Two Londoners are gearing up to coach the national football team of a remote island which has not won a match since it began playing the game 25 years ago.
Paul Watson, of Hammersmith, and Matthew Conrad, of Kensington, both 25, will fly to Pohnpei, in the western Pacific Ocean, in September.
They had the idea of coaching the side - the world's lowest ranked - during a search for the most remote teams.
The pair hope to turn around the team's fortunes by next summer.
Pohnpei, the largest of the four island clusters forming the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), was introduced to football in 1985 by an expat from Ghana but the island has never won a match.
The state has been ranked last by the Nouvelle Federation, an association of football-playing countries not recognised by football's world governing body, Fifa.
Pohnpei lies between Papua New Guinea and Guam and is more than 1,600km (994 miles) east of Guam.
Mr Watson, a sports writer, and Mr Conrad, a film student who has been studying in the US, came across Pohnpei in December 2007 in the federation's list while researching for a documentary.
They have now been appointed by the Pohnpei Soccer Association as managers to the team.
Mr Conrad said: "We found Pohnpei was at the bottom of the ratings list so we were interested and we made contact."
The football lovers got in touch with Charles Musana, the island's former football coach, who now lives in Chingford, east London, and floated the idea of coaching.
Mr Musana said: "The first time I got their mail I thought it was a prank."
He said baseball and basketball were the main sports on the island and football was mostly a "recreational and non-competitive" game which meant it lacked sponsors and political support.
In 2003 Pohnpei players played their last international match, with eight players joining the FSM team at the South Pacific Games.
Mr Musana said: "When they came back the team disintegrated and from 2003 onwards international competitive football ended.
"This is a project we don't want to let down. We want Pohnpei and FSM to become a football-playing nation rather than this being a one-time thing after which football dies."
The Londoners visited the Pacific state with Mr Musana for the first time in July.
Mr Watson said: "We ran training sessions and between 13 and 25 people turned up for the sessions depending on the weather.
"Some people walked 5km (3.1 miles) each way from their homes everyday in driving rain with no shoes.
"We took lots of boots with us but none of them wanted to wear them, as they are used to playing without."
Mr Conrad said: "They are a really tough bunch of people. The kids have no fear and you find the smallest child tackling the largest players, they are like little Hercules."
Before their trip in July, Mr Watson and Mr Conrad received kit donations from Norwich City, Yeovil Town and Tottenham Hotspur.
They plan to go back to the island on 17 September.
And their long-term ambitions do not simply focus on the team winning their first match.
Mr Conrad said: "The highlight would be to get football infrastructure, government funding in place and win certainly one game and then establish dominance in the South Pacific and then the world."
Monday, 24 August 2009
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
12 Year Old Boy Makes League Debut
An unlikely sight in Bolivian football on the weekend, as Aurora Cochabamba manager Julio cesar Baldivieso allowed his 12 year old son to make his debut in a league game.
Cochabamba were down 1-0 against La Paz, when Baldivieso brought on his young son Mauricio.
The youngster wasn't well-received and immediatelly mowed down by an opponent. After receiving injury treatment however, Mauricio returned to the pitch with an ovation from the fans as result.
Although Baldivieso junior couldn't turn around the result, he does become the youngest player ever to make his debut in South American soccer. Mauricio turns 13 on Wednesday.
Cochabamba were down 1-0 against La Paz, when Baldivieso brought on his young son Mauricio.
The youngster wasn't well-received and immediatelly mowed down by an opponent. After receiving injury treatment however, Mauricio returned to the pitch with an ovation from the fans as result.
Although Baldivieso junior couldn't turn around the result, he does become the youngest player ever to make his debut in South American soccer. Mauricio turns 13 on Wednesday.
Monday, 20 July 2009
Former NI Player Joins Priesthood
From the BBC.
A former Manchester United footballer and Northern Ireland midfielder is swapping his strip for a cassock.
Phillip Mulryne, 31, who won 27 caps for Northern Ireland, is to begin training for the priesthood.
It is understood he has been invited by the bishop of Down and Connor to enter the priesthood. In seven years, he could be ordained as a priest for the diocese. His mother, Sally, confirmed her son's vocation to a Sunday newspaper. She said it was a "big decision" for him but that he would be starting at the end of August.
Phillip Mulryne made his debut for Manchester Utd in 1995 after coming through the youth team. However, he wasn't able to break into the first team and moved to Norwich City in 1999. His time there was plagued by injuries. He later played for Cardiff City, Leyton Orient and Kings Lynn.
He wasn't available for comment on Monday as, it is understood, he is on retreat.
A former Manchester United footballer and Northern Ireland midfielder is swapping his strip for a cassock.
Phillip Mulryne, 31, who won 27 caps for Northern Ireland, is to begin training for the priesthood.
It is understood he has been invited by the bishop of Down and Connor to enter the priesthood. In seven years, he could be ordained as a priest for the diocese. His mother, Sally, confirmed her son's vocation to a Sunday newspaper. She said it was a "big decision" for him but that he would be starting at the end of August.
Phillip Mulryne made his debut for Manchester Utd in 1995 after coming through the youth team. However, he wasn't able to break into the first team and moved to Norwich City in 1999. His time there was plagued by injuries. He later played for Cardiff City, Leyton Orient and Kings Lynn.
He wasn't available for comment on Monday as, it is understood, he is on retreat.
Monday, 13 July 2009
I'll Show Spain How Good English Players Can Be, Says Hoddle Academy Graduate
After the report below about a player considered not good enough by English league clubs being signed up by a leading Spanish club after signing on at Glenn Hoddle's academy, more success for the former Tottenham and England manager.
---
Two young footballers who were told they would not make it as professionals have sealed a dream move to Recre - and now have set goals in mind...
Dave Cowley and Lino Goncalves have today joined Recreativo de Huelva on two-year contracts with a further two year option.
Released from their pro clubs in 2008, both Cowley and Goncalves were offered trials with Glenn Hoddle’s academy and impressed enough to be offered full-time contracts, which saw them move to Spain for unique professional football development supervised personally by Glenn Hoddle.
Hoddle’s academy hit the headlines only last week with Sevilla’s much publicised signing of Ikechi Anya,
When asked about signing for Recre, both Cowley and Goncalves were understandably delighted. Cowley said, “I am over the moon to get a contract with Huelva. This is a huge opportunity for me and I am definitely going to take it and show the Spanish clubs just how good English players can be on foreign soil.
Goncalves commented, “This is really a dream come true for me to play for Huelva. When I left Fulham I really had no options, I was looking to find some work to support my family and maybe play semi-pro or amateur football. Only six weeks ago I was supplementing my income as a waiter and contemplating my future and then Glenn got me back here for a tournament.
“After spending this time with Glenn I now have the chance to really make it at the highest levels as a professional, in the game that I love and this would not have been possible without my time at the academy.”
Former England manager Glen Hoddle believes amateur footballers, such as Anya, Cowley and Goncalves, given the right development, can play at the highest level.
Glenn Hoddle said, “It’s been a busy week this week, we had Ikechi Anya moving to Sevilla on Tuesday and now Dave and Lino are on the way to Huelva. This is a very proud day for me.
“It also vindicates my belief in the concept of giving players released too soon a second chance. With the right mental approach, the right development, in the right surroundings, what we are doing in Spain really works. The proof here is in the four lads we’ve got back so far in only our first year.
“Both the lads have come on so much this past year. I have been really impressed with their attitude and willingness to develop. We’ve worked hard getting them playing with both feet, improving their observation and touch and really developing them in to all-round players ready for the professional game.”
---
Two young footballers who were told they would not make it as professionals have sealed a dream move to Recre - and now have set goals in mind...
Dave Cowley and Lino Goncalves have today joined Recreativo de Huelva on two-year contracts with a further two year option.
Released from their pro clubs in 2008, both Cowley and Goncalves were offered trials with Glenn Hoddle’s academy and impressed enough to be offered full-time contracts, which saw them move to Spain for unique professional football development supervised personally by Glenn Hoddle.
Hoddle’s academy hit the headlines only last week with Sevilla’s much publicised signing of Ikechi Anya,
When asked about signing for Recre, both Cowley and Goncalves were understandably delighted. Cowley said, “I am over the moon to get a contract with Huelva. This is a huge opportunity for me and I am definitely going to take it and show the Spanish clubs just how good English players can be on foreign soil.
Goncalves commented, “This is really a dream come true for me to play for Huelva. When I left Fulham I really had no options, I was looking to find some work to support my family and maybe play semi-pro or amateur football. Only six weeks ago I was supplementing my income as a waiter and contemplating my future and then Glenn got me back here for a tournament.
“After spending this time with Glenn I now have the chance to really make it at the highest levels as a professional, in the game that I love and this would not have been possible without my time at the academy.”
Former England manager Glen Hoddle believes amateur footballers, such as Anya, Cowley and Goncalves, given the right development, can play at the highest level.
Glenn Hoddle said, “It’s been a busy week this week, we had Ikechi Anya moving to Sevilla on Tuesday and now Dave and Lino are on the way to Huelva. This is a very proud day for me.
“It also vindicates my belief in the concept of giving players released too soon a second chance. With the right mental approach, the right development, in the right surroundings, what we are doing in Spain really works. The proof here is in the four lads we’ve got back so far in only our first year.
“Both the lads have come on so much this past year. I have been really impressed with their attitude and willingness to develop. We’ve worked hard getting them playing with both feet, improving their observation and touch and really developing them in to all-round players ready for the professional game.”
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Ikechi Anya has Glenn Hoddle to thank for Sevilla contract
I have given you stories of big name players falling down the league below, well here is the opposite. Story from the Telegraph.
---
In a week where 80,000 people turned out just to see Cristiano Ronaldo put on a Real Madrid shirt for the first time, the signing by Sevilla of a player once deemed to be surplus to requirements at Wycombe may pale in comparison.
Yet the story of 21-year-old Ikechi Anya, who has been handed a two year contract by the La Liga side, is nonetheless a remarkable one.
Anya was rescued from non-league obscurity and the need for a part-time job to supplement his income from the game by Glenn Hoddle, whose eponymous Academy in southern Spain opened its doors last summer with the aim of giving young players released by mainly Premier League and Championship clubs a second chance.
Hoddle conceived the idea after seeing the devastating effect on youngsters of being told they had no future at the clubs they were contracted to when managing Swindon and Chelsea, and a belief that the final decision, in many cases, was taken too soon.
“I could see there was potential going to waste that needed to be nutured and coached right,” says Hoddle, who had a group of teenagers break down in tears in his office at Swindon when he was forced to let them go.
“What this gives us is an example we can show to other players, both already at the Academy and new ones yet to come, of what can be achieved.”
“Ikechi told me he was thinking of giving up; thought he may not play again before he came to us. We’re changing people’s lives here.”
Ikechi’s dramatic boys own stuff rise from the amateur leagues to the genuine possibility of facing Ronaldo and Kaka on equal terms in the space of a year appears to validate Hoddle’s belief.
“When I attended the trial [at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground last June] I had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” says Anya, whose blistering pace was put to better effect by Hoddle in converting him from a winger to a striker.
“I didn’t ever imagine I would end up at a club as big as this and I can honestly say that without the Glenn Hoddle Academy I probably would be playing non-league football today.”
And the possibility of sharing a pitch with Ronaldo? “I won’t even think about that at the moment, I think it’s best to stay on planet earth for a while.”
---
In a week where 80,000 people turned out just to see Cristiano Ronaldo put on a Real Madrid shirt for the first time, the signing by Sevilla of a player once deemed to be surplus to requirements at Wycombe may pale in comparison.
Yet the story of 21-year-old Ikechi Anya, who has been handed a two year contract by the La Liga side, is nonetheless a remarkable one.
Anya was rescued from non-league obscurity and the need for a part-time job to supplement his income from the game by Glenn Hoddle, whose eponymous Academy in southern Spain opened its doors last summer with the aim of giving young players released by mainly Premier League and Championship clubs a second chance.
Hoddle conceived the idea after seeing the devastating effect on youngsters of being told they had no future at the clubs they were contracted to when managing Swindon and Chelsea, and a belief that the final decision, in many cases, was taken too soon.
“I could see there was potential going to waste that needed to be nutured and coached right,” says Hoddle, who had a group of teenagers break down in tears in his office at Swindon when he was forced to let them go.
“What this gives us is an example we can show to other players, both already at the Academy and new ones yet to come, of what can be achieved.”
“Ikechi told me he was thinking of giving up; thought he may not play again before he came to us. We’re changing people’s lives here.”
Ikechi’s dramatic boys own stuff rise from the amateur leagues to the genuine possibility of facing Ronaldo and Kaka on equal terms in the space of a year appears to validate Hoddle’s belief.
“When I attended the trial [at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground last June] I had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” says Anya, whose blistering pace was put to better effect by Hoddle in converting him from a winger to a striker.
“I didn’t ever imagine I would end up at a club as big as this and I can honestly say that without the Glenn Hoddle Academy I probably would be playing non-league football today.”
And the possibility of sharing a pitch with Ronaldo? “I won’t even think about that at the moment, I think it’s best to stay on planet earth for a while.”
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Leigh Genesis sign Matt Jansen
Another player from the top of English football fallen on heard times.
The signing of Jansen is a huge statement of intent from Genesis boss Garry Filtcroft, who spoke of his great respect for his former Blackburn team mate and the huge boost it would give the "not only the supporters, but the whole town" as he looks to build a successful side that it is hoped will draw the crowds in to the Leigh Sports Village Stadium.
Jansen, currently based in the Cheshire village of Alderley Edge, only a short drive from Leigh, began his career with hometown club Carlisle United, turning down a chance to sign for Manchester United in favour of a £1million transfer to Crystal Palace in February 1998.
An impressive ten goals in twenty three league games for the relegated Eagles attracted the attention of Blackburn Rovers, who paid £4.1million for his services in January 1999.
Ater Rovers were relegated from the Premier League, Jansen played a huge part in their return to the top flight in 2000/2001, finishing as second top goalscorer in the league, behind only Fulham's Louis Saha, after scoring 23 goals.
Having been capped six times for England Under 21's, Jansen was a stomach illness away from representing the full England side, having to withdraw from the squad for a friendly with Paraguay in April 2002 after a season that saw him score the first goal in Rovers' 2-1 League Cup Final victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Millennium Stadium.
Unfortunately, the summer of 2002 was one that would change Jansen's life, suffering an almost-fatal motorcycle accident in Rome that left Jansen in a coma for six days and a fight to regain full fitness. It is clearly an incident that still affects Jansen, and played a big part in his growing disillusionment with professional football as his bid to regain fitness took in a loan spell with Coventry City, and further appearances with Blackburn.
Jansen's seven year stay at Ewood Park came to an end in January 2006 when he joined neighbours Bolton Wanderers, where he made six appearances before being released in the summer of 2006.
Jansen spent the following years training with various clubs, spending a lengthy period with Bolton Wanderers, along with Carlisle and Huddersfield Town.
Most recently, Jansen teamed up again with former manager Sam Allardyce and again train with Blackburn, leading to a move to Blue Square Premier side Wrexham, for whom he scored one goal in three appearances towards the end of last season. Jansen the chance to remain with Dean Saunders' side, but instead chose a move to Leigh ahead of staying at the Racecourse Ground.
Leigh boss Flitcroft believes that the potential impact of Jansen's arrival is "immense", both on and off the field, while undoubtedly playing a huge part in attracting any further signings.
From Jansen's point of view, it is an opportunity to begin to enjoy playing football again, whilst also furthering his coaching ambitions, a sentiment echoed by the re-signing of goalkeeper Stephen Drench, who turned down offers from other clubs to stay with Genesis, such was his enjoyment of his five appearances for the club towards the end of last season.
Jansen is a player that, as far as Flitcroft is concerned, "still has the ability to play in the Football League" and as such represents a huge coup for the club, though Jansen insists he didn't take much persuading after viewing a set up that he believes is on a par with many Championship clubs, "if not better".
Although the full list of the club's pre-season fixtures has yet to be confirmed, one of Jansen's first chances to impress his new club comes against Bolton Wanderers at the Leigh Sports Village Stadium on Tuesday 21st July.
The signing of Jansen is a huge statement of intent from Genesis boss Garry Filtcroft, who spoke of his great respect for his former Blackburn team mate and the huge boost it would give the "not only the supporters, but the whole town" as he looks to build a successful side that it is hoped will draw the crowds in to the Leigh Sports Village Stadium.
Jansen, currently based in the Cheshire village of Alderley Edge, only a short drive from Leigh, began his career with hometown club Carlisle United, turning down a chance to sign for Manchester United in favour of a £1million transfer to Crystal Palace in February 1998.
An impressive ten goals in twenty three league games for the relegated Eagles attracted the attention of Blackburn Rovers, who paid £4.1million for his services in January 1999.
Ater Rovers were relegated from the Premier League, Jansen played a huge part in their return to the top flight in 2000/2001, finishing as second top goalscorer in the league, behind only Fulham's Louis Saha, after scoring 23 goals.
Having been capped six times for England Under 21's, Jansen was a stomach illness away from representing the full England side, having to withdraw from the squad for a friendly with Paraguay in April 2002 after a season that saw him score the first goal in Rovers' 2-1 League Cup Final victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Millennium Stadium.
Unfortunately, the summer of 2002 was one that would change Jansen's life, suffering an almost-fatal motorcycle accident in Rome that left Jansen in a coma for six days and a fight to regain full fitness. It is clearly an incident that still affects Jansen, and played a big part in his growing disillusionment with professional football as his bid to regain fitness took in a loan spell with Coventry City, and further appearances with Blackburn.
Jansen's seven year stay at Ewood Park came to an end in January 2006 when he joined neighbours Bolton Wanderers, where he made six appearances before being released in the summer of 2006.
Jansen spent the following years training with various clubs, spending a lengthy period with Bolton Wanderers, along with Carlisle and Huddersfield Town.
Most recently, Jansen teamed up again with former manager Sam Allardyce and again train with Blackburn, leading to a move to Blue Square Premier side Wrexham, for whom he scored one goal in three appearances towards the end of last season. Jansen the chance to remain with Dean Saunders' side, but instead chose a move to Leigh ahead of staying at the Racecourse Ground.
Leigh boss Flitcroft believes that the potential impact of Jansen's arrival is "immense", both on and off the field, while undoubtedly playing a huge part in attracting any further signings.
From Jansen's point of view, it is an opportunity to begin to enjoy playing football again, whilst also furthering his coaching ambitions, a sentiment echoed by the re-signing of goalkeeper Stephen Drench, who turned down offers from other clubs to stay with Genesis, such was his enjoyment of his five appearances for the club towards the end of last season.
Jansen is a player that, as far as Flitcroft is concerned, "still has the ability to play in the Football League" and as such represents a huge coup for the club, though Jansen insists he didn't take much persuading after viewing a set up that he believes is on a par with many Championship clubs, "if not better".
Although the full list of the club's pre-season fixtures has yet to be confirmed, one of Jansen's first chances to impress his new club comes against Bolton Wanderers at the Leigh Sports Village Stadium on Tuesday 21st July.
Scolari joins Bunyodkor
More crazyness from the world of Uzbek football, from Worldsoccer.com.
Former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has been named coach of Bunyodkor, the Uzbek champions have confirmed.
The 60-year-old World Cup winning coach, who was sacked by the Premier League club in February, has agreed an 18-month contract with the Uzbek side.
Scolari succeeds fellow Brazilian Zico, who led Bunyodkor to the league and cup double and Asian Champions League semi-finals last year before quitting in December to join CSKA Moscow.
“Uzbek football now creates its own success story, especially Bunyodkor with its remarkable dynamism and prospects for the past four years,” said Scolari.
“I know that I am in the right place at the right time and in the right team.”
Former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has been named coach of Bunyodkor, the Uzbek champions have confirmed.
The 60-year-old World Cup winning coach, who was sacked by the Premier League club in February, has agreed an 18-month contract with the Uzbek side.
Scolari succeeds fellow Brazilian Zico, who led Bunyodkor to the league and cup double and Asian Champions League semi-finals last year before quitting in December to join CSKA Moscow.
“Uzbek football now creates its own success story, especially Bunyodkor with its remarkable dynamism and prospects for the past four years,” said Scolari.
“I know that I am in the right place at the right time and in the right team.”
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Denilson To Play In V-League
Following on from a crazy story I blogged about a couple of months ago about former World Class footballers moving to small leagues and clubs, here is another.
Former Brazilian international Denilson, once the world's most expensive footballer, has agreed to play for a mid-table Vietnamese side, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
A member of Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning team, Denilson, 31, will join Hai Phong Cement for the second half of the professional V-League season that begins this month, Thanh Nien newspaper said.
It said Denilson had his first practice session with the team on Monday.
African, European and Asian players have become common on Vietnamese football teams but a World Cup winner of Denilson's stature is a rarity for the country.
Neither Thanh Nien nor other newspapers said how much Denilson will be paid, and club officials could not be reached by AFP.
'I don't know anything about Vietnamese football,' Denilson told Thanh Nien, adding that football is the same everywhere.
He said a Brazilian friend introduced him to the country.
'I come to Vietnamese football with my passion,' he said, expressing a hope to play in the communist country for a long time.
Hai Phong Cement (Xi Mang Hai Phong) are currently sixth of 14 teams in the V-League.
Denilson was capped 68 times and became the world's most expensive player when he moved to Spanish side Real Betis from Sao Paulo in 1998 for 21.5 million pounds. He also played in the 1998 World Cup final, which Brazil lost to France.
Former Brazilian international Denilson, once the world's most expensive footballer, has agreed to play for a mid-table Vietnamese side, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
A member of Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning team, Denilson, 31, will join Hai Phong Cement for the second half of the professional V-League season that begins this month, Thanh Nien newspaper said.
It said Denilson had his first practice session with the team on Monday.
African, European and Asian players have become common on Vietnamese football teams but a World Cup winner of Denilson's stature is a rarity for the country.
Neither Thanh Nien nor other newspapers said how much Denilson will be paid, and club officials could not be reached by AFP.
'I don't know anything about Vietnamese football,' Denilson told Thanh Nien, adding that football is the same everywhere.
He said a Brazilian friend introduced him to the country.
'I come to Vietnamese football with my passion,' he said, expressing a hope to play in the communist country for a long time.
Hai Phong Cement (Xi Mang Hai Phong) are currently sixth of 14 teams in the V-League.
Denilson was capped 68 times and became the world's most expensive player when he moved to Spanish side Real Betis from Sao Paulo in 1998 for 21.5 million pounds. He also played in the 1998 World Cup final, which Brazil lost to France.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Former Aston Villa Star is a hit in the AFA
Ex-Aston Villa striker Stefan Moore finished the football season on a red-hot scoring streak - in division five of the Birmingham and District AFA League!
The one-time Premier League goal-getter recently turned to the amateur game with Silhill’s fourth team in a bid to stay fit while also doing his mates a favour.
And the 25-year-old, currently out of contract following a month-by-month deal with Kidderminster Harriers, turned out to be a sensation for the Solihull outfit by firing home five goals in two games.
Moore’s career may have previously taken him to world-famous venues such as Old Trafford and Anfield but it was the old M&B Ground and Social Club in Edgbaston that played host to the former England Youth international on Saturday.
The Brummie thumped a hat-trick past Meriden Athletic on the way to a 6-1 victory and his man-of-the-match performance came hot on the heels of a debut brace the previous weekend during a 4-2 win at Parkfield Amateur 2nds.
Moore’s goal haul helped Sils’ fourth string finish seventh in the table, their highest ever league position.
“Our club has got a lot of contacts,” said Silhill spokesman Oliver Haines. “Silhill tend to either get players starting off in their career or else they are players at the end of their career before they hang their boots up.
“Stefan has just finished the season with Kidderminster Harriers and he is sort of in between clubs at the moment but I think he has got a few mates at Silhill which is why he came down. He’s obviously very professional and he is enthusiastic about his football.”
Moore was once seen as one of Villa Park’s brightest young prospects along with his younger brother and current Albion striker Luke. He captained his boyhood club to the 2002 FA Youth Cup having scored twice in a two-legged final victory over an Everton side that included Wayne Rooney. He then burst on to the Premier League scene the following season by scoring on his top flight debut and went on to make 29 appearances in all competitions for Villa.
However while he’s watched his 23-year-old brother remain close to the top, Moore senior’s career has sadly nose-dived. After loan spells with Millwall and Leicester, he was released by Villa and signed for QPR in 2005. His fortunes failed to improve during an injury-hit spell at Loftus Road that including a season-long loan at Port Vale.
Moore considered a move to Australia with Melbourne Victory before joining Walsall but more recently found himself out of the football league as a bit-part player at Kidderminster.
The one-time Premier League goal-getter recently turned to the amateur game with Silhill’s fourth team in a bid to stay fit while also doing his mates a favour.
And the 25-year-old, currently out of contract following a month-by-month deal with Kidderminster Harriers, turned out to be a sensation for the Solihull outfit by firing home five goals in two games.
Moore’s career may have previously taken him to world-famous venues such as Old Trafford and Anfield but it was the old M&B Ground and Social Club in Edgbaston that played host to the former England Youth international on Saturday.
The Brummie thumped a hat-trick past Meriden Athletic on the way to a 6-1 victory and his man-of-the-match performance came hot on the heels of a debut brace the previous weekend during a 4-2 win at Parkfield Amateur 2nds.
Moore’s goal haul helped Sils’ fourth string finish seventh in the table, their highest ever league position.
“Our club has got a lot of contacts,” said Silhill spokesman Oliver Haines. “Silhill tend to either get players starting off in their career or else they are players at the end of their career before they hang their boots up.
“Stefan has just finished the season with Kidderminster Harriers and he is sort of in between clubs at the moment but I think he has got a few mates at Silhill which is why he came down. He’s obviously very professional and he is enthusiastic about his football.”
Moore was once seen as one of Villa Park’s brightest young prospects along with his younger brother and current Albion striker Luke. He captained his boyhood club to the 2002 FA Youth Cup having scored twice in a two-legged final victory over an Everton side that included Wayne Rooney. He then burst on to the Premier League scene the following season by scoring on his top flight debut and went on to make 29 appearances in all competitions for Villa.
However while he’s watched his 23-year-old brother remain close to the top, Moore senior’s career has sadly nose-dived. After loan spells with Millwall and Leicester, he was released by Villa and signed for QPR in 2005. His fortunes failed to improve during an injury-hit spell at Loftus Road that including a season-long loan at Port Vale.
Moore considered a move to Australia with Melbourne Victory before joining Walsall but more recently found himself out of the football league as a bit-part player at Kidderminster.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Rangers Star Has Egg On Face
Glasgow Rangers star Kirk Broadfoot was left nursing a sore face after an exploding EGG landed him in hospital.
The Scotland full-back was inspecting two eggs he had just poached in his microwave when one of them blew up and squirted scalding-hot water into his face.
A Rangers insider said: "It may sound funny but it was quite a serious accident. Kirk's face was quite badly burned."
The shocked star phoned his parents, Marilyn and John, who rushed round to his luxury home in Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, from their house in nearby Drongan and took him to hospital. Kirk, 25, was treated for scalds to his cheek and allowed home. He told Rangers manager Walter Smith what had happened and he is now being monitored by club doctors.
"As it happens, it was a close shave," the Record's Ibrox source said."He was very close to burning his eye, which could have had a serious impact on his career."
Kirk was already out of the Rangers team with an injury before the egg incident on Sunday. He is expected to make a full recovery from his scalds.
He did not want to comment about the accident.
Kirk signed for Rangers from St Mirren in 2007 and his wholehearted style quickly made him a cult hero with the Ibrox fans. George Burley called him into the Scotland squad and he scored a vital goal in the World Cup qualifier in Iceland last September.
Kirk is far from the only amateur cook to be injured by an egg. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents say 500 Britons needed hospital treatment after "egg-related incidents" in 2002, the last year such data was collected.
A RoSPA spokeswoman said: "Our advice is always to take care when dealing with boiling water in a microwave." The British Egg Information Service offer advice to egg-lovers on how to poach them safely in the microwave:
1. Carefully crack the egg into a large teacup or ramekin dish filled with 1/2 tbsp of water.
2. Use a cocktail stick to pierce the yolk and white in a couple of places and poach in the microwave on HIGH for 40 seconds in a 750-watt oven, or 60 seconds if you have a 650- watt oven.
3. Let the egg stand for a minute before serving."
This is not the first bizarre injury to hit football stars.
Stoke City's Liam Lawrence is an injury doubt for his side's weekend meeting with Portsmouth after tripping over his pet dog. The former Sunderland winger suffered the bizarre injury to his ankle this morning, leaving the Potters manager Tony Pulis with a potential selection headache for Sunday's fixture.
"He has stepped over his dog on the stairs and his ankle just gave way and he went over on it," said Pulis. "The initial scan has shown no break but we have sent him back for another x-ray to make sure.
"We don't know how serious it is at the moment, he may be okay for Portsmouth, but then again he may not be fit. We will have to wait and see."
Football's most ridiculous injuries
• Lawrence is not alone in suffering at the paws of a mutt. Chic Brodie's career came to an abrupt end in October 1970 when the Brentford goalkeeper collided with a sheepdog that had run on to the pitch, shattering a kneecap. "The dog might have been a small one, but it just happened to be a solid one," he said. The former Barnsley midfielder Darren Barnard, however, was sidelined for five months with a torn knee ligament after he slipped in a puddle of his puppy's urine on the kitchen floor.
• The Everton goalkeeper Richard Wright was ruled out of an FA Cup fourth-round replay at Chelsea after twisting his ankle by falling over a sign warning him not to practice in the goalmouth during the pre-match warm-up. He also damaged his shoulder by falling through a loft as he was trying to pack away his suitcases. Wright's former Ipswich team-mate Kieron Dyer, then at Newcastle, damaged his left eye when he collided with a pole in training.
• During his spell at Leeds United, the England defender Rio Ferdinand picked up a tendon strain in his knee after leaving his leg propped on a coffee table for too long while watching television. Ferdinand's England colleague David James also suffered at the hands of the TV when he pulled a muscle in his back when reaching for the remote control. James also tweaked his shoulder while attempting to land a carp while fishing.
• The then Kidderminster captain Sean Flynn broke his nose, bust his lip and bruised his toes after tripping over his son's toy cars. But a real car accounted for the toy-sized Alan Wright, who strained his knee by stretching to reach the accelerator in his new Ferrari. He subsequently swapped the sports car for a Rover 416. The former Leeds and Blackburn midfielder David Batty injured his Achilles tendon when he was run over by his toddler on a tricycle.
• In 1993 the goalkeeper Dave Beasant dropped a bottle of salad cream on his foot, severing the tendon in his big toe and keeping him out of action for eight weeks. Similarly, the Spain goalkeeper Santiago Canizares missed the 2002 World Cup after accidentally shattering a bottle of aftershave in his hotel sink. A piece of glass fell on his foot, severing a tendon in his big toe.
• In 1975 the Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stepney dislocated his jaw while shouting at his defenders during a match against Birmingham. Meanwhile England's Alan Mullery missed the 1964 tour of South America after injuring his back while brushing his teeth - not a problem for the American international Kasey Keller, who knocked out his front teeth while pulling his golf clubs out of the boot of his car.
• The Arsenal striker Charlie George cut off his toe with a lawnmower, but the then-Aston Villa forward Darius Vassell missed several games after he drilled through his toe nail with a home power drill thinking it would relieve the pressure on a swollen toe. It developed an infection that required medical attention.
• And finally, the Norway defender Svein Grondalen had to withdraw from an international during the 1970s after colliding with a moose while out jogging.
The Scotland full-back was inspecting two eggs he had just poached in his microwave when one of them blew up and squirted scalding-hot water into his face.
A Rangers insider said: "It may sound funny but it was quite a serious accident. Kirk's face was quite badly burned."
The shocked star phoned his parents, Marilyn and John, who rushed round to his luxury home in Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, from their house in nearby Drongan and took him to hospital. Kirk, 25, was treated for scalds to his cheek and allowed home. He told Rangers manager Walter Smith what had happened and he is now being monitored by club doctors.
"As it happens, it was a close shave," the Record's Ibrox source said."He was very close to burning his eye, which could have had a serious impact on his career."
Kirk was already out of the Rangers team with an injury before the egg incident on Sunday. He is expected to make a full recovery from his scalds.
He did not want to comment about the accident.
Kirk signed for Rangers from St Mirren in 2007 and his wholehearted style quickly made him a cult hero with the Ibrox fans. George Burley called him into the Scotland squad and he scored a vital goal in the World Cup qualifier in Iceland last September.
Kirk is far from the only amateur cook to be injured by an egg. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents say 500 Britons needed hospital treatment after "egg-related incidents" in 2002, the last year such data was collected.
A RoSPA spokeswoman said: "Our advice is always to take care when dealing with boiling water in a microwave." The British Egg Information Service offer advice to egg-lovers on how to poach them safely in the microwave:
1. Carefully crack the egg into a large teacup or ramekin dish filled with 1/2 tbsp of water.
2. Use a cocktail stick to pierce the yolk and white in a couple of places and poach in the microwave on HIGH for 40 seconds in a 750-watt oven, or 60 seconds if you have a 650- watt oven.
3. Let the egg stand for a minute before serving."
This is not the first bizarre injury to hit football stars.
Stoke City's Liam Lawrence is an injury doubt for his side's weekend meeting with Portsmouth after tripping over his pet dog. The former Sunderland winger suffered the bizarre injury to his ankle this morning, leaving the Potters manager Tony Pulis with a potential selection headache for Sunday's fixture.
"He has stepped over his dog on the stairs and his ankle just gave way and he went over on it," said Pulis. "The initial scan has shown no break but we have sent him back for another x-ray to make sure.
"We don't know how serious it is at the moment, he may be okay for Portsmouth, but then again he may not be fit. We will have to wait and see."
Football's most ridiculous injuries
• Lawrence is not alone in suffering at the paws of a mutt. Chic Brodie's career came to an abrupt end in October 1970 when the Brentford goalkeeper collided with a sheepdog that had run on to the pitch, shattering a kneecap. "The dog might have been a small one, but it just happened to be a solid one," he said. The former Barnsley midfielder Darren Barnard, however, was sidelined for five months with a torn knee ligament after he slipped in a puddle of his puppy's urine on the kitchen floor.
• The Everton goalkeeper Richard Wright was ruled out of an FA Cup fourth-round replay at Chelsea after twisting his ankle by falling over a sign warning him not to practice in the goalmouth during the pre-match warm-up. He also damaged his shoulder by falling through a loft as he was trying to pack away his suitcases. Wright's former Ipswich team-mate Kieron Dyer, then at Newcastle, damaged his left eye when he collided with a pole in training.
• During his spell at Leeds United, the England defender Rio Ferdinand picked up a tendon strain in his knee after leaving his leg propped on a coffee table for too long while watching television. Ferdinand's England colleague David James also suffered at the hands of the TV when he pulled a muscle in his back when reaching for the remote control. James also tweaked his shoulder while attempting to land a carp while fishing.
• The then Kidderminster captain Sean Flynn broke his nose, bust his lip and bruised his toes after tripping over his son's toy cars. But a real car accounted for the toy-sized Alan Wright, who strained his knee by stretching to reach the accelerator in his new Ferrari. He subsequently swapped the sports car for a Rover 416. The former Leeds and Blackburn midfielder David Batty injured his Achilles tendon when he was run over by his toddler on a tricycle.
• In 1993 the goalkeeper Dave Beasant dropped a bottle of salad cream on his foot, severing the tendon in his big toe and keeping him out of action for eight weeks. Similarly, the Spain goalkeeper Santiago Canizares missed the 2002 World Cup after accidentally shattering a bottle of aftershave in his hotel sink. A piece of glass fell on his foot, severing a tendon in his big toe.
• In 1975 the Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stepney dislocated his jaw while shouting at his defenders during a match against Birmingham. Meanwhile England's Alan Mullery missed the 1964 tour of South America after injuring his back while brushing his teeth - not a problem for the American international Kasey Keller, who knocked out his front teeth while pulling his golf clubs out of the boot of his car.
• The Arsenal striker Charlie George cut off his toe with a lawnmower, but the then-Aston Villa forward Darius Vassell missed several games after he drilled through his toe nail with a home power drill thinking it would relieve the pressure on a swollen toe. It developed an infection that required medical attention.
• And finally, the Norway defender Svein Grondalen had to withdraw from an international during the 1970s after colliding with a moose while out jogging.
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Winning Ways
From the Glasgow Herald.
A Dumbarton fan marched in to William Hill on Monday to pick up his winnings for Dumbarton becoming the third division champs. However, the manager said that although Dumbarton were three points clear, and with an 18-goal advantage, with only one game to go, there was an arithmetical possibility they could be pipped.
In other words, if Dumbarton say, lost their last game by nine goals and second placed East Stirling won their game by nine goals.
The bemused fan replied that if they weren't paying out, then they must still be taking bets, and asked to bet a further £2000 on Dumbarton winning the league.
At that, the manager saw sense, and paid up.
A Dumbarton fan marched in to William Hill on Monday to pick up his winnings for Dumbarton becoming the third division champs. However, the manager said that although Dumbarton were three points clear, and with an 18-goal advantage, with only one game to go, there was an arithmetical possibility they could be pipped.
In other words, if Dumbarton say, lost their last game by nine goals and second placed East Stirling won their game by nine goals.
The bemused fan replied that if they weren't paying out, then they must still be taking bets, and asked to bet a further £2000 on Dumbarton winning the league.
At that, the manager saw sense, and paid up.
Friday, 8 May 2009
King's Death Brings Eviction Fear
Taken from the BBC
A football club may have to vacate its home ground in Norfolk because of a clause in the lease linking ownership to a king of Norway who died in 1991.
Cromer Town FC were given the lease in 1922 by Evelyn Bond-Cabbell.
But the gift of Cabbell Park included a clause that the lease would expire 21 years after the death of Queen Victoria's last surviving grandchild.
Norway's King Olav V, the monarch's great grandson, died on 17 January 1991 meaning the club face eviction in 2012.
Paul Jarvis, chairman of the amateur club, who play in the Anglian Combination League, said: "We've had discussions with the trustees of the will.
"It appears that the lease expires in 2012. That could lead to us being relocated.
"It's at a very early stage in terms of discussions with the trustees and no final decision has been made.
"We've not been given notice to quit. We've expressed that we would prefer to stay where we are."
Mr Jarvis said the trustees were considering possible alternative uses for the football ground.
The gift was originally intended so that all the people in Cromer could enjoy an amenity and the trustees want to bring this wish up to date by including more sports and activities on the ground for a wider age group including young people.
Evelyn Bond-Cabbell gave a lot of money to the local community after World War I when she was concerned about the plight of men returning to Norfolk after serving their country.
She funded the building of Cromer Hospital where many of the returning soldiers gained work.
A football club may have to vacate its home ground in Norfolk because of a clause in the lease linking ownership to a king of Norway who died in 1991.
Cromer Town FC were given the lease in 1922 by Evelyn Bond-Cabbell.
But the gift of Cabbell Park included a clause that the lease would expire 21 years after the death of Queen Victoria's last surviving grandchild.
Norway's King Olav V, the monarch's great grandson, died on 17 January 1991 meaning the club face eviction in 2012.
Paul Jarvis, chairman of the amateur club, who play in the Anglian Combination League, said: "We've had discussions with the trustees of the will.
"It appears that the lease expires in 2012. That could lead to us being relocated.
"It's at a very early stage in terms of discussions with the trustees and no final decision has been made.
"We've not been given notice to quit. We've expressed that we would prefer to stay where we are."
Mr Jarvis said the trustees were considering possible alternative uses for the football ground.
The gift was originally intended so that all the people in Cromer could enjoy an amenity and the trustees want to bring this wish up to date by including more sports and activities on the ground for a wider age group including young people.
Evelyn Bond-Cabbell gave a lot of money to the local community after World War I when she was concerned about the plight of men returning to Norfolk after serving their country.
She funded the building of Cromer Hospital where many of the returning soldiers gained work.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Football Club Mascot Injures Himself In BMX Stunt
Oldham Athletic football club's mascot had to be carried from the pitch after injuring himself during the pre-match entertainment.
Chaddy the Owl ended up in hospital after falling off a bike in the build-up to his club's League One clash at Carlisle.
The 7ft bird, dressed in the club's fluorescent away kit, was pulling wheelies on the BMX before kick off when he fell off and ruptured ankle ligaments.
The mascot, Wayne Hurst, 34, said: "I was entertaining the crowd when I discovered a bike on the terrace behind the net. I was all right on a BMX when I was younger, so I thought I'd give it a go.
"I set off towards the fans and the bike went over. I put my leg down to stop it, but went over on my ankle. I knew as soon as I hit the ground I was in trouble.
"Eventually the St John's Ambulance people came. They wanted me to take my head off so they could give me gas and air, but I said no. It's an unwritten rule that I never take my head off in front of the crowd."
Wayne was then helped on to a wheelchair and taken through the players' tunnel.
"I got a standing ovation from the Carlisle fans, which was nice," he said.
His injuries were expected to rule him out of his team's clash with Crewe today.
Oldham's chief executive Alan Hardy bemoaned the latest injury to hit the club. He said: "It looked quite nasty. Clearly the pressure of the end of season run-in caught up with him."
Taken from the Telegraph.
Chaddy the Owl ended up in hospital after falling off a bike in the build-up to his club's League One clash at Carlisle.
The 7ft bird, dressed in the club's fluorescent away kit, was pulling wheelies on the BMX before kick off when he fell off and ruptured ankle ligaments.
The mascot, Wayne Hurst, 34, said: "I was entertaining the crowd when I discovered a bike on the terrace behind the net. I was all right on a BMX when I was younger, so I thought I'd give it a go.
"I set off towards the fans and the bike went over. I put my leg down to stop it, but went over on my ankle. I knew as soon as I hit the ground I was in trouble.
"Eventually the St John's Ambulance people came. They wanted me to take my head off so they could give me gas and air, but I said no. It's an unwritten rule that I never take my head off in front of the crowd."
Wayne was then helped on to a wheelchair and taken through the players' tunnel.
"I got a standing ovation from the Carlisle fans, which was nice," he said.
His injuries were expected to rule him out of his team's clash with Crewe today.
Oldham's chief executive Alan Hardy bemoaned the latest injury to hit the club. He said: "It looked quite nasty. Clearly the pressure of the end of season run-in caught up with him."
Taken from the Telegraph.
Monday, 6 April 2009
Footballer Puts Wind Up Referee
Taken from the BBC website:
A referee ordered a penalty to be retaken in a Sunday league football game when an opposition player broke wind as the ball was kicked.
The Chorlton Villa player got a yellow card for the noise which was classed as "unsporting behaviour".
The team, who conceded a goal on the second take, went on to win the match 6-4 against International Manchester FC at Turn Moss in Stretford, Manchester.
Villa manager Ian Treadwell said their conduct was "normally exemplary".
"One of our players 'broke wind' and only the referee heard it and he booked the player," he said.
"The other player had the penalty saved because it was a bad penalty; it was nothing to do with any noise. They were as shocked as we were as to why."
Mr Treadwell said he was waiting for the Football Association to contact them after it had received a report.
The Manchester Publicity league club faces total fines of £97 for three dismissals and two yellow card bookings from the game.
Mr Treadwell said: "We are not a dirty team and we like to play football.
"While I won't condone the actions of the players, it is an emotive game and some of the players were sent off for entering into conversation with the referee.
"This has come at a bad time in the season as we don't have sponsor and we are looking for a new sponsor for next season."
Pauline Riley, secretary and treasurer of International Manchester FC, said both team were "very friendly".
"There's no animosity. It was just hilarious," she said.
A referee ordered a penalty to be retaken in a Sunday league football game when an opposition player broke wind as the ball was kicked.
The Chorlton Villa player got a yellow card for the noise which was classed as "unsporting behaviour".
The team, who conceded a goal on the second take, went on to win the match 6-4 against International Manchester FC at Turn Moss in Stretford, Manchester.
Villa manager Ian Treadwell said their conduct was "normally exemplary".
"One of our players 'broke wind' and only the referee heard it and he booked the player," he said.
"The other player had the penalty saved because it was a bad penalty; it was nothing to do with any noise. They were as shocked as we were as to why."
Mr Treadwell said he was waiting for the Football Association to contact them after it had received a report.
The Manchester Publicity league club faces total fines of £97 for three dismissals and two yellow card bookings from the game.
Mr Treadwell said: "We are not a dirty team and we like to play football.
"While I won't condone the actions of the players, it is an emotive game and some of the players were sent off for entering into conversation with the referee.
"This has come at a bad time in the season as we don't have sponsor and we are looking for a new sponsor for next season."
Pauline Riley, secretary and treasurer of International Manchester FC, said both team were "very friendly".
"There's no animosity. It was just hilarious," she said.
Monday, 30 March 2009
El Jardinero - The Gardener
Julio Ricardo Cruz is an Argentina football er who plays for Italian side Inter Milan.
His nickname, "the gardener", "El Jardinero" in Spanish, was given to him at an early age in Argentina. He was working as a gardener for local team Club Atlético Banfield, cutting the grass and looking after the pitch, and when coach Oscar López was missing a player one day for a practise match, he was called over to make up the numbers. On noticing his talent, Banfield signed him. Since then Julio has always been known as El Jardinero.
His nickname, "the gardener", "El Jardinero" in Spanish, was given to him at an early age in Argentina. He was working as a gardener for local team Club Atlético Banfield, cutting the grass and looking after the pitch, and when coach Oscar López was missing a player one day for a practise match, he was called over to make up the numbers. On noticing his talent, Banfield signed him. Since then Julio has always been known as El Jardinero.
Referee Sends Off 18 Players After Mass Brawl With Fans
• Lamadrid players attack home crowd after taunts
• Referee brandished 18 red cards as riot police intervened
An Argentinian Primera C match was abandoned last Saturday after all 11 away team players and seven substitutes became involved in a mass brawl with home fans. As riot police intervened, the referee sent off all 18 players.
The incident began midway through the second half last Saturday, with Barracas Bolivar 3–0 up against visitors General Lamadrid. Reacting to taunts and abuse from Barracas fans, three Lamadrid players and four members of staff became involved in a heated dispute, which quickly escalated into brawling. Seeing the events unfolding on the touchline, the entire Lamadrid team dashed over to defend their colleagues, resulting in fighting in and around the stands.
The referee's decision to show red cards to all 11 players and seven substitutes means Lamadrid will now have to play with a team of reserve and youth players in their next match.
• Referee brandished 18 red cards as riot police intervened
An Argentinian Primera C match was abandoned last Saturday after all 11 away team players and seven substitutes became involved in a mass brawl with home fans. As riot police intervened, the referee sent off all 18 players.
The incident began midway through the second half last Saturday, with Barracas Bolivar 3–0 up against visitors General Lamadrid. Reacting to taunts and abuse from Barracas fans, three Lamadrid players and four members of staff became involved in a heated dispute, which quickly escalated into brawling. Seeing the events unfolding on the touchline, the entire Lamadrid team dashed over to defend their colleagues, resulting in fighting in and around the stands.
The referee's decision to show red cards to all 11 players and seven substitutes means Lamadrid will now have to play with a team of reserve and youth players in their next match.
How To Bluff Your Way To The Top Of The Game
German footballer Moritz Volz writes a blog about his life and football in general. He has had a career including stints at Arsenal and Fulham, and is currently on loan at Ipswich Town.
His blog is generally very amusing and rings very true. Its a great blog and well worth the read - it can be found http://www.volzy.com/
In this article he discusses the unwritten laws of football...
Ever wanted to play in the Premiership?
Just follow my guide to looking the part
Moritz Volz
Leddy is a good friend of mine and my “Goal Celebration Coach”, so he hasn’t had a lot to do lately. But being the great football philosopher that he is, he recently got to thinking about another aspect of the game that has rarely been studied. While endless column inches are devoted to discussing the rules of football, what about all of the unwritten rules that virtually all of us professionals obey without question? It’s a subject that had us talking for hours, ending our last coaching session in the park in the process. So I thought I’d share our findings with you — and Leddy, I promise I’ll perfect the Mick Channon windmill by next time. . .
Before kick-off
— Any player being filmed leaving a team bus must ensure that he is wearing headphones and carrying a small Louis Vuitton wash bag.
— Players who once represented the same club must stop and chat animatedly to each other in the tunnel as they wait to come out, even if they never really spoke to each other when they played together.
— On the day of a cup final, players must walk on to the pitch in their club suit approximately 1½ hours before kick-off and touch the turf to make sure it is just like all the other grass they play on every week. At least one player must pick some and throw it in the air to gauge the wind direction even though it is May, very still, and, therefore, very unlikely to affect anything.
Scoring
— If a player mishits a good chance, he must look down and carefully examine the pitch, maybe even treading back in some turf, so that everyone knows he got a bad bounce. If it is a televised game, he should continually blow mucus out of his nose as the camera tracks him back to his own half.
— When a player makes a great assist only to see a teammate tap the ball in, he must stand well away from the celebrating players and wait for them to come over and individually congratulate him.
Corners and throw-ins
— All throw-ins must be taken at least ten yards farther up the pitch than where the ball went out. The referee is allowed to tell the player off, but only when he has exceeded ten yards.
— All corner takers must push the corner flag to one side, regardless of whether it gets in the way. They must also raise a hand before taking the kick, irrelevant of where they intend to send the ball.
Free kicks
— Two or more players should always dispute who will take a free kick, even though they have spent an entire week on the training ground working out who will take them.
— When a player has conceded a free kick, he must pick up the ball and run several yards before dropping it behind him without looking. When a free kick is awarded and the referee places the ball in the required spot, it is essential to pick it up and place it down again at least six inches further forward, ideally with a backspin motion.
Offside
— When a player is judged offside and still shoots but doesn’t score, he must pretend he knew it was offside all along and didn’t really try to score at all. On the other hand, if he does score, he must act “outraged” and “robbed”.
— Any striker who is more than five yards offside must still either wag a finger or launch a tirade of expletives at the flag-bearing official.
Substitutions and injuries
— A player leaving the pitch on a stretcher must always be applauded, while players with equally serious injuries who are helped off by the physio must be booed.
— When water bottles are thrown on to the pitch while a teammate is receiving treatment, players must always squirt some out on to the grass before taking a sip.
— Players warming up along the touchline must always put their hands behind their backs and kick their heels up to touch them, even though they never do this in training or at any other time.
Goalkeepers
— Before kick-off, goalkeepers should always hang from the crossbar to check it does not have any cracks in it.
— Keepers must use the special adhesive power of saliva by spitting into their gloves as much as possible during games. They should also kick the soles of their boots against the post at least three times in each half.
— Goalkeepers should sprint into the opposition penalty box for injury-time corners, even if they have never connected with a header in their life.
Managers
— Any manager facing lower-league opposition in a cup game must describe the team he is facing as “well organised”.
— Assistant managers must be equipped with a blank piece of paper on which they can pretend to show substitutes the opposition’s tactical formation. In addition, assistants should shout and gesticulate in exactly the same way as the manager, only two seconds later.
Officials
— The referee must only blow for full time when the ball is in mid-air after a long goal kick.
— The fourth official must always check a substitute’s studs before he comes on, even though none of the studs of the players on the pitch were checked. It should be noted that no substitute in the history of football has ever been caught wearing “inappropriate studs” and no substitute has ever been refused access to the field of play because of a “stud check”.
— Fourth officials should always be of a smiling disposition when trying to calm infuriated managers back into the dugout.
His blog is generally very amusing and rings very true. Its a great blog and well worth the read - it can be found http://www.volzy.com/
In this article he discusses the unwritten laws of football...
Ever wanted to play in the Premiership?
Just follow my guide to looking the part
Moritz Volz
Leddy is a good friend of mine and my “Goal Celebration Coach”, so he hasn’t had a lot to do lately. But being the great football philosopher that he is, he recently got to thinking about another aspect of the game that has rarely been studied. While endless column inches are devoted to discussing the rules of football, what about all of the unwritten rules that virtually all of us professionals obey without question? It’s a subject that had us talking for hours, ending our last coaching session in the park in the process. So I thought I’d share our findings with you — and Leddy, I promise I’ll perfect the Mick Channon windmill by next time. . .
Before kick-off
— Any player being filmed leaving a team bus must ensure that he is wearing headphones and carrying a small Louis Vuitton wash bag.
— Players who once represented the same club must stop and chat animatedly to each other in the tunnel as they wait to come out, even if they never really spoke to each other when they played together.
— On the day of a cup final, players must walk on to the pitch in their club suit approximately 1½ hours before kick-off and touch the turf to make sure it is just like all the other grass they play on every week. At least one player must pick some and throw it in the air to gauge the wind direction even though it is May, very still, and, therefore, very unlikely to affect anything.
Scoring
— If a player mishits a good chance, he must look down and carefully examine the pitch, maybe even treading back in some turf, so that everyone knows he got a bad bounce. If it is a televised game, he should continually blow mucus out of his nose as the camera tracks him back to his own half.
— When a player makes a great assist only to see a teammate tap the ball in, he must stand well away from the celebrating players and wait for them to come over and individually congratulate him.
Corners and throw-ins
— All throw-ins must be taken at least ten yards farther up the pitch than where the ball went out. The referee is allowed to tell the player off, but only when he has exceeded ten yards.
— All corner takers must push the corner flag to one side, regardless of whether it gets in the way. They must also raise a hand before taking the kick, irrelevant of where they intend to send the ball.
Free kicks
— Two or more players should always dispute who will take a free kick, even though they have spent an entire week on the training ground working out who will take them.
— When a player has conceded a free kick, he must pick up the ball and run several yards before dropping it behind him without looking. When a free kick is awarded and the referee places the ball in the required spot, it is essential to pick it up and place it down again at least six inches further forward, ideally with a backspin motion.
Offside
— When a player is judged offside and still shoots but doesn’t score, he must pretend he knew it was offside all along and didn’t really try to score at all. On the other hand, if he does score, he must act “outraged” and “robbed”.
— Any striker who is more than five yards offside must still either wag a finger or launch a tirade of expletives at the flag-bearing official.
Substitutions and injuries
— A player leaving the pitch on a stretcher must always be applauded, while players with equally serious injuries who are helped off by the physio must be booed.
— When water bottles are thrown on to the pitch while a teammate is receiving treatment, players must always squirt some out on to the grass before taking a sip.
— Players warming up along the touchline must always put their hands behind their backs and kick their heels up to touch them, even though they never do this in training or at any other time.
Goalkeepers
— Before kick-off, goalkeepers should always hang from the crossbar to check it does not have any cracks in it.
— Keepers must use the special adhesive power of saliva by spitting into their gloves as much as possible during games. They should also kick the soles of their boots against the post at least three times in each half.
— Goalkeepers should sprint into the opposition penalty box for injury-time corners, even if they have never connected with a header in their life.
Managers
— Any manager facing lower-league opposition in a cup game must describe the team he is facing as “well organised”.
— Assistant managers must be equipped with a blank piece of paper on which they can pretend to show substitutes the opposition’s tactical formation. In addition, assistants should shout and gesticulate in exactly the same way as the manager, only two seconds later.
Officials
— The referee must only blow for full time when the ball is in mid-air after a long goal kick.
— The fourth official must always check a substitute’s studs before he comes on, even though none of the studs of the players on the pitch were checked. It should be noted that no substitute in the history of football has ever been caught wearing “inappropriate studs” and no substitute has ever been refused access to the field of play because of a “stud check”.
— Fourth officials should always be of a smiling disposition when trying to calm infuriated managers back into the dugout.
Monday, 23 March 2009
Pointless
I am a fan of football. And I have an unhealthy obsession with lower league Scottish football, as does my brother. It came from a game of Football Manager that we played a few years ago where I started as Stirling Albion and my brother started as Albion Rovers, both in the Scottish Third Division. It turned out to be a great game - I took Stirling Albion to the Scottish Premiership and broke the Old Firm stranglehold on the Championship, making Stirling Albion the biggest force in Scottish football. It was my most successful and most enjoyable game I had played. My brother didn't do too badly with Albion Rovers too, getting them promoted to the Premiership.
We took a weekend break to Edinburgh, and while there took in a trip to watch Stirling Albion play Albion Rovers. Stirling won 3-0, but we were hooked. We made a pact there and then to try to get to one Scottish game a season.
Since then we have added Albion Rovers v Stranraer and Dumbarton v Albion Rovers. Small grounds, tiny crowds and shocking football. But it is how it should be!
Jeff Connor wrote a book titled Pointless about East Stirlingshire, another Scottish third division football team who were tagged "Britain's worst football club". At the end of the 2004/05 season they finished bottom of the Scottish third division for the 3rd consecutive season. They are lucky if all eleven players make it to a game and have an average home attendance at their dilapidated Firs Park ground of just 200. They were also Sir Alex Ferguson's first managerial role, though it was a short lived one!
It is an interesting read, really giving you an indside look at the problems of running a lower league football club!
We took a weekend break to Edinburgh, and while there took in a trip to watch Stirling Albion play Albion Rovers. Stirling won 3-0, but we were hooked. We made a pact there and then to try to get to one Scottish game a season.
Since then we have added Albion Rovers v Stranraer and Dumbarton v Albion Rovers. Small grounds, tiny crowds and shocking football. But it is how it should be!
Jeff Connor wrote a book titled Pointless about East Stirlingshire, another Scottish third division football team who were tagged "Britain's worst football club". At the end of the 2004/05 season they finished bottom of the Scottish third division for the 3rd consecutive season. They are lucky if all eleven players make it to a game and have an average home attendance at their dilapidated Firs Park ground of just 200. They were also Sir Alex Ferguson's first managerial role, though it was a short lived one!
It is an interesting read, really giving you an indside look at the problems of running a lower league football club!
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Do I Not Like That!?
Graham Taylor - An Impossible Job
Graham Taylor was widely ridiculed while he was manager of the England national team during the early 90s. Admittedly he did inherit a generally weak set of players to choose from – players who were coming to the end their careers or just starting – and there was not the depth of players to choose from that other managers have perhaps had. He was also unfortunate that circumstances conspired against him in some cases, for example some bizarre refereeing decisions in the game against Holland that England went on to lose.
During the period of attempting to qualify for the World Cup in the USA in 1994, a film crew followed him around and filmed his coaching techniques for a documentary entitled Graham Taylor – An Impossible Job. It does not show Taylor or his coaching team in a particularly great light – odd tactical decisions, confusing player instructions and arguing with journalists in press conferences – but it gives a fascinating insight into the world of international football management, one that now the years have passed you can laugh at.
You can watch the whole programme on Google Video at the following link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7941330900744785719&ei=WdfASbCbJoGw-Aa3muTFAQ&q=graham+taylor
It is about 50 minutes long and is well worth the viewing.
For what it is worth, I quite like Graham Taylor – his analysis of games on television and on the radio is often refreshing and enlightening, and perhaps he was harshly done by the media and British public while he was England manager.
Graham Taylor was widely ridiculed while he was manager of the England national team during the early 90s. Admittedly he did inherit a generally weak set of players to choose from – players who were coming to the end their careers or just starting – and there was not the depth of players to choose from that other managers have perhaps had. He was also unfortunate that circumstances conspired against him in some cases, for example some bizarre refereeing decisions in the game against Holland that England went on to lose.
During the period of attempting to qualify for the World Cup in the USA in 1994, a film crew followed him around and filmed his coaching techniques for a documentary entitled Graham Taylor – An Impossible Job. It does not show Taylor or his coaching team in a particularly great light – odd tactical decisions, confusing player instructions and arguing with journalists in press conferences – but it gives a fascinating insight into the world of international football management, one that now the years have passed you can laugh at.
You can watch the whole programme on Google Video at the following link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7941330900744785719&ei=WdfASbCbJoGw-Aa3muTFAQ&q=graham+taylor
It is about 50 minutes long and is well worth the viewing.
For what it is worth, I quite like Graham Taylor – his analysis of games on television and on the radio is often refreshing and enlightening, and perhaps he was harshly done by the media and British public while he was England manager.
Monday, 16 March 2009
He is so bad he is...Dia!
A well known story this one, but one that never fails to raise a chuckle when I read it!
Have you heard the one about George Weah's Cousin?
After a playing career at the lower levels in France and Germany, and having already had failed trials at Port Vale, Gillingham and Bournemouth, before playing at semi-pro club Blyth Spartans, Ali Dia was signed by Southampton manager Graeme Souness in 1996, after Souness received a phone call purporting to be from Liberian international and former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah. "Weah" told Souness that Dia was his cousin, had played for Paris Saint-Germain and had played 13 times for his country. Actually, none of this was true, and the phone call was from Dia's agent. Nonetheless, Souness was convinced, and signed Dia on a one-month contract.
Dia played just one game for Southampton, in the number 33 shirt, against Leeds United on November 23, 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a reserve friendly against Arsenal, but the match was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. In the match against Leeds, he came on as a substitute for Matthew Le Tissier after 32 minutes but his performance was spectacularly below Premier League quality. He was later substituted (for Ken Monkou) after playing until the 53rd minute; Leeds won the match 2–0.
Le Tissier himself recalled the story in a television interview, telling that Dia spent only a weekend at the club. He first came down to train with the team on Friday morning and what he did "didn't look very good" and Southampton players thought that they would "never see him again", but then on the next day Dia was surprisingly named to the subs bench. His performance on the field after he came on to replace Le Tissier "was unbelievable. He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice, it was very very embarrassing to watch." Yet according to the team's physiotherapist on Sunday morning Dia "turned up for treatment of an injury" and "then he left, and we never saw him again ... nobody knows where he went."
Dia was released by Southampton two weeks into his contract. He briefly played for non-league Gateshead, before leaving in February 1997. He went on to study business at Northumbria University in Newcastle graduating in 2001.
Dia has achieved a notorious status amongst English football fans for his lack of ability, and is regularly featured in lists of bad players or bad transfers. He was named at #1 in a list of "The 50 worst footballers" in The Times newspaper.
Have you heard the one about George Weah's Cousin?
After a playing career at the lower levels in France and Germany, and having already had failed trials at Port Vale, Gillingham and Bournemouth, before playing at semi-pro club Blyth Spartans, Ali Dia was signed by Southampton manager Graeme Souness in 1996, after Souness received a phone call purporting to be from Liberian international and former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah. "Weah" told Souness that Dia was his cousin, had played for Paris Saint-Germain and had played 13 times for his country. Actually, none of this was true, and the phone call was from Dia's agent. Nonetheless, Souness was convinced, and signed Dia on a one-month contract.
Dia played just one game for Southampton, in the number 33 shirt, against Leeds United on November 23, 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a reserve friendly against Arsenal, but the match was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. In the match against Leeds, he came on as a substitute for Matthew Le Tissier after 32 minutes but his performance was spectacularly below Premier League quality. He was later substituted (for Ken Monkou) after playing until the 53rd minute; Leeds won the match 2–0.
Le Tissier himself recalled the story in a television interview, telling that Dia spent only a weekend at the club. He first came down to train with the team on Friday morning and what he did "didn't look very good" and Southampton players thought that they would "never see him again", but then on the next day Dia was surprisingly named to the subs bench. His performance on the field after he came on to replace Le Tissier "was unbelievable. He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice, it was very very embarrassing to watch." Yet according to the team's physiotherapist on Sunday morning Dia "turned up for treatment of an injury" and "then he left, and we never saw him again ... nobody knows where he went."
Dia was released by Southampton two weeks into his contract. He briefly played for non-league Gateshead, before leaving in February 1997. He went on to study business at Northumbria University in Newcastle graduating in 2001.
Dia has achieved a notorious status amongst English football fans for his lack of ability, and is regularly featured in lists of bad players or bad transfers. He was named at #1 in a list of "The 50 worst footballers" in The Times newspaper.
Former Man City and Northern Ireland Star Becomes Car Salesman
It is always interesting to read about what former footballers do after football, in particular if they have had a fall from grace.
The Manchester Evening News had an very interesting article on Jeff Whitley who had an addiction to drink and cocaine, and about what he is doing now.
City Star Turns Life Around
A former Manchester City star who became hooked on drink and drugs has fought back against his addictions and launched a new career . . . selling cars.
Jeff Whitley has become the latest signing at Stockport Car Supermarket where he started work as a salesman this week.
Although he says some may see the job as a comedown after more than 100 appearances for the Blues, Jeff views it as another positive step on the road back from the brink.
In 2005, he was thrown off the Northern Ireland squad and little more than 12 months ago he checked into the Sporting Chance rehab clinic, set up by former England player Tony Adams, to battle an addiction to drink and cocaine. He has been sober ever since.
Jeff, 30, said: "At school I had dreams of playing for Manchester City and I couldn't believe it when they came true.
"The drinking started after the games but it got to the stage where I was getting more excited about what I would do then than the game itself. I looked to drugs when the drink didn't work. I was dying and my body couldn't take any more."
It was then Jeff realised things had to change and he went for an assessment at Sporting Chance, where he underwent 28 days of rehab.
Now he is playing football again for Unibond League side Woodley Sports and this week started his new job. Jeff sold two cars at the Buxton Road garage on his second day, and says he is relishing the challenge.
He said: "I feel I am a good communicator and that's half the battle. I've got the advantage that some people still recognise me from City and that helps break the ice. I'm going to give it my best shot."
Jeff also hopes the can turn his bleak experiences into something positive. He is looking at taking football coaching badges and a counselling course.
Jeff said: "I'd love to be a mentor and tell youngsters how my life went so they can look out for the pitfalls and not make the same mistakes."
Article by Alex Scapens.
The Manchester Evening News had an very interesting article on Jeff Whitley who had an addiction to drink and cocaine, and about what he is doing now.
City Star Turns Life Around
A former Manchester City star who became hooked on drink and drugs has fought back against his addictions and launched a new career . . . selling cars.
Jeff Whitley has become the latest signing at Stockport Car Supermarket where he started work as a salesman this week.
Although he says some may see the job as a comedown after more than 100 appearances for the Blues, Jeff views it as another positive step on the road back from the brink.
In 2005, he was thrown off the Northern Ireland squad and little more than 12 months ago he checked into the Sporting Chance rehab clinic, set up by former England player Tony Adams, to battle an addiction to drink and cocaine. He has been sober ever since.
Jeff, 30, said: "At school I had dreams of playing for Manchester City and I couldn't believe it when they came true.
"The drinking started after the games but it got to the stage where I was getting more excited about what I would do then than the game itself. I looked to drugs when the drink didn't work. I was dying and my body couldn't take any more."
It was then Jeff realised things had to change and he went for an assessment at Sporting Chance, where he underwent 28 days of rehab.
Now he is playing football again for Unibond League side Woodley Sports and this week started his new job. Jeff sold two cars at the Buxton Road garage on his second day, and says he is relishing the challenge.
He said: "I feel I am a good communicator and that's half the battle. I've got the advantage that some people still recognise me from City and that helps break the ice. I'm going to give it my best shot."
Jeff also hopes the can turn his bleak experiences into something positive. He is looking at taking football coaching badges and a counselling course.
Jeff said: "I'd love to be a mentor and tell youngsters how my life went so they can look out for the pitfalls and not make the same mistakes."
Article by Alex Scapens.
Rivaldo, Barcelona, Eto'o and the Uzbek Super Club
I remember reading about this Uzbekistan club trying to sign Eto'o last year and wondering what on earth was going on - the money involved was just astonishing!
Here is an interesting article on the situation taken from the Guardian/Observer website, written by Kevin O'Flynn.
Death and Glory
Political connections and energy resources have put Bunyodkor on the fast track to super club status.
Last week several British newspapers carried a story about a "row" between Fifa and the Premier League over the badge on Manchester United's shirt. United had won the Fifa World Club Cup last December and the world governing body wanted them to advertise the fact by wearing a new logo. The Premier League said "no thanks".
The football public here would probably side with their own competition, if they had an opinion at all. The World Club Cup might be worth something to United as it gives them the opportunity to aim for a quin rather than a quad this season, but to most fans it is an impostor, a "made-up" tournament that has no history, no integrity. It is known only for having put a dent in the FA Cup when United prioritised their Fifa matches in Brazil over domestic commitments in 2000. It is seen as something of a joke.
Elsewhere in the world, it is taken more seriously. The next tournament is nine months away, and nowhere is that gestation period more important than in Uzbekistan, the Asian outpost that is home to one of the most remarkable clubs in world football. Bunyodkor of Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, would like nothing more than to take on Manchester United, or even better their mentors and "partners", Barcelona, in the next Fifa World Club Cup. Judging by their progress so far, they might just do it. That would be some rare good news for a country that features high on the list of hellholes for Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others. Just what the despotic Uzbek government wants.
Four years ago Bunyodkor did not exist. They won promotion from the amateur second division at the first attempt, finished runners-up in cup and league next time out, and in their third season won the double, with a run to the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League to boot. They have a former World Cup winner in the team, alongside the Asian footballer of the year. Now they are getting serious.
Bunyodkor are building a new $150m stadium, despite the fact that their current 15,000-capacity home, built in a few months, is less than a year old. A friendly against Barcelona, whose president, Joan Laporta, flew in to lay the first brick last August, will mark the official opening of their new home this summer.
Other Barcelona connections abound. Lionel Messi, Carles Puyol and Andrés Iniesta were joined by Arsenal's Cesc Fábregas last summer in flying to Tashkent, for a reported €1m (about £700,000 at the time) each, to pull on the club shirt for publicity purposes and hold a football skills masterclass for the locals. Bunyodkor made further headlines with an audacious attempt to sign Samuel Eto'o on a short-term contract. There was much amusement around the world at the idea but they were not joking.
"My head started spinning when I heard what they offered – $25m to play for two or three months," Eto'o told the French television station Telefoot after flying to Tashkent, where he, too, gave a skills session.
Rebuffed by Eto'o, the Uzbek club turned to Rivaldo, a key man in Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning side. At the age of 36 he was never going to refuse their offer of €10m for two years.
They had another World Cup legend, Zico, as coach for four months, before he moved on take over at CSKA Moscow, favourites to win this season's Uefa Cup.
By the time Rivaldo arrived, Bunyodkor's plan to become a "super club" was already in action. They had set up a three-year partnership deal with Barcelona – with the help of Emmanuel Petit acting as an intermediary – and the club's new badge even copies the shape of the Barcelona emblem.
Last Wednesday, when Barcelona thrashed Lyon to move into the quarter-finals of the Uefa Champions League, Bunyodkor – whose name means "creator" in Uzbek – began their second AFC campaign with a 2-1 defeat of the Saudi champions, Al Ettifaq.
What is going on here? Where does the money come from, and why is this happening in Uzbekistan? A glance at the club's lavish website, which is available in English, gives a clue. There are eight sponsors' logos on the site, all eight of them for gas companies. But that is not half the story…
It is not easy to get into Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan. The average weekly wage is below £25, unemployment is estimated by the World Bank at 40 per cent, and nearly a third of the population live below the poverty line. When Observer Sport paid a visit recently, the first thing the Bunyodkor sporting director, Azamat Abduraimov, said was, "You can't write about the heads of the club. We have a little censorship."
And plenty else besides.
European Union sanctions against Uzbekistan were lifted recently, much to the dismay of Craig Murray, the outspoken former British ambassador in Tashkent who has campaigned against the government. Murray says the Uzbek security services use "sheer brutality" against anybody who steps out of line, especially those aligned to the Islamic party Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Torture is widespread, say Amnesty International. The BBC website is barred.
A post-mortem commissioned by the British embassy showed that two dissidents had been boiled alive in 2002. In 2005 hundreds of people were shot down at a public gathering in Andizhan, and there has been no inquiry into the massacre.
Football has visibly become more important to the government in recent years. The autocratic Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, signed a decree which provided tax breaks for football two years ago.
So who is behind Budyonkor? It is not the Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov, the only Uzbek known to football fans in Britain. Speaking at the opening of an exhibition of Turner paintings he sponsored in Moscow, the Arsenal man said he was not Bunyodkor's backer and did not know who was.
"It is very good," he says of Zico and Rivaldo moving to Uzbekistan. "They are great players and can teach a lot." Usmanov may have been out of Uzbekistan for too long. As one fan from Bunyodkor's city rivals, Pakhtakor, says, "Everyone knows who owns the club."
Football officials are unwilling to pull back the curtain and discuss the club's backers. "In Uzbekistan most people are very scared of those in power as they have shown more than once how they deal with those who think differently," says Danil Kislov, editor of the Uzbek dissident news website, ferghana.ru. "It is better to keep quiet. It is a closed society and will remain so for long time."
The nominal owner is Miradil Djalalov, the head of Zeromax, a Switzerland-based company that has the biggest private business in Uzbekistan. The company works in oil, gas and cotton, the latter being Uzbekistan's biggest industry, and runs Uzgazoil, which has petrol stations all over the country. Djalalov is an immensely powerful businessman known locally simply as Odil. And behind him?
Gulnara Karimova, daughter of President Karimov and a would-be successor, is said to be ultimately responsible for the club's rise. Zeromax is widely considered to be controlled by her and dissidents say she is worth billions. Bunyodkor's remarkable rise could not have happened without extremely close ties to the government. "It's part of a campaign by the president to win popularity for his daughter," says Murray. "I hear that she will eventually replace him as president. The regime is trying to win popularity by the old-fashioned bread-and-circuses method."
Karimova is part It girl, part Margaret Thatcher. She is an Uzbek diplomat in Geneva, has her own jewellery line, sings, hosts parties and charity events, designs clothes and has huge business interests. She is said to have controlled Uzbekistan's largest mobile-telephone network and the gold-mining sector. According to a report in The Guardian she is seen as "the only person who can protect the assets of her father's family and cronies".
She acknowledged in a recent interview that human rights is a difficult area but says the situation in Uzbekistan is complicated, not least because of the threat of Islamic fundamentalist violence. Her involvement would make Bunyodkor a repressive government's secret project rather than the secret play toy of a mysterious multi-millionaire. "It is to show the world what does not exist," says Kislov. "That Uzbekistan is very successful."
Late last year, Bunyodkor flew down to Namangan, 200 miles south east of Tashkent in the Fergana Valley, for their last game of the season. Fans set out in cars for the four-hour drive through a mountain pass and past cotton trees stripped bare after the harvest. The Fergana Valley is the heart of Uzbekistan, home to a large proportion of the country's 27m population, and the site of the Andizhan massacre. It is the most passionate football supporting area in the country.
On the way into the valley, all cars – buses are not allowed because of the dangers of the mountain roads – are stopped for a check of documents. A visiting foreigner is noted down by hand in a large book before the car drives through. Signs along the mountain route warn that photography is prohibited.
Abdurahmon Fazilov, head of the Bunyodkor supporters' club, gives a barely believable account of life as a fan. Nobody drinks, he says, very few smoke, and the Bunyodkor followers always clean up after themselves at matches. As for chanting: "It's a team game, so nobody is allowed to sing about individual players, only the team as a whole."
On hearing this, a fan of Tashkent rivals Pakhtakor snorts with laughter. He tells of fights between the two sets of supporters. One report shown to The Observer by Kislov claims that Pakhtakor players were threatened with a pistol by Djalalov after they equalised against Bunyodkor in a game last August. A website floats the theory from an Uzbek football insider that the Bunyodkor fans are a way for the government to use fans as political support.
At half-time in Namangan, two rheumy-eyed home fans stand grumbling about the game and the referee's bias in favour of Bunyodkor. "It's the team of Karimov's daughter," says one fan with a hangdog look before the Bunyodkor media spokesman appears from nowhere to cut the conversation.
The following day, at training, a relaxed Rivaldo is happy to talk. "When I told my family [about Bunyodkor's offer] they were a bit shocked, they wanted to know what sort of country it was," he says. "There are people who say it is not a developed country but it has turned out not to be true."
Rivaldo's new home is bigger than the one he had in Athens, where he played for AEK, and he has brought along his own Brazilian chef. Zico arrived for four months last September after a call from Rivaldo and negotiations led by Djalalov. Uzbekistan was not a complete leap in the dark for him as he had admired the national team from afar in the 1990s when he was coach of Japan.
"It was a lot worse in Japan [than in Uzbekistan] when I went there," reveals Zico, who moved to Sumitomo in 1992, before the start of the J-League and the arrival of Gary Lineker, who was used to promote the game there in the same way as Rivaldo in the Uzbek Oliy Liga. "There is a public which loves football."
Murray is shocked that Barcelona, who have a shirt sponsorship arrangement with Unicef, should be involved with Bunyodkor.
"I am absolutely appalled," he says. "It would be like linking up with Adolf Hitler to promote a Berlin team in the 1930s – it really is astonishing even in the money-mad world of football to be quite that blind to morality."
Barcelona did not respond to requests for a reply to Murray's comments. They did say, through spokesman José Miguel Teres: "We have a cooperation contract with Uzbekistan. There is some technical assistance from our side for the trainers and managers and a friendly game in Uzbekistan to be played in the coming months." The deal is believed to be worth €5m to Barcelona.
Football is a powerful force in Uzbekistan, but the Bunyodkor project is seen as an extravagance too far in a country where many are on or below the breadline. "If you have money like this to pay a foreign footballer then you have the money to pay the people decent wages," says Kislov.
"It is luxury in the face of poverty."
Here is an interesting article on the situation taken from the Guardian/Observer website, written by Kevin O'Flynn.
Death and Glory
Political connections and energy resources have put Bunyodkor on the fast track to super club status.
Last week several British newspapers carried a story about a "row" between Fifa and the Premier League over the badge on Manchester United's shirt. United had won the Fifa World Club Cup last December and the world governing body wanted them to advertise the fact by wearing a new logo. The Premier League said "no thanks".
The football public here would probably side with their own competition, if they had an opinion at all. The World Club Cup might be worth something to United as it gives them the opportunity to aim for a quin rather than a quad this season, but to most fans it is an impostor, a "made-up" tournament that has no history, no integrity. It is known only for having put a dent in the FA Cup when United prioritised their Fifa matches in Brazil over domestic commitments in 2000. It is seen as something of a joke.
Elsewhere in the world, it is taken more seriously. The next tournament is nine months away, and nowhere is that gestation period more important than in Uzbekistan, the Asian outpost that is home to one of the most remarkable clubs in world football. Bunyodkor of Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, would like nothing more than to take on Manchester United, or even better their mentors and "partners", Barcelona, in the next Fifa World Club Cup. Judging by their progress so far, they might just do it. That would be some rare good news for a country that features high on the list of hellholes for Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others. Just what the despotic Uzbek government wants.
Four years ago Bunyodkor did not exist. They won promotion from the amateur second division at the first attempt, finished runners-up in cup and league next time out, and in their third season won the double, with a run to the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League to boot. They have a former World Cup winner in the team, alongside the Asian footballer of the year. Now they are getting serious.
Bunyodkor are building a new $150m stadium, despite the fact that their current 15,000-capacity home, built in a few months, is less than a year old. A friendly against Barcelona, whose president, Joan Laporta, flew in to lay the first brick last August, will mark the official opening of their new home this summer.
Other Barcelona connections abound. Lionel Messi, Carles Puyol and Andrés Iniesta were joined by Arsenal's Cesc Fábregas last summer in flying to Tashkent, for a reported €1m (about £700,000 at the time) each, to pull on the club shirt for publicity purposes and hold a football skills masterclass for the locals. Bunyodkor made further headlines with an audacious attempt to sign Samuel Eto'o on a short-term contract. There was much amusement around the world at the idea but they were not joking.
"My head started spinning when I heard what they offered – $25m to play for two or three months," Eto'o told the French television station Telefoot after flying to Tashkent, where he, too, gave a skills session.
Rebuffed by Eto'o, the Uzbek club turned to Rivaldo, a key man in Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning side. At the age of 36 he was never going to refuse their offer of €10m for two years.
They had another World Cup legend, Zico, as coach for four months, before he moved on take over at CSKA Moscow, favourites to win this season's Uefa Cup.
By the time Rivaldo arrived, Bunyodkor's plan to become a "super club" was already in action. They had set up a three-year partnership deal with Barcelona – with the help of Emmanuel Petit acting as an intermediary – and the club's new badge even copies the shape of the Barcelona emblem.
Last Wednesday, when Barcelona thrashed Lyon to move into the quarter-finals of the Uefa Champions League, Bunyodkor – whose name means "creator" in Uzbek – began their second AFC campaign with a 2-1 defeat of the Saudi champions, Al Ettifaq.
What is going on here? Where does the money come from, and why is this happening in Uzbekistan? A glance at the club's lavish website, which is available in English, gives a clue. There are eight sponsors' logos on the site, all eight of them for gas companies. But that is not half the story…
It is not easy to get into Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan. The average weekly wage is below £25, unemployment is estimated by the World Bank at 40 per cent, and nearly a third of the population live below the poverty line. When Observer Sport paid a visit recently, the first thing the Bunyodkor sporting director, Azamat Abduraimov, said was, "You can't write about the heads of the club. We have a little censorship."
And plenty else besides.
European Union sanctions against Uzbekistan were lifted recently, much to the dismay of Craig Murray, the outspoken former British ambassador in Tashkent who has campaigned against the government. Murray says the Uzbek security services use "sheer brutality" against anybody who steps out of line, especially those aligned to the Islamic party Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Torture is widespread, say Amnesty International. The BBC website is barred.
A post-mortem commissioned by the British embassy showed that two dissidents had been boiled alive in 2002. In 2005 hundreds of people were shot down at a public gathering in Andizhan, and there has been no inquiry into the massacre.
Football has visibly become more important to the government in recent years. The autocratic Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, signed a decree which provided tax breaks for football two years ago.
So who is behind Budyonkor? It is not the Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov, the only Uzbek known to football fans in Britain. Speaking at the opening of an exhibition of Turner paintings he sponsored in Moscow, the Arsenal man said he was not Bunyodkor's backer and did not know who was.
"It is very good," he says of Zico and Rivaldo moving to Uzbekistan. "They are great players and can teach a lot." Usmanov may have been out of Uzbekistan for too long. As one fan from Bunyodkor's city rivals, Pakhtakor, says, "Everyone knows who owns the club."
Football officials are unwilling to pull back the curtain and discuss the club's backers. "In Uzbekistan most people are very scared of those in power as they have shown more than once how they deal with those who think differently," says Danil Kislov, editor of the Uzbek dissident news website, ferghana.ru. "It is better to keep quiet. It is a closed society and will remain so for long time."
The nominal owner is Miradil Djalalov, the head of Zeromax, a Switzerland-based company that has the biggest private business in Uzbekistan. The company works in oil, gas and cotton, the latter being Uzbekistan's biggest industry, and runs Uzgazoil, which has petrol stations all over the country. Djalalov is an immensely powerful businessman known locally simply as Odil. And behind him?
Gulnara Karimova, daughter of President Karimov and a would-be successor, is said to be ultimately responsible for the club's rise. Zeromax is widely considered to be controlled by her and dissidents say she is worth billions. Bunyodkor's remarkable rise could not have happened without extremely close ties to the government. "It's part of a campaign by the president to win popularity for his daughter," says Murray. "I hear that she will eventually replace him as president. The regime is trying to win popularity by the old-fashioned bread-and-circuses method."
Karimova is part It girl, part Margaret Thatcher. She is an Uzbek diplomat in Geneva, has her own jewellery line, sings, hosts parties and charity events, designs clothes and has huge business interests. She is said to have controlled Uzbekistan's largest mobile-telephone network and the gold-mining sector. According to a report in The Guardian she is seen as "the only person who can protect the assets of her father's family and cronies".
She acknowledged in a recent interview that human rights is a difficult area but says the situation in Uzbekistan is complicated, not least because of the threat of Islamic fundamentalist violence. Her involvement would make Bunyodkor a repressive government's secret project rather than the secret play toy of a mysterious multi-millionaire. "It is to show the world what does not exist," says Kislov. "That Uzbekistan is very successful."
Late last year, Bunyodkor flew down to Namangan, 200 miles south east of Tashkent in the Fergana Valley, for their last game of the season. Fans set out in cars for the four-hour drive through a mountain pass and past cotton trees stripped bare after the harvest. The Fergana Valley is the heart of Uzbekistan, home to a large proportion of the country's 27m population, and the site of the Andizhan massacre. It is the most passionate football supporting area in the country.
On the way into the valley, all cars – buses are not allowed because of the dangers of the mountain roads – are stopped for a check of documents. A visiting foreigner is noted down by hand in a large book before the car drives through. Signs along the mountain route warn that photography is prohibited.
Abdurahmon Fazilov, head of the Bunyodkor supporters' club, gives a barely believable account of life as a fan. Nobody drinks, he says, very few smoke, and the Bunyodkor followers always clean up after themselves at matches. As for chanting: "It's a team game, so nobody is allowed to sing about individual players, only the team as a whole."
On hearing this, a fan of Tashkent rivals Pakhtakor snorts with laughter. He tells of fights between the two sets of supporters. One report shown to The Observer by Kislov claims that Pakhtakor players were threatened with a pistol by Djalalov after they equalised against Bunyodkor in a game last August. A website floats the theory from an Uzbek football insider that the Bunyodkor fans are a way for the government to use fans as political support.
At half-time in Namangan, two rheumy-eyed home fans stand grumbling about the game and the referee's bias in favour of Bunyodkor. "It's the team of Karimov's daughter," says one fan with a hangdog look before the Bunyodkor media spokesman appears from nowhere to cut the conversation.
The following day, at training, a relaxed Rivaldo is happy to talk. "When I told my family [about Bunyodkor's offer] they were a bit shocked, they wanted to know what sort of country it was," he says. "There are people who say it is not a developed country but it has turned out not to be true."
Rivaldo's new home is bigger than the one he had in Athens, where he played for AEK, and he has brought along his own Brazilian chef. Zico arrived for four months last September after a call from Rivaldo and negotiations led by Djalalov. Uzbekistan was not a complete leap in the dark for him as he had admired the national team from afar in the 1990s when he was coach of Japan.
"It was a lot worse in Japan [than in Uzbekistan] when I went there," reveals Zico, who moved to Sumitomo in 1992, before the start of the J-League and the arrival of Gary Lineker, who was used to promote the game there in the same way as Rivaldo in the Uzbek Oliy Liga. "There is a public which loves football."
Murray is shocked that Barcelona, who have a shirt sponsorship arrangement with Unicef, should be involved with Bunyodkor.
"I am absolutely appalled," he says. "It would be like linking up with Adolf Hitler to promote a Berlin team in the 1930s – it really is astonishing even in the money-mad world of football to be quite that blind to morality."
Barcelona did not respond to requests for a reply to Murray's comments. They did say, through spokesman José Miguel Teres: "We have a cooperation contract with Uzbekistan. There is some technical assistance from our side for the trainers and managers and a friendly game in Uzbekistan to be played in the coming months." The deal is believed to be worth €5m to Barcelona.
Football is a powerful force in Uzbekistan, but the Bunyodkor project is seen as an extravagance too far in a country where many are on or below the breadline. "If you have money like this to pay a foreign footballer then you have the money to pay the people decent wages," says Kislov.
"It is luxury in the face of poverty."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
