How Wales & others gamed the FIFA rankings for seeding purposes by choosing not to schedule as many friendlies.
The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee chaired by Hans‑Joachim Eckert has banned Mr Kirsten Nematandani, former president of the South African Football Association (SAFA), Mr Jonathan Musavengana, former official of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), and Mr Banna Tchanile, former coach of the Togo national team, from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level.
The three cases decided related to international friendly matches played in South Africa in 2010, as well as to cases decided by the adjudicatory chamber in October 2015 and March 2016.
It would be totally unsurprising if Klinsmann ended up in China or the Middle East.John-Williams reported back that Troussier was too expensive and Suarez and Lara were unavailable—it is still uncertain if either man spoke English or whether it posed an insurmountable barrier in the first place. Incidentally, the TTFA president also supposedly spoke to former United States coach Jürgen Klinsmann earlier and claimed the German said he had already agreed terms to coach in China.
They weren't even the AFC Champions (that's the south korean team, Jeonbuk) - Kashima got in because they're the leading team in the host country (Japan), so they're basically a sop to local ticket sales. So they beat Auckland (OFC), big deal. Then a South African team, okay, cool for the local fans. And then they somehow shut out the Copa Libertadores holders, 3-0. Perhaps Kashima's 10 Colombian players had a little extra motivation against their countrymen, who knows.Kashima Antlers became the first AFC club to advance to the Club World Cup final after beating Atlético Nacional 3-0.
I don't really know much about either squad, but one thing really stood out when glancing at the lineups -- the 22 starting players consisted of 11 Japanese, 10 Colombians, and an Argentine. In the post-Bosman world, it's fun to see strongly domestic teams do well.
No, Kashima started 11 Japanese players (and used three Japanese subs). Atlético started 10 Colombians and an Argentine.They weren't even the AFC Champions (that's the south korean team, Jeonbuk) - Kashima got in because they're the leading team in the host country (Japan), so they're basically a sop to local ticket sales. So they beat Auckland (OFC), big deal. Then a South African team, okay, cool for the local fans. And then they somehow shut out the Copa Libertadores holders, 3-0. Perhaps Kashima's 10 Colombian players had a little extra motivation against their countrymen, who knows.
So now Sunday morning at 5:30am ET, they'll take on Real Madrid (who started their full first team in the semis vs América) for a pseudo-title. Pretty cool. If the baby gets me up that early, then I may just turn it on.
I wonder, would South American clubs prize the CWC over Libertadores? Agree for all the other confederations for sure.Phil Plantier said:Only a pseudo title to Europeans and europhiles. For the have-nots, it's the biggest club title they can win.
Since becoming an annual event again in 2005, Brazilians won the first two, and then Europeans have won 8 of the last 9 competitions (brazilian side Corinthians beat Chelsea 1-0 in 2012). It's not really a competition in the sense of a test among roughly equal sides, more of an exhibition that puts 2 extra games on the calendar of the UCL champions.Only a pseudo title to Europeans and europhiles. For the have-nots, it's the biggest club title they can win.
On a related note, Infantino proposed an expansion of the CWC last month and he wants to move it to the summer.Since becoming an annual event again in 2005, Brazilians won the first two, and then Europeans have won 8 of the last 9 competitions (brazilian side Corinthians beat Chelsea 1-0 in 2012). It's not really a competition in the sense of a test among roughly equal sides, more of an exhibition that puts 2 extra games on the calendar of the UCL champions.
I regard Copa Libertadores as the second most prestigious club title in the world (being almost as old as the European Cup and contested as widely by teams of comparable quality), so I would certainly hope south american teams would care more about it than the CWC.
I won't quite call the CWC a farce, partly because I'm not sure you could extend and better-organize something requiring such enormous travel, but it's certainly a little silly. It's like if you took the San Marino champions, the champions of a random eastern european country that wanted to host, the Armenian champions, and then the champs of Greece, Switzerland, England and Spain - and had them play a single-elimination tournament in which the English and Spanish sides got byes to the semis.
That's both funny and cruel. I wonder how Marcelo will take it...
Seems a great hire.
Yeah, my first reaction was they ripped this off from @dirtynine. I'm partial to this design trend, but it just looks out of place as a crest.New Juventus crest.
I know that minimalist is the current trend in branding, but this is taking it to an extreme.
Hey - just saw this! Believe me, that's received as a compliment - I like the crest and consider it really savvy as well as strong. It would be one thing if it was replacing something timeless, but... well, it's not.Yeah, my first reaction was they ripped this off from @dirtynine. I'm partial to this design trend, but it just looks out of place as a crest.
(I may have flogged this before, but the quote is from my design company's Slack group, where we frequently nerd out over soccer/design stuff. Anybody is welcome to join up & lurk/contribute/whatever.)This might be at odds with prevailing opinion but I really like the mark itself (the workmark, I don’t care about - it’s not great). I want to see additional applications, but the more I considered it the more effective it became. It’s a J when you first look at it, sure - but then it’s a shield too, which is cool. But then it also reveals Juve’s famous black and white vertical stripe pattern, and once you see that, the shield actually starts to lok like a collection of concentric shields. It does a ton with a very simple design. I’d have been very proud to have designed that.
The biggest challenge will be how it’s represented on other backgrounds - particularly the shirt (if indeed this mark is to be used that way). Will the shield shape be completed and possibly outlined, preserving the black background behind the “J” in white? Or will it simply be a white J on whatever background the shirt is in? I’m a little surprised/impressed that a design firm pitched that and Juve went with it - it’s a ballsy choice.
The wordmark is definitely the weak part - but it kind of has to be the way it is because the J takes its cue from the logo, and the rest of the typography has to follow suit. They probably had to commission a font family to make the whole thing make sense. While I can see how they got there, I don’t really like the outcome for the wordmark itself. But I really like the overall package.
That's cool. ESPN tried to do Liga MX in English a few years ago, but IIRC it was a total bust in terms of ratings. Facebook streaming seems a lot less risky, particularly when Univision already has the production overhead covered.Univision will start streaming Liga MX games in English on Facebook in the United States, starting with this weekend's Super Clasico.
http://corporate.univision.com/2017/02/univision-deportes-to-broadcast-matches-from-the-most-watched-soccer-league-in-the-u-s-directly-to-fans-in-english-via-facebook-live/
ESPN has a strange relationship with soccer. They go all out for international tournaments. Doesn't matter if it's the World Cup or the Confederations Cup. They treat them like big deals and promote the shit out of them. When it comes to club soccer, they just try to get by with minimal effort. Compare the prestige Fox has given their CL broadcasts or how NBC has made the EPL a core part of their NBCSN identity vs how ESPN treated those competitions when it was the rights holder.That's cool. ESPN tried to do Liga MX in English a few years ago, but IIRC it was a total bust in terms of ratings.
I think Liga MX in English is workable, but you have to have a long-term plan, patience, and be prepared to invest in it. Your description ESPN FC as "80% EPL, Spanish Big 3, Bayern, and Dortmund" is a pretty accurate reflection of the interests of the American Anglosphere in terms of soccer -- just look at this board.ESPN has a strange relationship with soccer. They go all out for international tournaments. Doesn't matter if it's the World Cup or the Confederations Cup. They treat them like big deals and promote the shit out of them. When it comes to club soccer, they just try to get by with minimal effort. Compare the prestige Fox has given their CL broadcasts or how NBC has made the EPL a core part of their NBCSN identity vs how ESPN treated those competitions when it was the rights holder.
I thought broadcasting Liga Mex was a genius move. The Mexican population in the US will only continue to grow and there will be 2nd or 3rd generation Mex-Americans who don't speak Spanish or default to ESPN first due to their other sports interests. So while an English language broadcast will not supplant Univision or Galavision's audience, they could grab hold of a niche and maybe grow it with time. But they never really promoted the broadcasts with commercials or content. If you watch an ESPN soccer show, like ESPN FC, it's 80% EPL, Spanish Big 3, Bayern and Dortmund. So they continue to ignore a Mexican audience that they are theoretically trying to cater to, while promoting European based brands that they no longer have a vested interest in.
I wonder if this a subtle form of prejudice, incompetence, or both.
http://corporate.univision.com/2017/02/univision-deportes-broadcast-of-super-clasico-reaches-3-9-million-total-viewers-2-and-averages-1-4-million-adults-18-49/The Súper Clásico between long time rivals América and Chivas aired Saturday at 10:00 p.m. ET on Univision Network with a simulcast on UDN and averaged 2.4 million Total Viewers 2+ and 1.4 million Adults 18-49. The Súper Clásico match was the top soccer match on any network in 2017, regardless of language.
http://www.wsc.co.uk/features/13700-from-the-archive-reliving-leicester-s-battle-with-atletico-madridEleven years ago their fans would have never accepted it, but Leicester City’s UEFA Cup first round tie against Atlético Madrid in September 1997 will probably be as good as it gets.
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In 2008 things got even worse, with relegation to the third tier for the first time ever. Though the club have quickly returned to their more usual level and is making bullish noises about getting back into the Premier League, that Leicester once gave Atlético Madrid a game in the UEFA Cup seems as distant as the bubble of New Labour positivity that was floating around at the same time.
From a purely footballing perspective, one big problem is distance. Remember that English fans like to talk about the "long trip from Southampton to Newcastle" or whatever, even though it's like going from Boston to Philly. England is slightly smaller than Alabama. The US itself is roughly comparable in size to Europe. Seattle to Buenos Aires is a longer trip than London to Tokyo.I know it'll never happen, but particularly given the forthcoming World Cup expansion, wouldn't merging CONCACAF and CONMEBOL make a lot of sense from a purely footballing perspective? Combine their WC qualifying places and tournaments, and institute qualifying for the Copa America in the off-WC cycle, and you'd end up with something quite like the European model.