-2012 AC Milan2012-2013 FC SionClubs coached2013 US Palermo2014 OFI CreteSince 2015 AC PisaItaly national team73 caps, 1 goal

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Ph o t o g r a ph e r : J o n a t h a n T o r g o v n i k

First Love

Getty Images21T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Limbering up Benfica coach Bela Guttmann leads by example during a warm-up.

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Unconventional, systematic and successful, Bela Guttmann left his mark on the clubs he coached in Europe and South America, occasion-ally doing so with unforeseen conse-quences, writes Annette Braun.

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It is safe to say that Bela Guttmann was a nomad. Over the six dec-ades he spent in the game as a player and coach, he worked in 13 countries across Europe and North and South America. The Hun-garian seemed driven to keep moving and was an uncompromising character, never staying in one place for more than two years as a coach. He was a vehement believer that “the third season is fatal”

and refused to budge from that standpoint, preferring to walk away from clubs instead.

That Guttmann was one of a kind is highlighted by the anecdote that at one club he asked to be paid in vegetables, rather than money, due to a food shortage. Another tale, from his time at the helm of Honved, has become the stuff of legend. So incensed was he with the performance of one of his players that he ordered him to remain in the changing room for the second half, even though it meant the side would be a man down. Angered by the decision, the player’s team-mates confronted Guttmann during the interval and the coach subse-quently opted to sit in the stands for the second half. After the final whistle he took the tram home and never returned to the club.

Born in Budapest in 1899, Guttmann was a talented player in the 1920s and caused a stir worldwide with Hungary’s Olympic side and in the Hakoah team made up exclusively of Jewish players. In 1926 he even moved to New York, where he not only played football but also made a small fortune as joint owner of a bar.

His prosperity was short-lived, however, as after ‘Black Friday’ in 1929 he lost the majority of his assets. Little is known about Gutt-mann’s plight during the Nazi era, but one thing is certain: he had to fight for survival and cope with family tragedies. Was it that experi-ence that spurred him on to steadfastly go his own way?

Hungarian importGuttman employed unconventional coaching methods but neverthe-less achieved great success and established effective systems, such as the 4-2-4 formation he honed alongside compatriots Marton Bukovi, the MTK Hungaria Budapest coach, and Gusztav Sebes, Hungary’s na-tional team manager. It was a new, more attacking formation than the 2-3-5 system widely used at the time, offering greater scope for flexi-bility and laying the foundation for the ‘Total Football’ played by Ajax many years later. The England national team felt the full force of it in 1953 when they were thrashed 6-3 by Hungary at Wembley. A year later the margin of victory was even greater, with the Hungarians posting a 7-1 triumph over England in Budapest.

Guttmann did not invent this new style of play and he was not involved in either of those dazzling victories, but it was nonetheless thanks to him that the 4-2-4 formation left European shores and took root in Brazil. At the start of the 1950s he utilised it while working as coach in Sao Paulo. It was a tactic that evidently resonated with Bra-zilians, as they employed the creative, attack-oriented style to great success, winning a maiden FIFA World Cup™ title in 1958 and later lifting the trophy for a second and third time in 1962 and 1970.

Return to EuropeHaving learned Portuguese, Guttmann eventually moved to Portugal, where he took charge of FC Porto. After winning the domestic cham-pionship he then joined Benfica, with whom he won two league titles and two European Cups, beating Barcelona 3-2 in the 1961 final and defeating Real Madrid 5-3 a year later.

The latter game was a gripping encounter that signalled the end of Madrid’s dominance that had started in the 1950s, when they won the

Hard at work Ahead of the return leg of the

European Cup semi-final away to Tottenham Hotspur in 1962, Bela

Guttmann answers journalists’ questions and pushes his players on

during a warm-up. Benfica lost the game 2-1, but having won the first leg

3-1 they went through to the final, where they beat Real Madrid 5-3.


continental crown five times. During the match Benfica went both 2-0 and 3-2 down, but even then Guttmann was not concerned. He once said: “I’m not bothered if the opposition score because I always believe that we can score one more than them.” In that final in 1962, Benfica even managed to score two more than the opposition, with Eusebio netting a decisive brace to turn the game on its head.

Guttmann’s stints as coach generally only lasted two years – with one exception. He stayed for what turned out to be a successful third year at Benfica, disproving his own theory that “the third season is fatal”. Indeed, it was his departure that proved to be fatal for the club. They parted ways acrimoniously, unable to agree on a bonus payment Guttmann had requested, and when the coach left he stated that Benfi-ca would not be European champions again in the next 100 years. The comment, made over 50 years ago and born out of disappointment from the dispute, would probably have been long forgotten if it were not still valid today.

The Benfica curseBenfica have played in eight European finals since then and lost every time, most recently in the 2014 Europa League title-decider against Sevilla. After the score was tied at 0-0 at full time, the Spaniards won 4-2 in a penalty shootout. Guttmann’s parting shot became a sinister premonition that has turned into a curse. Are Benfica really destined to lose continental finals? It is such a strongly-held superstition in Lisbon that Eusebio, star of the triumphant 1962 side, visited Gutt-mann’s grave prior to the 1990 Champions League final against AC Milan in Vienna and asked for the curse to be lifted. It was of little use, however, as Benfica lost that game too.

There is no doubting that Guttmann, who passed away in 1981, was an unusual character. Much to the dismay of Benfica fans everywhere, his legacy appears to be too. Å

“Benf ica won’t be European champions in

the next 100 years.” Bela Guttmann, 1962


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FOOTBALL FOR HOPE

To fi nd out more, visit the Sustainability section on FIFA.com.

Football for Hope is our global commitment to building a better future through football. To date, we have supported over 550 socially-responsible community projects that use football as a tool for social development, improving the lives and prospects of young people and their surrounding communities

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

Best wishes, Issa Hayatou

One of the main pillars of FIFA’s anti-doping strategy is prevention through education. To support our efforts to keep football free from doping, FIFA is launching an initiative to explain to all play-

ers why they should stay clean and how they can avoid doping. The ‘11 rules to prevent doping in football’ posters aim to raise

awareness among young athletes, coaches, doctors, trainers and par-ents about the dangers and consequences of doping. They contain 11 simple messages selected by experts in anti-doping management in collaboration with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). These messages introduce basic but important advice, such as checking the list of prohibited substances, avoiding recreational drugs, taking care with food supplements, and applying for therapeutic use exemptions (TUE).

FIFA appeals to all its member associations to distribute the posters to their clubs and national teams at all levels. The posters should be printed and displayed in football facilities all across the respective countries, particularly for youth-level players to see.

In addition, FIFA is reaching out directly to fans and players across the world via its digital and social media platforms. The post-ers can be easily downloaded and shared with the aim of creating awareness about doping. For every player that learns about the dan-gers of doping we lower the risk of footballers taking doping sub-stances due to a lack of knowledge.

The primary targets of the initiative are young athletes. To kick-start the initiative and help send a clear message to the global foot-ball community, the quarter-finalists at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015, which boast some of the most talented and promising youth players from all over the globe, have joined the campaign.

The first message of the poster is simple yet very effective: “Dop-ing is cheating. Respect your team-mates and your sport, but most of all respect yourself. You don’t want to win knowing you have cheated.” Å

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A N T I - D O P I N G I N I T I AT I V E

FIFA launches ‘11 rules to prevent doping’ education initiative

The most amazing things happen at FIFA competitions, things that inspire us and remind us of the power of football. Take Syria’s achievement in reaching the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 in

spite of all the problems the country is currently facing.On behalf of FIFA and the entire international football commu-

nity, I would like to pay tribute to the Syria team, who showed focus and determination throughout the qualifying competition and in their preparations for the world finals in the hope of doing their compatriots proud in these very dark times.

Though Syria’s youngsters ultimately failed to progress beyond the group phase, they nevertheless earned the respect and admira-tion of the players, supporters and officials they met. We wish them every success on the pitch in the future and hope they continue to fly the flag for their fellow countrymen and women.

The story of this young Syrian team has also inspired us here at FIFA. It has shown just what can be achieved in football when we focus on the task in hand.

In FIFA’s case that means honouring the commitment and pas-sion of these young men, and many others like them, through gov-ernance that is ethical, responsible and beyond reproach and which seeks to achieve our goal of developing and promoting football, all while organising outstanding competitions around the world.

Thanks to the game of football and our competitions in particu-lar, we are creating opportunities for others and for ourselves.

As is true of all our competitions, at Chile 2015 we have taken great pleasure in leaving a positive footballing legacy and in encour-aging many youngsters to take up the game.

In creating this legacy for Chile, we have provided training for grassroots football coaches and organised festivals designed to get more children to play football. We are training youth coaches across South America with the aim of helping youngsters to improve and of giving them the chance to fulfil their potential.

At a time when we are in the process of building a new and stronger FIFA for the years to come, it is vital that we continue to make legacy an integral part of our competitions.

Syria and football doing

us proud

FIFA


The FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile is drawing to a close but enthusiasm for football is still tangible across the en-tire country. Running parallel to the 16th edition of the tournament, FIFA put great emphasis on bringing young

children between the ages of six and 12 in closer contact with the game.

In order to achieve that, world football’s governing body held several fascinating courses for youth coaches and organised a total of eight Grassroots Festivals in the cit-ies of La Serena, Coquimbo, Vina del Mar, Talca, Chillan, Concepcion and Puerto Montt. The first festival took place on 30 October in the capital Santiago de Chile and proved to be a resounding success.

The sense of anticipation was clear to see on the faces of the young girls and boys even early in the morning. Some sat on the ground, excited about the day ahead while their par-ents tied their laces. No school, no homework for these kids – just the Grassroots Festival, an event they had been looking forward to for weeks.

The sun shone agreeably in Santiago and once the training exercises on the pitch were finally underway, the participants’ nerves

disappeared. All of a sudden the children were beaming. “There was a wonderful at-mosphere,” FIFA Grassroots instructor Mau-ricio Marques said afterwards. “Everywhere I looked I only saw happy children and par-ents. Nobody wanted to go home at the end of the festival. That’s really pleasing.”

Sense of unityThe objective of the eight Grassroots Festi-vals, staged between 30 October and 7 No-vember, is for the participants to have care-free fun while learning about the game,

F I F A D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E S

I’M A FOOTBALLER

NOWThanks to a carefree day of

football, the FIFA Grassroots Festival in Santiago de Chile

put smiles on hundreds of children’s faces.

Once the training exercises on the pitch were finally underway, the children’s nerves disappeared. All of a sudden they were beaming.

Martin Rose / FIFA via Getty Images (3), FIFA28 T H E F I FA W E E K LY

The big day Chilean children at the Grassroots Festival in Santiago.

FIFA AND GRASSROOTSGrassroots is our commitment to encourage gir ls and boys to play football. This initiative is the

core foundation of our development programmes, aimed at encouraging gir ls and boys around the

world to play and enjoy football with all the benef its it can bring, from a healthier lifestyle to

learning about fair play. Through Grassroots, FIFA seeks to of fer as many gir ls and boys as possible

the chance to play football without restrictions. We plan for and secure the future health of the

global game by encouraging young people to embrace football, as par t of our core mission to de-

velop the game of football everywhere and for all.

• The Grassroots programme is delivered in par tnership with our member associations through

coach-educator- led school, club and community initiatives aimed at 6-12-year-olds.

• FIFA invested USD 14.9 million in youth and grassroots activities in the 2011-2014 period, with

83% going to Grassroots courses. We also earmarked USD 88 million for technical development

projects, including Grassroots, for the 2015-2018 period.

• Grassroots programmes teach 12 basic football techniques, from controlling the ball to

volleying.

• Grassroots focuses on small -sided games on small pitches, which are more fun for children,

giving players more possession of the ball and allowing them to experience a wider range of

football situations, from at tack to defence.

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F I F A D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E S

making friends, forging a sense of together-ness and mastering some technical exercises. Over 240 children took part at the festival in Santiago.

An additional aim of the one-day events in Chile is to motivate coaches to commit to continued youth development in the long-term. FIFA Grassroots coordinator Jorge Di-az-Cidoncha Garcia said: “In conjunction with the Chilean Football Association, par-ticipating coaches can now organise courses independently in the future.” That in turn would benefit many more children from dif-ferent areas of the country who were unable to take part in the Grassroots Festivals.

New affinity for footballAt 7 p.m. on Sunday 8 November the U-17 World Cup final will kick off in Vina del Mar. It is not a school day, so the majority of young footballers in Chile will no doubt watch the game on television, using their new-found affinity for the game to observe the players’ technical skills and ability. Perhaps one day they will play in a club themselves, or maybe even in the national team. Å

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Grassroots around the world By 2018, it is expected that 140,000 children will have taken part in FIFA programmes.


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Everywhere You Want To Be

FIFA PRINT AD - ENGLISH

Where do you want to be?

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.

To be at the top of the world.

©2015 Visa. All rights reserved.

S:195 mmS:268 m

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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:

Faroe Islands

FIFA Trigramme:

FRO

Confederation:

UEFA

Continent:

Europe

Capital:

Tórshavn

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Surface area:

1,396 km²

Highest point:

Slættaratindur 882 m

Neighbouring seas and oceans:

Atlantic,

Norwegian Sea

MEN’S FOOTBALLFIFA Ranking:

89th

World Cup:

No appearances

WOMEN’S FOOTBALLFIFA Ranking:

88th

World Cup:

No appearances

LATEST RESULTSMen’s:

Faroe Islands - Romania 0:3

11 October 2015

Women’s:

Malta - Faroe Islands 2:4

9 April 2015

FIFA INVESTMENTSSince 2000:

$ 4,568,150

Some things in life are better done alone. Riding a big loud motorbike would be one such example. It might be wonderfully ro-

mantic to have a lady laughing on the back and waving at jealous onlookers, but it is a whole lot more nonchalant to take the bends alone, deep in thought. Aside from the unri-valled Steve McQueen, who simply let his in-ner insurgent run wild, all rebels have an im-age to cultivate.

One of McQueen’s silver-screen col-leagues, the Swede Anita Ekberg, behaved far less rebelliously in private than it may have seemed, given the way she bathed alone in Rome’s Trevi Fountain all those years ago in “La Dolce Vita”. That scene from Federico Fel-lini’s masterpiece still evokes nostalgia today, and the Trevi’s recent restoration has provid-ed the perfect excuse for the world’s media to dig out every possible photo of the outwardly rebellious Ekberg in the Fountain from 1960.

Just as Ekberg did, a rebel’s main aim is to cultivate their image of cool and therefore resist any temptation to work or co-operate with others. James Bond, another lone wolf, is an expert at this. Who was the best Bond girl of all time? Ursula Andress? Carey Low-ell? Or was it Monica Belluci? There is only one person who knows and that is Bond him-self, but nobody ever cares to ask him. Per-haps that has something to do with the fact that secret agents do not enjoy attachment.

Reticent by nature, they are happiest when working alone.

There are plenty of similar rebels in foot-ball, usually at least one per squad. They be-have normally at the start of their career, but begin to develop these contrary traits behind closed doors. Eventually you spot them be-cause they do not have a Facebook page, or because they sport a lone tattoo somewhere on their body. They are clean-shaven, and when they score their celebrations remain cool and controlled. Their analyses are often razor-sharp and sometimes, controversially, they respond to questions by eschewing cli-chés. Pleasingly, in fact, they even refuse to correspond to that conventional footballer’s trait of “thoughtfully” scratching an ear while answering. Å

Alan Schweingruber

The image of a rebel

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Genoa, Italy

1934

Brazil set off for their FIFA World Cup match against Spain. The encounter marked the end of A Seleção’s campaign as they lost 3-1.

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M I R R O R I M AG E

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Barcelona coach Luis Enrique occasionally climbs atop this bus to observe his players during training.

Barcelona, Spain

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FIFA PARTNER

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

“As a personal achievement goes, this ranks up there with my achievements

on the pitch and what I won with Chelsea, and playing for my country.

But to receive an award like this among some very special people here,

militar y, people who are doing a lot of good work in charit y, it ’s very

humbling to be here.”Frank Lampard received the OBE award from the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace

“Af ter much deliberation and talking with my fr iends, family, team-mates and our coaching staf f, I ’ve decided

to f inally br ing my soccer career to an end. While we still have more

work to do for women’s soccer, af ter br inging the Wor ld Cup back to

the United States this summer, I ’m feeling ex tremely optimistic about

the future of our spor t .”Abby Wambach

“My passion then af ter maybe went a lit t le bit high … people who know me, they know that I ’m not a good loser. In that moment I was really upset .”

Jermaine Jones explains his reaction to referee Mark Geiger’s decision not to award a

late penalty as New England Revolution lost in the MLS play-offs

“Don’t give up on your dreams. It might be so dif f icult to at tain them, but there’s a lesson to be learned!

Keep going, guys!”Claudio Bravo, Chile’s senior team

goalkeeper after the U-17 side’s exit from the U-17 World Cup

“What happiness! My dad was able to use FaceT ime single -handedly! Hahahaha! How nice to see you!”

Dalma Maradona, Diego’s daughter, expresses her delight that her father could use his

phone’s technology properly so that she could wish him a happy 55th birthday

Legend has it that John Robertson used to shun the traditional orange segments at half-time in favour of a quick cigarette in

the toilets. Questioned on the matter, the man himself protested: “It is not true”, he said, be-fore confessing “OK maybe once or twice, but no more than that.” Now 62, Robertson was not the type of footballer you find in the top leagues today. He was not particularly big, but you certainly would not have wanted to ask him what his exact weight was. Hard work was not his strength and he was playing for Drum-chapel Amateurs in 1970 when Nottingham Forest signed him.

Robertson drifted around the fringes of the squad before being placed on the transfer list at the start of 1975. Nottingham Forest were languishing in mid-table of the second division at the time, with their 1898 and 1959 FA Cup wins their only honours. Then, on 6th January 1975, Brian Clough arrived in Nottingham and the rest is history. “Cloughie” had led Derby County to their first ever title but then failed to replicate that success at Brighton and Leeds.

While the public and media loved Clough’s barefaced humour, his anti-authority stance did not go down well with the football estab-lishment. His methods were also unusual. “Play in a way that you enjoy”, he once said, “and the rest will follow.”

Training was often limited to a jog along the River Trent, where stinging nettles were impossible to avoid. And it was in the marginal figure of John Robertson that Clough uncov-ered the diamond in his squad. Kenny Burns, a defender in the team, recalls the following in-struction from the manager: “When you get the ball, pass it quickly to the short fat lad on the left wing – he can play, you cannot.” And lo and

The miracle of Nottingham

Hanspeter Kuenzler

“I Believe in Miracles”, directed by Jonny Owens, Universal, is available on DVD/Blu-Ray from 16th November.

behold: Robertson made 243 consecutive starts for Forest between December 1976 and Decem-ber 1980. During this time the team got pro-moted to the top flight (1977), was crowned league champions (1978), won the League Cup twice (1978 and 1979) and the European Cup twice. In 1979 it was Robertson who provided the pass for the winning goal against Malmo, and then in 1980 against Hamburg he scored it himself.

The 90-minute film ’I Believe in Miracles’ tells the story of a real footballing miracle. Contemporary footage of matches and inter-views give the impression of a bygone era: the pitches are marshy, the kits are blood-red rath-er than a trendy red, and as for the haircuts...

In between the flashbacks, former players like Burns, Frank Clark and Archie Gemmill prove that they are still fantastic storytellers three decades on. Moreover the film is a foot-balling feast. This Nottingham Forest team’s success was built on its ability to couple British strength in defence with pace and precise pass-ing in attack. The result was a glorious specta-cle, one whose euphoric effects are infectious even on the big screen. Å

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Share a

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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.

Published weekly by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

PublisherFIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, PO box, CH-8044 Zurich

Phone +41-(0)43-222 7777, Fax +41-(0)43-222 7878

Acting PresidentIssa Hayatou

Acting Secretary GeneralMarkus Kattner

Director of Communications and Public Affairs

Nicolas Maingot (a. i.)

Chief EditorPerikles Monioudis

Staff WritersAlan Schweingruber (Deputy Editor),

Annette Braun, Sarah Steiner

Art DirectionCatharina Clajus

Picture EditorPeggy Knotz, Christiane Ludena (on behalf of 13 Photo)

LayoutRichie Kroenert (Lead), Tobias Benz, Susanne Egli

Proof ReaderNena Morf (Lead), Martin Beran, Kristina Rotach

ContributorsRonald Dueker, Matt Falloon, Luigi Garlando, Sven Goldmann,

Andreas Jaros, Jordi Punti, David Winner, Roland Zorn

Contributors to this IssueHanspeter Kuenzler, Stephen Sullivan

Editorial AssistantAlissa Rosskopf

ProductionHans-Peter Frei

Project ManagementBernd Fisa, Christian Schaub

Translationwww.sportstranslations.com

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Any views expressed in The FIFA Weekly do not necessarily reflect those of FIFA. Pu

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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

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