handshake for peace · personal life stories could hardly be more of a contrast, but they share the...

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ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

Handshake for Peace

ISSUE 30, 16 MAY 2014

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TYRESO REACH FOR THE STARS

2014 WORLD CUP CARBON OFFSETTING FOR MATCH GOERS

BL AT TER FOOTBALL’S BIG CHANCE

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C O N T E N T S

6 A sign of peace

Neymar and Gerard Piqué are prominent supporters of “Handshake for Peace”, the joint FIFA and Nobel Peace Center initiative. Their personal life stories could hardly be more of a contrast, but they share the same mission: to change the world through football.

25 Tyreso reach for the stars Sweden boasts more professional women players than any other country. Football is the most popular women’s sporting discipline and practically rates as a national treasure. International success is just one game away, as Tyreso FF contest the Women’s Champions League final on 22 May.

30 History: FIFA in Zurich World football’s governing body has been based in Switzerland’s biggest city for a little over 80 years. The FIFA Weekly retells the story from the first offices in Paris to the state-of-the-art headquarters in Zurich.

36 Günter Netzer “Which was the best World Cup?” Our columnist Gunter Netzer tackles the question posed by a reader from England and reveals which tournament left the biggest impression on him.

Handshake for PeaceBarcelona stars Gerard Piqué (left) and Neymar shook hands at a FIFA photo shoot in the Catalan capital.

Christian Grund / 13 Photo

World Cup 2014: Groups A-C

Group A

Brazil

Croatia

Mexico

Cameroon

Group B

Spain

Netherlands

Chile

Australia

Group C

Colombia

Greece

Côte d’Ivoire

Japan

TO A GREATER

GOAL™

North and Central America 35 members www.concacaf.com

South America 10 members www.conmebol.com

19 World Cup environ-mental initiative

FIFA has launched a programme to offset carbon emissions.

23 Sepp Blatter

The FIFA President highlights the big chance offered by the Handshake for Peace.

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

World Cup 2014: Groups D-H

Group E

Switzerland

Ecuador

France

Honduras

Group F

Argentina

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Iran

Nigeria

Group G

Germany

Portugal

Ghana

USA

Group H

Belgium

Algeria

Russia

Korea Republic

Group D

Uruguay

Costa Rica

England

Italy

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

Europe 54 members www.uefa.com

Africa 54 members www.cafonline.com

Asia 46 members www.the-afc.com

Oceania 11 members www.oceaniafootball.com

17 Masterful Maccabi Tel Aviv

Israel’s most successful club retained their title thanks to three import-ant individuals: Eran Zahavi, Paulo Sousa and Jordi Cruyff.

37 Turning Point

Shkelzen Gashi opted to drop down a division to further his career – and is now the top scorer in the Swiss league.

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U N C O V E R E D

In the olden days a handshake indicated to the person you were greeting that you were unarmed. Nowadays that only applies in a figurative sense, but the simple handshake has

lost none of its power to establish a connection between indi-viduals.

The Handshake for Peace is now a mandatory component of the match protocol at all FIFA tournaments. The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo and FIFA have thus summed up the power of football to promote friendship, respect and peace via a simple gesture.

Spanish World Cup winner Gerard Piqué and Neymar of Brazil met in Barcelona to exchange a Handshake for Peace. They grew up in dramatically differing social circumstances, and without football their paths would almost certainly never have crossed. Sarah Steiner examines the pair’s contrasting sto-ries, and traces the development of the Handshake for Peace.

Even in areas of conflict such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, the kick-off to a game of football can also help initiate political negotiations, points out FIFA President Blatter in

his weekly column. “Football can build bridges and bring people together like almost no other sport,” he notes, urging the foot-balling family “under no circumstances” to miss this chance in Brazil.

Ticket holders for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil now have the opportunity to offset the CO2 emissions generated by their travel to the venues free of charge. FIFA will offset 100% of

the emissions caused by its own operations and will also do the same for ticket holders. In our Countdown feature Alois Hug looks at the sustainable World Cup.

Swedish club Tyreso FF face VfL Wolfsburg from Germany in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final on 22 May in Lisbon. However, Tyreso are teetering on the brink of bank-

ruptcy. Andrea Grunenfelder takes a closer look at the women’s game in Sweden. Å

Perikles Monioudis

Promoting peaceChildren share a game and a laugh in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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A SIGN OF

PEACE

A simple handshake is universally understood as a sign of peace. The footballing community is leading the way in pro-moting this fundamental gesture. The initiative’s high-profile supporters include Neymar and Gerard Piqué, two global stars whose back-grounds could hardly be more different.

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T H E F I FA W E E K LY 7


Sarah Steiner (text) and Christian Grund (pictures)

“Sport has the power to inspire and unite people.” This state-ment from Nelson Mandela is familiar all over the world. The idea that football can change the world and make it a better place can sound lofty and even glib, but countless examples show the game do-ing exactly that (see page 12). To achieve big things you need big names. Headline-grabbing

events and an international stage are precondi-tions for global recognition. As the world’s gov-erning body, FIFA is in a position to meet this requirement by recruiting players as ambassa-dors, organising politically significant meetings and facilitating dialogue. The “Handshake for Peace” is an example of this kind of project.

A simple handshake forms the core of the initiative: two human beings offering each oth-er their hands as a universal symbol for peace and friendship. The project initiated by the Nobel Peace Center in Norway is a component of FIFA’s mission to build a better future through football, headlined by the slogan “It starts with you and me.”

In the build-up to the World Cup in Brazil it has started with Neymar and Piqué, with the Barcelona stars joining forces to back the project. The players, whose backgrounds could hardly be more different, exchanged a handshake to send out a signal and stand to-gether for peace. One was born into humble surroundings and grew up with the ball at his feet on Brazilian beaches while the other comes from a middle-class family and is a carefully nurtured product of the famous La Masia academy. Without football their paths would surely never have crossed. But talent and determination has brought them togeth-er and they are now jointly campaigning for the good cause. “Football has taught me you can achieve anything in life if you really want it. It can set things in motion so it’s our duty to use our popularity for a good cause,” Neymar declared.

The new PeleBorn to a mechanic and a home help in Mogi das Cruzes, 40 km to the east of Sao Paulo, football played a defining role in Neymar’s life from the start. As a kid he played on precipi-tous coastal streets. Playing downhill is more difficult, Neymar reckons, because of the abrupt stops required after a full-on sprint, and that has become one of his trademark



moves today. At the age of 11 he joined the FC Santos youth academy, Meninos da Vila, and was later identified as one of the greatest po-tential talents in the world game. Pele felt “he could be better than me,” and TIME magazine dubbed him “The next Pele.” He scored 156 goals in 256 games in his time with Santos.

A deep commitment to Santos runs in the family. Neymar’s grandfather Ilzemar was a passionate fan of the club, and his father was even good enough to appear for the youth sec-tion. He became a professional and featured for a number of clubs but was forced to end his career prematurely due to injury. He want-ed his son Neymar junior to do even better, and the child has fulfilled and wildly exceed-ed his dreams and expectations. Neymar sen-ior is now his son’s manager and close confi-dant. “My father is so much more than just my father,” the Barça forward said. “He’s my best friend, he’s my life.” The 22-year-old did not get where he is today simply through talent. Neymar is possessed of almost unbelievable ambition, a character trait not universally re-garded in a positive light. But his vocabulary does not include the word “lose.” He played incessantly as a child, in the stands at the sta-diums where his father was playing, on the beach, in the streets and even indoors at home. He spent his childhood with his par-ents and sister in a single room with one mat-tress for all four family members.

A friendship for lifeIt was impossible to imagine Neymar without the ball. “I dribbled around the room and gave a commentary on my play. I even awarded fouls. If I ran into the sofa I’d complain to the referee,” Neymar smiled. And because he had a ball at his feet everywhere and at all times he was almost inevitably spotted and singled out. At a veterans’ tournament where his father was playing in late 1998, Neymar junior charged up and down the steps in one of the grandstands, catching the eye of a man on the lookout for talent. “He obviously possessed such incredible dexterity, agility and co-ordi-nation,” recalls Betinho, who was looking for new players for a futsal team. Here was the kind of unique talent only born once in a thou-sand million, the coach is supposed to have said. The two struck up an increasingly strong friendship which continues to this day. Betin-ho was present when Neymar joined Santos and was among the multitude in 2013 when the player was officially unveiled by Barcelona.

Neymar first came to Europe in 2006, completing a 14-day trial with Real Madrid and utterly convincing the coaching staff of his ability. But he ultimately decided to go back home. “It was basically perfect, but I was

“I regard this job as a calling and I believe we have a duty to fight for peace and justice wherever we can.”

Gerard Piqué



still very young. I missed my family and the Brazilian climate,” the striker said. Santos also assisted the decision-making process with the offer of a million Reais (€375,000) if the young man would stay. The years rolled by and the offers rolled in. Chelsea came call-ing in 2010, but Pele himself phoned Neymar and begged him to stay. A full seven years passed after his first trip to Europe before the lure of the East became irresistible and he joined Barcelona in 2013.

It was a tough challenge. At Barcelona he would be obliged to share his superstar billing with a glittering cast headed by Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and their ilk. But Neymar humbly ac-cepted his role as apprentice and has demon-strably come on as a player. He has had to ac-climatise to a new and entirely unfamiliar tactical approach. A newcomer in a hierarchy that had developed over many years, he was aided and abetted by fellow Brazilian Dani Alves. “He’s my best friend,” Neymar said. However, arriving in Europe remains the most indelibly etched impression. “Just imagine a simple lad from Brazil suddenly being asked to run out in front of a capacity crowd – and that was only the unveiling.” The player broke down and cried at the press conference afterwards.

Dreaming of the World CupNeymar is now preparing to fulfil his next big dream; winning the World Cup. A Seleçao means everything to him, for reasons of per-sonal and national pride and innate passion. He is, as always, confident: “My greatest dream is the final!” That is not at all unrealistic in the light of Brazil’s impressive march to the Con-federations Cup title in 2013, the last time Ney-mar and Piqué crossed paths as opponents. Their memories of the match could not be more of a contrast: the Spain defender was dismissed for a foul on his Barca team-mate. The pair have since become good friends, but when Neymar pulls on the canary yellow shirt he can be mer-ciless. “I’ll celebrate the World Cup title with Brazil in 2014, God willing. I’m determined to play my part in making our fans happy!” Ney-mar can be summed up as a combination of Ginga, the uniquely Brazilian approach to life, and great footballing intelligence. In short the Neymar approach is simply this: “I play because I love football!”

“Our duty as players”There was no trace of rivalry when the pair came together for our shoot in Barcelona. Laughter was in the air, and the stars were pos-itive and upbeat as they prepared for the “Hand-shake for Peace.” Piqué is acutely aware of his responsibility as a public figure. “We’re very privileged as players. We have the enormous

good fortune to earn money from our favourite hobby. I regard this job as a calling and I be-lieve we have a duty to fight for peace and jus-tice wherever we can.” The handshake project is one such opportunity.

In 2013 there were 414 known conflicts around the world, 45 of them deemed violent, and 20 classified as wars. Football cannot re-solve these conflicts, but the sport can provide common ground. It offers a platform to initiate dialogue. A universal language, it can stimulate communication, and trigger the first steps to-wards rapprochement. Children suffer the most in war, a matter of special concern to Piqué. “It makes me unbelievably sad knowing there are kids forced to grow up without food, a roof over their heads and a sense of security. We need to focus on solutions to help in any way we can.”

An authentic CuléThe circumstances of Gerard Piqué’s childhood were the polar opposite of that. He was born into a middle-class family, his father a businessman

and his mother a doctor specialised in cerebral and spinal injuries. He is a native of Barcelona and still holds the club membership number he was assigned at his birth. He is an authentic Culé whose grandfather was a club vice-presi-dent. He lived in a blaugrana-tinged world from a very young age. “I sang the Barca anthem every evening before going to bed,” Piqué re-vealed. He started attending every home match from the age of five. Naturally enough, his all-consuming dream was to pull on the famous Catalan shirt himself.

The journey began in earnest when he joined the world-famous La Masia youth section as a ten-year-old and found himself part of a golden generation. “It was an unbelievable team. The merest glance at each other and we knew what we were thinking and feeling, and where the ball had to go.” The team featured Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas and provided an exceptional envi-ronment to learn the game of football. But it also taught lessons for life. “They really pushed us right to the limit and not just as players,” Piqué


observed. Missed homework or failed exams could lead to expulsion. Furthermore, Barca place enormous store by a player’s morals, ethics and attitude. “It didn’t matter how good you were. If you didn’t observe the general rules re-garding respect, teamwork and humility, you had no future at the club.”

However, Piqué’s first tentative steps into the pro game were not as a Barcelona player. At the age of 17 he joined Manchester United, “to grow as a player but also as a person,” he now says. And under Sir Alex Ferguson’s watchful gaze Piqué grew, although he never achieved regular status at Old Trafford and was usually a spectator when the first team played. With top-class duo Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic firmly established in his favourite position, he was under contract for four years, and spent one season on loan to Real Zaragoza. But the experience in England taught him how to cope with tough times. He has no regrets about his spell with United: “I went there as a boy and came back as a man,” he said.


Glittering trophy collectionHis boyhood dream was fulfilled when he re-signed for Barca in 2008. He has been one of the first names on the team sheet for both Barcelo-na and Spain ever since, a commanding on-field presence marshalling a defence with deft preci-sion. He has picked up at least one winner’s med-al in each of his six seasons with the Catalans so far and has celebrated triumphs in the Spanish championship, Copa del Rey, Super Cup, Club World Cup and Champions League, plus Europe-an Championship and World Cup glory with his national team. All this success is the product of prodigious hard work. “It’s about the things you forego and your own strength. People tend to see only titles and trophies, but all the work leading up to them remains hidden,” he reflect-ed. Echoing Neymar, Piqué cites his family as the foundation for his success. “My parents always supported me, in bad times as well as good. They’ve always given me everything I ever needed,” the 27-year-old remarked.

Piqué has won almost everything there is to win as a player, but his hunger for success re-mains undiminished. He has set his sights ap-propriately high for the 2014 World Cup. “When I’m old I want to look back on plenty of great moments, and the World Cup final obviously belongs to that,” he said. The centre-back is a serial collector of keepsakes and mementos, not only in the form of trophies and awards. He owns a section of the goal netting from the 2010 final for example. And after the Brazilian sum-mer in 2014 he would be only too pleased to add a souvenir of Rio to the items in his personal trophy cabinet. Neymar, of course, is deter-mined to prevent any such thing.

It started with a photoBut all that is still to come. On this particular day the stars tackled a different task, taking a moment to give something back and build on their popularity as players, as well as to ac-knowledge a far bigger and more fundamental cause, the fight for peace. At this point in the story we return to Mandela, because it was he who provided the spark. In a meeting with Nor-wegian journalist, sports administrator and CEO of the South African league Kjetil Siem, he spoke of the significance of football and the Nobel Peace Center in the history of South Af-rica and the collapse of the Apartheid regime.

That meeting spawned the Nelson Mande-la Challenge, an annual football match intend-ed to illustrate and underline the vital impor-tance of sport and peace. The contest took place for the first time in 2009 between South Africa and Norway. A photograph taken at the end of the match set the entire Handshake for Peace initiative in motion. It was a spur of the moment snapshot, neither planned nor staged.

“Football has taught me you can achieve anything in life.”

Neymar

“Handshake for Peace”

The “Handshake for Peace” is a joint initia-tive by the Nobel Peace Center and FIFA. The goal of the project is to combine the global reach and power of foot-ball in a simple gesture, the Handshake for

Peace, as a symbol of friendship, respect and peace in society. The campaign was launched on 10 December 2013 at the Club World Cup in Morocco. Effective immediately, the “Handshake for Peace” will be a component of the match proto-col at all FIFA tournaments. FIFA is con-tributing to the Nobel Peace Center’s budget in support of its activities.

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It depicts a handshake between South Africa’s Aaron Mokoena and Norway’s Morten Gamst Pedersen. “You may have fought it out during the game, but after the match it’s all forgotten. You shake hands and you’re friends again. I remember Aaron and I offering each other our hands. You can see we’re both laughing. It was a magnificent moment,” the Norwegian said. Neither player can possibly have imagined that this very moment would set off a chain of events leading to such a major project.

Kjetil Siem set about bringing together the things he felt logically belonged together: a simple handshake, football, the Nobel tradi-tion and Nelson Mandela’s long and arduous journey towards peace. The Handshake for Peace was born. It became an integral element of every Norwegian league match and duly fell under the auspices of the Nobel Peace Center. In 2013 FIFA announced the handshake would become part of the formalities at all future tournaments, starting with the Club World

Cup in Marocco. The project is a seamless fit with the world governing body’s efforts to pro-mote peace through football via initiatives in a number of areas including Cyprus, Palestine and Israel.

It starts with you and meThe Handshake for Peace will be a fixed part of the tournament in Brazil this summer. In April FIFA President Sepp Blatter wrote to all the na-tional team captains and participating associa-tions, announcing the initiative and requesting their help. “You are role models with a signifi-cant responsibility to millions of fans and chil-dren throughout the world,” Blatter noted. The concept created by the world governing body includes a variety of promotional activities as part of the programme supporting the greatest football tournament of them all. There could hardly be a better stage, as the World Cup is expected to attract a global TV audience in the billions. FIFA is committed to meeting its social


“As role models you all bear a great responsibility.”Sepp Blatter in his letter to national team captains

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FIFA is the custodian of football. As such, it organises World Cups, acts as the guardian of the Laws

and promotes the game around the globe. In 2013 FIFA invested US$ 183 million directly in development projects, largely in countries rank-ing among the world’s poorest and in many cases the worst affected by conflict. FIFA’s humanitarian com-mitment often leads to unintended political involvement. What is to be done if players in a given country suffer discrimination as a result of their gender, religious affiliation or skin colour? What are we to do if they are caught up in civil war or state-sponsored conflict? This was the case in Cyprus. Since Turkey annexed the northern part of Cyprus by military force in 1974, the island has de facto been divided into a northern, Turkish Republic (recognised under international law only by Turkey) and a southern, Greek republic. Football on the Mediterranean island was split along identical lines. But in 2013 the two football associations sat down with FIFA representatives and ne-gotiated an agreement to reunify the game. “After six years we’ve suc-ceeded in bringing together the op-posing sides. They’ll play football together in the future,” FIFA Presi-dent Blatter summarised after-wards, visibly pleased with the pro-gress made. “Football cannot replace politics, but it can bring

people back together after protract-ed conflicts and this is exactly what we want to do,” he stated.To this end a specially commis-sioned Task Force is working to-wards similar outcomes in other areas torn by conflict. For example in January 2014 Kosovo, which had declared independence but was not recognised as such by all UN mem-bers, received permission from FIFA to play international friendly matches against other FIFA nation-al teams. The inaugural internation-al against Haiti took place in Mitro-vica in early March.FIFA’s diplomatic efforts required special tact and sensitivity in the drive to secure a rapprochement be-tween the Israeli and Palestinian football associations. In the light of persistent tensions between the sides it was an exceptional achieve-ment last September when the asso-ciations declared their readiness, under the auspices of a FIFA Task Force, to establish new regulations governing travel for football players and officials. Agreement was reached on the fundamental param-eters.So in this light the Handshake for Peace is more than a mere symbolic gesture. It is emblematic of decades of hard work and effort quietly put in by FIFA. Å

Historic first The first Handshake for Peace between Aaron Mokoena and Morten Gamst Pedersen.

Political involvement is unavoidable.

FIFA’s quiet diplomacy



and community responsibilities and sending a message of peace around the world. The vision is founded on a handshake between the cap-tains in the centre circle, a simple but effective gesture performed in front of thousands in the stands and transmitted around the world on TV screens. Neymar and Piqué provide us with a high-profile example but the thinking behind the handshake is even more fundamental: It starts with you and me! Å

“A Journey of Hope”The Handshake for PeaceProducer: Stewart Binns, Executive producer: Lars Sternmarker,

Documentary, 52 minutes, England, May 2014

This 52 minute documentary traces the story of the “Handshake for Peace” in full. The origins of

the project are explained using five pivotal mo-ments drawn from history.The journey starts with the ancient Greeks, who regarded the handshake as a sign of reconciliation, and proceeds via Afri-can slaves in America through to the remarkable story of Nelson Mandela. The branch of the plot arising from the origins of the Nobel Peace Prize and FIFA joins the main theme on the day of the inaugural “Nelson Mandela Challenge” in 2009,

when Trond Tandberg took the seminal photo-graph of the first “Handshake for Peace” between South African Aaron Mokoena and Norwegian Morten Gamst Pedersen. Exactly a century ago,

with the First World War raging and peace seem-ingly eclipsed by fear and hopelessness, German and English troops came together on Christmas Eve 1914 for a game of football. The task facing football today is to continue sending out a mes-sage of hope.Featuring interviews with key personalities in-cluding Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad, Nobel Peace Center director Bente Erichsen, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, South African politician Tokyo Sexwale and Nelson Mandela’s grandchild Mandla Mandela, English filmmaker Stewart Binns comprehensively illustrates the history of the “Handshake for Peace.”

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In a good cause Neymar (left) and Piqué are both stars on the field of play, and look good off it as well in our shoot in Barcelona.


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

Atletico Madrid will slug it out for the title at the Camp Nou. Following 37 matchdays and hundreds of games over the course of a season in which the lead has changed hands several times, the destiny of the title has come down to a single match.

When asked if they would rather see their teams win the league or the Champions League, Spanish fans usually give a stock answer and opt for the league, the ultimate reward for consistency. This season, however, the three title contenders – At-letico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid – have found consistency elusive, suffering occasional slumps in form and confidence.

The pundits have been dubbing this a season of transition in Spain, with the two-horse races of the last nine seasons, in which either Barcelona or Real Madrid have claimed the title, giving way to a slightly more open competition, one that has gone to the very last day at both the top and bottom of the table, where two relegations slots have still to be filled. The question is, though, are we ready for such a dramatic denouement to the championship? Is it necessarily a good thing to have so much riding on what is, to all intents and purposes, an unofficial play-off?

P r i m e r a D i v i s i ó n

Will someone please win this league?

Jordi Punti es novelista y autor de numerosos artículos futbolísticos en la prensa española.

When it comes to the Olympics, there are some who prefer

watching the marathon, and others the 100 metres. It is all a question of taste. In the former it is the ability of the athletes to keep pushing themselves to the limit kilometre after kilometre that astounds us. In the latter, it is the explosion of superhuman speed in less than ten seconds that takes the breath away. The ultimate spectac-le would be a combination of the two, a marathon that comes down to the final 100 metres, with exhausted athletes straining every tired sinew in a bid to reach the line first.

It is that very scenario that will be played out in La Liga this coming Saturday, when, thanks to the whims of the fixture list, Barcelona and

While such occasions generate a combination of expectation and nervous anxiety for the fans, there is no doubting the appeal of a title decider. A number of national leagues, among them the Colombian, Mexican and Australian champions-hips, have been tapping into the excitement created by the play-off system for some time now, though the feeling in Spain is that such all-or-no-thing games hinge too much on the intervention of fate: an untimely injury, a refereeing mistake or a star player suffering an off day.

In the build-up to the game both sides have been giving the impression that this is a one-off match that has little to do with the league, a reflection perhaps of the unique nature of the occasion. Barcelona have accepted this unexpected last-mi-nute gift as a joker card, an extra life in a video game, a late invitation to atone for their under-whelming season. Atleti, meanwhile, who only need a draw to make the league theirs, have proved adept at winner-takes-all matches this season. Any team that can take Chelsea apart in a Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge is also capable of going to the Camp Nou and upsetting a side that seems to have been perched on the psychiatrist’s couch for the last few weeks now.

Since it was first contested in 1928, the Spanish championship has only ever seen the league leadership change hands seven times on the final day of the season. Three of those occasions came between 1992 and 1994, during Johan Cruyff’s spell as Barcelona coach, when Los Culés won three league crowns in a row thanks to last-day slip-ups by their title rivals. As brilliant as Cruyff’s Dream Team were, people still remember Miroslav Djukic’s fateful last-mi-nute penalty miss for Deportivo La Coruna in 1994 and the shock defeats Real Madrid suffered in Tenerife the two previous seasons, with Barça the beneficiaries on all three occasions. As those finales showed, sometimes an entire league campaign can boil down to a single day.

Pep Guardiola, who formed part of that Barcelona side, often reminds his players that Champions League ties are decided by tiny details. League championships are a different beast, however, with titles invariably being won thanks to consistency and the happy marriage of countless little details. That this particular title race should come down to one final tragicomic act appears to be a twist of destiny decreed by the footballing gods, who, having seemingly grown tired of the inability of Atletico and Barcelona to settle the issue before now, have commanded them to wage a fight to the death. Å

Hungry for more Atletico Madrid supporters, seen here at their team’s 1-1 draw with Malaga, hope to witness Champions League glory. M

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P r e m i e r L e a g u e

More than Soccernomics?

David Winner is a London-based author and journalist. His books on football include ’Brilliant Orange’ and ’Dennis Bergkamp: Stillness and Speed’.

In the end, the most surprising twist to the most exciting English season in years was its predictability. Thanks to the end of Man-chester United’s 20 year dominance, the race for the Premier League title was unusually open. Without their retired genius manager Sir Alex Ferguson, United, champions for 12 of the previous 20 years, finished seventh.

In his absence, leadership of the Premier League swapped hands a record 25 times during the season. Arsenal were early front- runners but fell away after star players Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil were injured. The Gunners’ title-winning aspirations were wrecked by heavy defeats away to their closest rivals, the most humiliating coming in veteran manager Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th match in charge – a 6-0 drubbing by Chelsea in March.

By then the Blues, under their Portuguese maestro Jose Mourinho, seemed the most likely champions. Without their great, depart-ed striker Didier Drogba, however, they some-times struggled to score. Surprise defeats away to Crystal Palace and at home to Sunderland helped sink the side from Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, unexpected new candidates had emerged. Like some fairytale giant, Liverpool, the team of the seventies and eighties, awak-ened from long slumber. Ninety-six fans of the club had died at Hillsborough in 1989, their loved ones’ grief later compounded by

years of official lies and cover-ups. Now, coinciding with the emotional 25th anniver-sary of the tragedy in April, Liverpool, guided by their exceptional young coach, Brendan Rodgers, and driven by a mixture of pride and a still-burning sense of injustice, hurtled up the table. With striker Luis Suarez to the fore, the Reds played their best attacking football in a generation. Yet, on the brink of winning their first title since 1990, they faltered, their decisive defeat at home to Chelsea turning on a slip by captain Steven Gerrard.

In the end, predictably, it was Manchester City who glided powerfully to the title, beating West Ham on the final match day on Sunday. Predictably? In their book ’Soccernomics’

Stefan Szymanski, professor of economics at the University of Michigan, and journalist Simon Kuper show how league position can be foretold with 90 per cent accuracy. Szymanski analysed the finances of English league clubs over more than 30 years and discovered that final league position depended to a very large degree on wages.

The best players are paid most, so, on average, teams with the highest wage bills tend to finish top. The consequences of relative financial muscle off the field were visible on it: no competitor matched the power, balance and depth of City’s expensively-assembled squad. Liverpool’s defenders erred. Chelsea’s strikers missed chances. Arsenal’s multiple fragilities were exposed.

But Manchester City had the likes of Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany – and top-quality cover for every position. City have the best paid squad in any sport any-where in the world. The only surprise about their victory was that anyone was surprised. Å

Top of the pile Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany hoists the Premier League trophy high.

Liverpool’s defenders erred. Chelsea’s strikers missed chances. Arsenal’s multiple fragilit ies were exposed.

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the domestic championship grind to a halt after just 17 matches last weekend. The next round of fixtures is due to take place on 13 July – the day of the World Cup final at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium.

The fans’ attitude towards the national team is all the more remarkable considering Ecuador have given an excellent account of themselves in recent games, beating Uruguay 1-0 in the Eliminatores and coming from 3-0 down to defeat Australia 4-3 in London, before holding Argentina to a goalless draw in East Rutherford. Throw in the fact that their World Cup group – which pits the Tricolor against France, Honduras and Switzerland – is hardly among the strongest in the tournament, and it becomes clear that it would be dangerous to underestimate Ecuador this summer.

E c u a d o r : S e r i e A

Ecuador unaffected by domestic rivalries

Sven Goldmann is a football expert at Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin.

Will Ecuador win the World Cup? The common consensus

across the globe and in Ecuador itself is that they won’t. Qualifying for the finals in Brazil is one thing, but the Tricolor, as they are known by fans on account of their blue, yellow and red jerseys, will always be regard-ed as underdogs by supporters. It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that fans from Quito to Guayaquil weren’t best pleased at seeing

The majority of Ecuador’s key players ply their trade abroad in Mexico, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands and the Persian Gulf. Their biggest star, Antonio Valencia, is on the books at Manchester United. Nonetheless, head coach Reinaldo Ruedo relies heavily on players from the domestic Serie A. On Sunday, six members of the World Cup squad took part in the biggest game of the Ecuadorian league season – the Clasico del Astillero CS between Emelec and Barcelona SC, two fierce rivals from the port city of Guayaquil.

The match was an all-or-nothing affair for Barcelona, a club founded by Catalonian immigrants in 1925. They had made a poor start to the season and despite climbing into mid-table in recent weeks, their performances over the course of the first half of the cam-paign have failed to meet the fans’ high expectations.

Barcelona had lost their previous encounter with Emerec and it wasn’t to be their day on this occasion either. In front of 20,000 spectators at the Estadio George Capwell, the league leaders from the historic dock-land took control of proceedings right from the off, but there was an element of luck about their opening goal through Denis Stracqualursi, who diverted the ball into the net with his arm after Barcelona and Ecua-dor keeper Maximo Banguera had let a harmless cross slip out of his grasp. Barcelo-na lacked creativity after that, while Emerec continued to pose a threat on the counter-at-tack and scored the decisive second goal in the closing stages when the outstanding Angel Mena slotted past Banguera, who this time could do nothing to keep it out.

The defeat leaves Barcelona twelve points behind leaders Emerec and the season has now effectively run its course for the fifth-placed side, even before they return to action against ninth-placed El Nacional on the day of the World Cup final at the Maracana. Å

Man of the match Angel Mena celebrates after putting Emelec 2-0 up.

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Coach Sousa masterminded Tel Aviv’s triumph thanks to his tactical expertise and superb man management. Despite the side’s progress into the knockout rounds of the Europa League, the Portuguese strategist succeeded in constantly maintaining the squad’s focus on the domestic championship. That was no easy feat, as just four days after a 4–2 group stage victory over Eintracht Frankfurt the team faced a tricky tie against relegation-threatened Maccabi Petah Tikva. It remains to be seen whether Sousa, who won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, will still be at the Bloomfield Stadium next season, with the coach so far reluctant to commit.

That brings us to the driving force behind the scenes, sporting director Cruyff. When the Dutchman was appointed in spring 2012 his arrival was conspicuous for its lack of fan-fare, with the 40-year-old dismissed as just another big name, or even worse: the son of a big name. However, that initial reticence was misplaced and Cruyff’s shrewd signings have helped the club to two league titles and a cup

I s r a e l : L i g a t h a ’A l

The movers and shakers at Maccabi

Tel AvivBenny Epstein writes about Israeli football.

After Maccabi Tel Aviv defended their crown and wrapped up a 20th league

championship with four rounds of matches still to play, the Israeli record titleholders were understandably in celebratory mood. There can be no question, however, that the three principal authors of the success were Eran Zahavi, Paulo Sousa and Jordi Cruyff.

The former, an attacking midfielder who caress-es the ball in possession and who is equally able to create chances as finish them, underlined his importance to the team with a brace in the decisive 2–1 victory over Hapoel Beer Scheva. Zahavi may have only made 23 appearances in an 18-month spell at Palermo, but the Israeli international nevertheless returned from the Serie A with greater attacking menace and was deservedly voted as player of the season.

triumph. Now he has his sights set on taking Tel Aviv to the Champions League proper.

The last major star to grace the Israeli league was Lothar Matthaus, who was supposed to pen a footballing fairytale in leading Maccabi Netanya to glory as coach. The reality was rather different though, as Netanya finished in fourth in Matthaus’ first and only season at the club in 2009 and they were relegated to the second division three years later. The ’Diamonds’ underwent a radical makeover and bounced straight back up to the top flight after a stunning 2013/14 season, which even included a run to the cup final. Around 12,000 fans – approximately 7,000 more than Tel Aviv’s normal attendance – witnessed their heroes take Hapoel Kiryat Shmona into extra time before eventually succumbing to defeat. Netanya can take a morsel of comfort in the fact that next season they will have the chance to qualify for European competition via their final standing in the top-flight table, rather than relying on a cup run. Å

There were three principal authors behind Maccabi Tel Aviv’s success: Eran Zahavi, Paulo Sousa and Jordi Cruyf f.

Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv celebrate winning their 20th league title.Mar

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A FIFA World Cup ™ in Brazil is just like Visa: everyone is welcome.

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Eye on the climate FIFA’s eco-protection plan includes Manaus.

C O U N T D O W N T O B R A Z I L 2 014 : 27 D AY S T O G O

The footprint left by the World Cup will extend beyond the footballing sphere.

FIFA is strongly committed to protecting the environment and has launched a programme

to compensate for CO2 emissions.

Alois Hug

To reduce the environmental impact of the World Cup and raise awareness on carbon emissions, FIFA launched a pro-gramme encouraging successful ticket applicants to offset the emissions result-ing from their travel to the tournament

for free, no matter where in the world they are travelling from.

All ticket holders with a valid FIFA.com Club account and a successful ticket request reference ID are invited to sign up on via FIFA.com’s carbon offsetting page and enter a prize draw to win two tickets for the FIFA World Cup final while FIFA will cover the cost to offset their emissions.

“FIFA takes its environmental responsibili-ty very seriously. As part of our strategy with the non-profit carbon management programme BP Target Neutral, we will offset 100 per cent of our own operational emissions and through the campaign, we are encouraging fans to neutral-ise the carbon emissions resulting from their travel to Brazil. At the same time we use the World Cup as an opportunity to engage with

millions of people and raise awareness of the environmental impact of our journeys and the ways to mitigate it, ” says Federico Addiechi, Head of FIFA Corporate Social Responsibility.

“A win-win for all”The World Cup is the largest individual sport-ing competition in the world. Staging a tourna-ment of this scale inevitably has an impact on the environment. Offsetting is one way of lim-iting this impact. It aims to balance the green-house gases released into the atmosphere in one place by removing, or preventing them, in another – resulting in a zero net effect.

“It just makes sense”, says Cafu, the world’s only player to have appeared in three World Cup finals. “Supporting your team and support-ing low carbon development in Brazil at the same time is a win-win for all. I am offsetting my travels related to the World Cup and en-couraging everyone to do the same. It’s really easy to do and only takes a minute”.

FIFA will offset the emissions from a port-folio of Brazilian best-in-class low carbon pro-jects selected for the World Cup by BP Target Neutral. Each project is selected through a

rigorous tender process and adhering to the standards set by the International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Alliance (ICROA) with final selection made by an independent panel of environmental NGOs. The list of the exact offsetting projects selected, all of which result in social and economic benefits to local Brazilian communities, will be announced in June. Å

Sustainable World Cup

For more information on FIFA’s Sustain-ability Strategy for the World Cup please visit: www.fifa.com /csr20?D

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T H E D E B A T E

The weekly debate. Anything you want to get off your chest? Which topics do you want to discuss? Send your suggestions to: [email protected]

the 1945 Potsdam Conference at the end of the Second World War, the representatives of the victorious Allied powers – English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Ameri-can President Harry Truman and the Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin – all shook hands at Cecilienhof Palace. In 1988 Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan did likewise at the Kremlin. Thirteen years earlier two other representa-tives of the Cold War-era superpowers also shook hands, after American astronaut Thom-as Stafford and his Soviet colleague Alexei Leonov ‘parked’ their respective Apollo and

Sojuz spaceships next to each other in space and shook hands. Given that it is the one uni-versal gesture that transcends political and cultural boundaries, it is hardly surprising that “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was The Bea-tles’ first global number one hit in 1963.

Nevertheless, not all handshakes are the same, as ‘Knigge’, an online forum offering advice on behavioural and social interaction, explains:

“When it comes to shaking hands it is im-portant to keep the hand relaxed and at a 90 degree angle to the body and upper arm. You should not extend your arm too early as you approach someone, nor should you extend it too little so as to force the other person to come into unusually close proximity to you. A correctly executed handshake should main-tain the normal distance between two people, which is approximately one metre. This can vary in different countries so you are advised to research local customs, especially prior to business trips. When you shake hands you should briefly squeeze the hand of the other person and look them in the eyes. Pay atten-tion to the strength of your grip: it should be neither too firm nor too limp. Saying a few words in greeting is also appropriate.”

Such levels of intricacy may be out of place on a football pitch but it is no coincidence that the ‘Jiveshake’ – an Afro-American style of shaking hands – was chosen to be used during the ‘Handshake for Peace’. “It will mean that people look each other straight in the eye and that they will come closer than they would with a normal handshake,” said FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

If the ‘Handshake for Peace’ takes off among the 265 million currently active players across the world then it could truly become an influen-tial global symbol, with a power that extends far beyond the mere physicality of the act itself. Å

Thomas Renggli

In western society the act of shaking hands stirs up a wealth of positive connotations, regardless of whether it is used as a greet-ing, to seal a deal or as a sign of peace. If performed with a firm grip and steady eye contact, it is received as a sign of self-con-

fidence and respect.Major events in world history have been

accompanied by the powerfully symbolic and media-friendly gesture, which has often been interpreted as a sign of new beginnings or the forging of a closer relationship. For instance, at

Gorbachev, etiquette and The Beatles

Handshake in zero-gravity Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov (l.) and his American colleague Thomas Stafford shake hands in outer space.

Historical moments the world over are marked by the shaking of hands, whether it be in politics, culture or sport. But is there more to the gesture than mere symbolism?

Afp


Yes. It is more than a symbolic act. It con-gratulates the opposing team whether they won, or lost. It is also a sign of respect, which is important in sport. It’s also done in rugby, a handshake at the end. A handshake is not just a shake, it has a message, which is Well Done.

ukfootie (Great Britain)

It should bemore than that. It shows how willing we are to be in touch with the others, to send best wishes to them whatever the situation. In a football match, handshakes between opponents mean sending a good luck to fellow footballers. They may wear the differ-ent jersey, play in a different team, but they are under the same roof, ones who do profes-sion as a footballer.

tioborowski (Indonesia)

Yes it is. Some shake hands when they meet, when they go, when you get to know them. Yes, a handshake is more than just a symbolic act.

Zmajevac25 (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Handshake is a symbol of respect and class, whether in the beginning or at the end of a match. Take the example in 2010 when French coach Domenech refused to shake the hand of South African coach Perreira when France was eliminated at 2010 World Cup. Mark Lawrenson said it best that “Win 7-0, lose 0-7, whatever, you shake the opposition’s hand. You just do it!” Never are there truer words in soccer than that statement.

amartinez (USA)

No. I think it’s just formality ... Like the national anthems are.

Mudu 12 (India)

“Win 7-0, lose 0-7. You just do it!”

My father taught me a firm handshake and eye contact is what separates men from boys. I live to that creed every day. In football it is used as an act of responsibility and respect to which I agree.

jreileyc (USA)

The handshake as a symbolic act is gener-ally thought to have developed from war – as a gesture to demonstrate neither side is carrying a hidden weapon and each comes in peace. As standard part of the event build up, I believe the handshake to be more than just a symbolic act as it expresses a willing-ness for equality and balance and connotes an implicit promise to take care of each other, to be sporting, to behave by the rules, to respect fellow play-ers/referees/opponents and fans.

ADJVFUN (Greece)

I am from Bosnia Herzegovina. Handshake in my tradition and religion means: Hand-shaking can forgive sins.

BH-Zmaj (Canada)

“It’s a promise to take care

of each other.”

P R E S I D E N T I A L N O T ET H E D E B A T E

Best wishes, Sepp Blatter

“L et’s celebrate humanity through football,” said the unforgettable Nelson Mandela. His words are more topical than ever.

Football can build bridges and bring people together like almost no other sport. Even in areas of conflict such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, the kick-off to a game of football can also help initiate diplomatic and political negotiations. Football gives people hope even in the most difficult of circumstances.

At the World Cup in Brazil, we want to spread this message even more forcefully around the world with our “Handshake for Peace” campaign in association with the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo.

Naturally the campaign is a symbolic act: a handshake is always a symbol. But it can be an important sign and the start of sustainable developments. The decisive factor is how much energy is invested in the peace process afterwards. We have devised a special moment of drama to symbolise this mission: a dove of peace will be released at the World Cup open-ing ceremony, prior to the meeting between Brazil and Croatia in Sao Paulo on 12 June.

It is a matter of the utmost personal im-portance to me that we maintain the intensity and pace of our efforts in this respect. The power of our sport ultimately extends way be-yond the confines of the pitch and the dura-tion of a match. Thanks to the appeal and popularity of our sport we have a huge chance to bring people together and impart respect and mutual understanding. We must under no circumstances miss this chance in Brazil.

Football’s big chance

The FIFA Weekly asked on fifa.com: Is a handshake more than just a symbolic act?

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The pioneers

Tyreso FF face Wolfsburg in the Women’s Champions League final in Lisbon on 22 May. A victory for Marta & Co. would see the most coveted trophy in women's club football return to Sweden for a third time - a fair

reflection of the pioneering role of women in Swedish society.

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Tyreso FotbollforeningYear founded1971StadiumBollmoravallenCapacityApproximately 2,700CoachTony Gustavsson (women) Andreas Vanberg (men)LeagueDamallsvenskan (women) Division 3 Sodra Svealand (men)Homepagewww.tyresoff.se

Andrea Grunenfelder

It is certainly no coincidence that Pippi Longstocking, the fictional character created by Astrid Lindgren, hails from Sweden. The young girl with superhu-man strength is almost symbolic of the status enjoyed by women in the region. In fact, the Scandinavians have always been quicker than their European neighbours to address the issue of gen-der equality, with Swedish women first granted the right to vote and to stand for election as early as 1921 – a full 50

years before their Swiss counterparts for ex-ample. The Nobel Peace Prize winner Alva Myrdal came up with the concept of childcare facilities in Sweden in the 1930s, a step which helped the country in its attempts to establish equal rights. Norway became the first country in the world to introduce a gender quota for supervisory boards, with all public enterprises obliged to fill at least 40% of the seats on their supervisory board with women since 2006.

For Pia Sundhage, the coach of the Sweden women’s national team, the social status en-joyed by females in Scandinavia has been piv-otal for the development of the women’s game. “We in northern Europe have always been very forward-thinking in this regard, hence our quick footballing progress,” said the two-time Olympic gold medallist and the 2012 Women’s Football Coach of the Year. Nevertheless, play-ing the sport was not about ensuring women’s rights for the young Sundhage. “The fight for gender equality and the development of wom-en’s football have progressed hand in hand. But this wasn’t an issue for me back then. Nowa-days, I think we should’ve used football more to achieve this objective.”

An important milestoneInitially, though, even the female footballers of northern Europe fell victim to sexual discrim-ination, with the magazine “Nordisk Idrottslif” publishing the following sharply-worded state-ment in reaction to competitive football being organised by a few strong-minded women back in 1918. “There are no words strong enough to condemn women’s football. Women have the right to put on a pair of sports shorts and kick a ball around from time to time, but not to claim that this is connected to football even in the slightest. A number of competitive women’s sports are played in the modern era. However, the most despicable of those is undoubtedly women’s football.”

Despite the contempt shown by journalists, the match organised by “Stockholm Kvinnliga Idrottsklub” (Women’s Sports Club of Stock-

holm) is regarded as a milestone in the global development of the women’s game. Unfortu-nately, decades would pass before the public attitude in Sweden shifted somewhat.

Women’s football was labelled as “anything but feminine” and was often said to pose the danger of serious physical injuries due to females not being designed to cope with the strains of the game. Pia Sundhage describes such thinking as “sheer ignorance” and a “theory simply plucked out of thin air”. The long-awaited shift in attitudes finally came in 1973, a year in which the country reached the milestone of 10,000 licensed players and more than 30,000 active players in total. It also marked the organisation of the first women’s league in Sweden and the country’s first international match, which was played against Finland on 25 August that year.

A rival to the men’s game?Taking into account the number of profession-al players, football is the second biggest wom-en’s sport in modern-day Sweden. In fact, the densely populated northern European country has more professional female players than any other country. Its clubs work on long-term ini-tiatives with companies which are prepared to invest the necessary financial support into the game - a win-win situation in view of the large-scale media interest in the sport. Women’s football is one of the most talked-about sports in Sweden and has almost become a national treasure.

Jonny Hjelm, a history professor with a specialism in this field, proposed an almost eu-phoric theory in the “Svenska Dagbladet” when he outlined his belief that it would not be long before women’s football enjoyed the same sta-tus as the men’s game in Sweden. He believes it has taken between 40 and 50 years for men’s football to be regarded as a sporting and cul-tural phenomenon, and that it would take a similar length of time for women’s football too. According to his theory, if we take 1973, the year in which a women’s league was set up in Sweden for the first time, as a starting point, we are approaching the period when women’s football is set to achieve that aim.

It remains to be seen if and when Hjelm’s prediction comes true. One thing is for sure though; it will to be some time before a Swedish men’s team reaches the UEFA Champions League final. Å

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Tyreso FF – at a crossroads

Tyreso is situated approximately 40 minutes from the centre of Stockholm and is sur-rounded by beautiful landscapes which include lakes, forests and the nearby sea. In addition to numerous sports clubs, the 44,000 inhabitants also have access to football pitches, ice rinks, indoor swimming pools and other sport and leisure facilities.

Tyreso FF, originally founded in 1971, have really made a name for themselves in the women’s game. Although the men’s team have only spent two seasons in the country’s second-highest division, the women’s team celebrated their first championship victory two years ago. Last season the club finished

the campaign in second place behind LdB FC Malmo, who changed their name to FC Rosengard in December 2013.

The club’s most famous player is the 28-year-old Brazilian Marta Vieira da Silva, the five-time FIFA Women’s World Footballer of the Year. However, the signing of the playmaker (and other big names) seems to have placed Tyreso under great financial strain, with threats of bankruptcy and licence withdrawal casting a dark shadow over the club. Tyreso's failure to present its financial statements for 2013 by the dead-line date of 16 March has led the Swedish Football Federation to provisionally refuse to

grant the club a licence. If the verdict stands, last season’s runners-up will be relegated to the third tier next season. In the meantime, though, the club remains firmly focused on the Champions League final – and the hope of economic survival.

Tyreso FF reached the Lisbon final on 22 May by progressing through the knockout stages as follows: Paris St-Germain (round of 32: 2-1), Fortuna Hjorring from Denmark (round of 16: 6-1), Neulengbach from Austria (quarter-final: 8-1) and Birmingham City (semi-final: 3-0).

Popular Tyreso FF from just outside Stock-holm have made a name for themselves in the women’s game (team in yellow).

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F R E E K I C K

The fastest World Cup goals

F I F A T O P 11

1 Hakan Sukur, Turkey Scored after: 11 seconds Date: 29 June 2002 Match: Korea Republic 2-3 Turkey

2 Vaclav Masek, Czechoslovakia Scored after: 16 seconds Date: 7 June 1962 Match: Mexico 3-1 Czechoslovakia

3 Ernst Lehner, Germany Scored after: 25 seconds Date: 7 June 1934 Match: Germany 3-2 Austria

4 Bryan Robson, England Scored after: 28 seconds Date: 16 June 1982 Match: England 3-1 France

5 Bernard Lacombe, France Scored after: 31 seconds Date: 2 June 1978 Match: Italy 2-1 France

6 Emile Veinante, France Scored after: 35 seconds Date: 5 June 1938 Match: France 3-1 Belgium

Arne Nyberg, Sweden Scored after: 35 seconds Date: 16 June 1938 Match: Hungary 5-1 Sweden

8 Adalbert Desu, Romania Scored after: 50 seconds Date: 14 July 1930 Match: Romania 3-1 Peru

Florian Albert, Hungary Scored after: 50 seconds Date: 3 June 1962 Match: Hungary 6-1 Bulgaria

Pak Seung-Zin, Korea DPR Scored after: 59 seconds Date: 23 July 1966 Match: Portugal 5-3 Korea DPR

11 Celso Ayala, Paraguay Scored after: 53 seconds Date: 24 June 1998 Match: Paraguay 3-1 Nigeria

Source: FIFA (FIFA World Cup, Superlatives, Statistical Kit 5, 4.8.2010)

Thomas Renggli

Wash, dry, iron. The Iranian national football team is duty-bound to exer-cise sustainability at the upcoming World Cup finals in Brazil. For reasons of financial prudence, the national federation is not willing to make new

kits available to the players for each game, meaning that the tournament’s first losers have already been established. They are Nigeria, Ar-gentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina, whose charges will leave the pitch empty-handed when they each face Team Melli. “Our guys have to be thrifty when it comes to the jerseys,” says the budget-conscious chief of the Iranian federation Ali Kafaschian, a man on whom the team can rely when it comes to finding the laundry room.

The national side’s attire has been a cause of irritation in Iran for months now. Substitute goalkeeper Ali-Resa Haghighi, who stands 6’3 tall in his socks, made the mistake of pro-gramming a washing machine incorrectly, only to discover that his extra large training kit had shrunk to the size of a medium. Kafaschian took a pragmatic approach in dealing with that laundry-themed own goal, issuing Haghighi with the following helpful reminder: “They don’t always need to use hot water when they wash their kits.”

In its own odd way, Iran’s tactic of non-com-pliance with normal procedure is leading to a break with tradition. The first exchange of foot-ball shirts took place on 14 May 1931, when the French asked their beaten English opposition for a memento after an unexpected victory in a friendly. The symbolic gesture then became institutionalised at the World Cup finals in 1970 by two of the greatest footballing nations, as Brazil star Pele offered his shirt to England captain Bobby Moore. The West Ham United legend and 1966 World Cup winner returned

the favour, his jersey eventually going on to roughly fetch USD$65,000 at an auction some years later.

Such an amount might just be enough to change the minds of Iran’s football federation. Shirts worn by Argentine superstar Lionel Mes-si go for a similar figure these days, to the point that even professional footballers are increasing-ly joining the ranks of the souvenir hunters. In a Champions League game against Barcelona two years ago, Bayer Leverkusen players alleged-ly quarrelled at the interval over who would re-ceive Messi’s shirt. “At half-time, Manuel Frie-drich pinched it from me,” lamented Michel Kadlec to journalists at the final whistle.

Similarly unscrupulous activity should not be ruled out on the pitches of Brazil this sum-mer either, because irrespective of any Iranian frugality, every player is permitted to partake in the swapping of shirts, begging the question as to whose will be the most desirable. Will it be Cristiano Ronaldo’s, Messi’s, Neymar’s, An-drea Pirlo’s or Mesut Ozil’s perhaps? In each case, it will pay to have a plan of action pre-pared beforehand, since the competition comes from within a team’s own ranks. Only then can you begin to think about reaching the laundry room and encountering the big-gest problems. Whoever washes the jersey of the 169 cm-tall Messi at too high a tempera-ture will have very little left of it indeed. Å

Delicate Wash


From Paris to Zurich

Sarah Steiner and Yvonne Lemmer

Many a city would be more than happy to call itself home to world football’s governing body. FIFA and Zurich go back a long way – to 1932 in fact, when the global institution first moved to the Swiss capital.

Over the intervening 82 years, FIFA has created a considerable number of jobs. Today, more than 400 workers from all over the world are on the payroll in Zurich and it is not only the employment figures that are looking rosy. FIFA has boosted the local economy in several sectors. Meetings, conferences and major inter-national events, such as the Ballon d’Or Gala at the Congress Hall, attract thousands of visitors to Switzerland every year. The world’s best footballers from the men’s and women’s game, as well as officials, business partners and mem-bers of press all boost the tourism and the ca-tering industry. Even the publishing, construc-tion and retail sectors, together with many other service providers profit from FIFA as subcontractors in all kinds of projects, large and small alike. FIFA also invests heavily in grassroots sport. In 2012, world football’s gov-erning body donated US$ 22.5 million to the Department of School and Sport in Zurich for the upgrading of pitches and the promotion of girl’s and women’s football in the city of Zurich.

US $17 million in taxesAs the home of FIFA, Zurich can unashamedly call itself football’s capital city. A study pub-lished by Rütter + Partner in 2013 (see box) on the economic impact of sporting organisations in Switzerland showed that the three largest Swiss sports associations – FIFA, the Interna-tional Olympic Committee (IOC) and UEFA – contribute US$ 1.12 billion to the GVA. FIFA’s financial statement for 2013 also reported tax-es of US$17 million.

How it all beganFIFA was founded in Paris in 1904, so how did the governing body end up in Zurich? As part of a planned reorganisation, the executive committee proposed at the 20th FIFA Congress in Berlin in 1931 that a permanent home should

be found. Until then, FIFA’s offices had been stationed wherever the Secretary General was residing – in Amsterdam, for instance, when Carl Anton Wilhelm Hirschman held office from 1906 to 1931. The Executive Committee’s motion was passed and at the next Congress twelve months later, delegates voted on the lo-cation of the new headquarters. Fourteen votes were cast in favour of Zurich, compared with only eleven for Paris. The neutrality and cen-tral geographical location of Switzerland were key factors in the outcome of the vote.

That same year, FIFA President Jules Rimet and Vice President Giovanni Mauro travelled to Zurich to have a look at potential premises. The duo decided on Bahnhofstrasse 77, the most cen-tral location of all. “It was eventually agreed that two rooms would be rented in a modern office building where the association has its headquar-ters today,” stated a progress report from 1932. An investment of CHF 7094.77 got the new FIFA base in Zurich up and running. This included the cost of furnishing the office, transport and cus-toms duty for the few items of furniture and documents brought over from the previous base in Amsterdam, travel expenses for the new FIFA Secretary General Ivo Schricker, costs associated with his relocation, and expenses for electrical installations in the new office in Zurich..

There was another new development as FIFA moved into its first headquarters: the Secretary General was to be remunerated for the first time. While Hirschmann had worked for FIFA on an honorary basis, Schricker, who remained in the post for 20 years, was the first Secretary Gener-al to receive an official salary.

Workplace and tourist attractionAlthough Zurich was to remain the home of FIFA, the governing body would continue to move up in the city as it moved up in the world. From 1954, FIFA’s office was located at the Villa Derwald on Hitzigweg 11. The mid-1970s saw the organisation build more modern premises on the same plot of land, which it eventually moved into in 1979. While construction work was ongoing, FIFA operated from an office on Aurorastrasse. Growing numbers of staff made the purchase of a second building necessary – Hotel Sonnenberg, which opened for business

H I S T O R Y

On 21 May 2014, FIFA celebrates its 110th anniversary. World football's governing body began life in Paris and ended up in Zurich, where it has been based for over 80 years.

in 2000. Finally, May 2006 saw staff move into the new headquarters on FIFA-Strasse 20 on the Zurichberg. “The home of FIFA is your home – come on in,” President Joseph S. Blatter told the representatives of FIFA’s member as-sociations during his welcome address. The 134-metre long, 41-metre wide and 12-metre high building designed by Swiss architect Tilla Theus is not just a workplace for FIFA staff, but also a popular attraction for many tourists who make the trip to Zurich. Å

FIFA in numbers The “Study on the economic importance of international sport organisations in Switzerland” was commissioned by FIFA and launched by the Rütter + Partner research institute in 2012. The study takes into account both the direct and indirect economic impact of the organisations. For more information on the study, please visit:

http://tinyurl.com/lqxpls9

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Have some of that: Physio Norman Medhurst (right) administers a cooling shower to England midfield pivot Ray Wilkins during training on the “England Football Summer Tour” on 30 May 1985.

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Baptism of beer: A celebratory shower personally administered by the boss could be regarded as a compliment of sorts. Fresh from collecting his third German championship winner’s medal on 10 May 2014, Toni Kroos (right) receives a soaking from Bayern head coach Pep Guardiola.

Allianz Arena,

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F I F A W O R L D R A N K I N G

RankingRank Team Change in ranking Points

1 Spain 0 1460

2 Germany 0 1340

3 Portugal 0 1245

4 Brazil 2 1210

5 Colombia -1 1186

6 Uruguay -1 1181

7 Argentina -1 1178

8 Switzerland 0 1161

9 Italy 0 1115

10 Greece 0 108211 England 0 1043

12 Belgium 0 1039

13 Chile 1 1037

14 USA -1 1015

15 Netherlands 0 967

16 France 0 935

17 Ukraine 0 913

18 Russia 0 903

19 Mexico 0 877

20 Croatia 0 871

21 Côte d’Ivoire 0 830

22 Scotland 0 825

23 Denmark 0 819

24 Egypt 0 798

25 Bosnia-Herzegovina 0 795

25 Sweden 0 795

25 Algeria 0 795

28 Ecuador 0 794

29 Slovenia 0 787

30 Serbia 0 759

30 Honduras 2 759

32 Romania -1 756

33 Armenia 0 750

34 Costa Rica 0 748

35 Panama 0 739

36 Czech Republic 0 731

37 Iran 0 715

38 Ghana 0 713

39 Turkey 0 711

40 Austria 0 673

41 Venezuela 0 666

42 Peru 1 665

42 Cape Verde Islands 0 665

44 Nigeria 1 631

45 Hungary -1 623

46 Slovakia 0 616

47 Japan 0 613

47 Wales 0 613

49 Tunisia 0 597

50 Cameroon 0 583

51 Guinea 0 580

52 Finland 0 578

53 Uzbekistan 0 577

54 Montenegro 0 555

55 Korea Republic 1 551

55 Norway 1 551

55 Paraguay -1 551

58 Iceland 0 546

59 Mali 0 545

59 Australia 0 545

61 Burkina Faso 0 528

62 Libya 0 522

63 Senegal 0 511

64 Jordan 0 510

65 South Africa 1 507

66 Republic of Ireland -1 504

67 United Arab Emirates 0 499

68 Bolivia 0 497

69 El Salvador 0 488

70 Albania 0 486

71 Sierra Leone 0 484

72 Poland 0 479

73 Bulgaria 0 460

74 Trinidad and Tobago 2 457

75 Saudi Arabia 0 455

76 Morocco 0 454

77 Haiti 2 452

78 Israel 0 450

79 Zambia -5 448

80 FYR Macedonia 0 443

81 Jamaica 1 420

82 Oman -1 418

83 Belarus 0 404

84 Northern Ireland 0 400

85 Azerbaijan 0 398

86 Uganda 0 395

87 Gabon 0 386

88 Congo DR 0 380

89 Togo 0 374

90 Cuba 0 371

91 Botswana 0 369

92 Congo 0 367

93 Estonia 0 366

94 Angola 0 347

95 Qatar 0 338

96 China PR 0 333

97 Benin 0 332

98 Zimbabwe 0 327

99 Moldova 0 325

100 Iraq 0 321

101 Ethiopia 0 319

102 Niger 0 315

103 Georgia 0 303

104 Lithuania 0 293

105 Bahrain 0 289

106 Kenya 0 284

106 Central African Republic 0 284

108 Kuwait 0 283

109 Latvia 0 273

110 Canada 0 272

111 New Zealand 0 271

112 Luxembourg 0 266

113 Equatorial Guinea 0 261

114 Mozambique 0 251

114 Lebanon 1 251

116 Vietnam 0 242

117 Sudan 0 241

118 Kazakhstan 0 235

119 Liberia 0 234

120 Namibia 0 233

121 Tajikistan 12 229

122 Malawi -1 227

122 Tanzania 0 227

124 Guatemala 0 223

125 Burundi 0 215

126 Dominican Republic 0 212

126 St Vincent and the Grenadines 9 212

128 Malta -1 204

128 Afghanistan -6 204

130 Cyprus -2 201

131 Suriname -2 197

131 Rwanda -2 197

133 St Lucia 8 191

134 Gambia -3 190

134 Syria -3 190

136 Grenada -2 188

137 Korea DPR 0 175

138 New Caledonia -2 174

139 Mauritania 13 165

140 Philippines 3 161

141 Lesotho -3 159

142 Antigua and Barbuda -3 158

143 Thailand -3 156

144 Belize -1 152

145 Malaysia -3 149

146 Kyrgyzstan 1 148

147 Singapore -2 144

147 India -2 144

149 Puerto Rico -2 143

150 Liechtenstein -1 139

151 Guyana -1 137

152 Indonesia -1 135

153 Maldives 0 124

153 St Kitts and Nevis 0 124

155 Aruba 0 122

156 Turkmenistan 0 119

157 Tahiti 0 116

158 Hong Kong 0 111

159 Pakistan 2 102

159 Nepal 0 102

161 Barbados 1 101

162 Bangladesh 1 98

163 Dominica -3 93

164 Faroe Islands 0 91

165 Chad 4 88

165 Palestine -1 88

167 São Tomé e Príncipe -1 86

168 Nicaragua -1 84

169 Bermuda -1 83

170 Chinese Taipei 0 78

171 Guam 0 77

172 Solomon Islands 0 75

173 Sri Lanka 0 73

173 Laos 1 73

173 Myanmar 1 73

176 Seychelles 1 66

177 Curaçao 1 65

178 Swaziland 1 64

179 Yemen 1 63

180 Mauritius -4 55

180 Vanuatu 1 55

182 Fiji 0 47

183 Samoa 0 45

184 Comoros 0 43

184 Guinea-Bissau 0 43

186 Bahamas 0 40

187 Mongolia 0 35

188 Montserrat 0 33

189 Madagascar 0 32

190 Cambodia 0 28

191 Brunei Darussalam 0 26

191 Timor-Leste 0 26

191 Tonga 0 26

194 US Virgin Islands 0 23

195 Cayman Islands 0 21

195 Papua New Guinea 0 21

197 British Virgin Islands 0 18

197 American Samoa 0 18

199 Andorra 0 16

200 Eritrea 0 11

201 South Sudan 0 10

202 Somalia 0 8

202 Macau 0 8

204 Djibouti 0 6

205 Cook Islands 0 5

206 Anguilla 0 3

207 Bhutan 0 0

207 San Marino 0 0

207 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 0

Top spot Biggest climber Biggest faller

12 / 2013 01 / 2014 02 / 2014 03 / 2014 04 / 2014 05 / 2014

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


T H E O B J E C TN E T Z E R K N O W S !

What have you always wanted to know about football? Ask Gunter Netzer: [email protected]

Perikles Monioudis

Drinks coasters have gone out of fashion, or are at least no longer considered a must in refined households. One reason could be that coasters are no longer exclusively manufac-tured from glass or exotic woods, but from cheap plastic or cork, and may therefore have lost their decorative function in the trusty homestead and restaurant.

An essential component of the interior de-cor scheme reduced to the status of disposable item: who could possibly have seen that com-ing? Pub landlords in Britain perhaps, where the bar counters are draped in drip-catching terry towels supplied by brewery sales promo-tion units.

So what is the use of coasters bearing col-ourful images of football players? Every time you take a sip from your glass you ineluctably replace it on the coaster and thereby on the player, who disappears from view, separated only from the bottom of the glass by a thin film of water or beer, or wine as it may be.

So what is he doing there in the first place? And who on earth derives amusement from the cute colourful picture only to wilfully cover it up again straight away?

Don’t worry! The colourfully painted little player reflected in the beer glass – definitely a beer glass – is in actual fact located on the but-tons of the drinker’s jacket. The FIFA collec-tion includes a set of six of these buttons (date unknown). Not to be mistaken for coasters. Å

There's no such thing as a best World Cup. And there aren't any bad ones either. Every World Cup has its own unique ap-peal and storylines. We remember the passion just as much as the great goals and sublime skills. If I hear football fans

talking about the 1994 World Cup in the USA, the main topic of conversation is never the thrilling quarter-final between Brazil and Hol-land. It's Roberto Baggio's missed penalty and his tears in the Final.

It's not easy to remain objective when you're dealing with partisan passion and emo-tions. French fans will probably tell you the 1998 World Cup stands out ahead of the rest. And maybe it does, given the triumph of the golden generation headed by Laurent Blanc and Zinedine Zidane. But what about the 1970 tour-nament with the incomparable Pele? And where would you rank the 1986 World Cup with the FIFA Goal of the Century scored by Diego Maradona? All opinions are subjective.

As you might guess, my favourite World Cup is the 2006 tournament in Germany. Of

Which was the best World Cup ever?

Question from Sara Blaine, Birmingham

course, I also like to remember 1974 and 1990 when Germany won. But the World Cup eight years ago made a huge impression on me be-cause it also had a defining social impact. The Germans, who are more often than not thought of as unapproachable, opened their arms to the world. A lot of things went right in 2006: the great weather, the wonderful stadiums and the peaceful atmosphere on the streets.

The World Cup in Brazil kicks off in 25 days and you can feel the mounting excitement. There will be some great stories in 2014, that much is for certain. Anticipation is sheer pleas-ure. All of which must mean, Ms Blaine, that the next World Cup is always the best. Å

Best foot forward: Our columnist Gunter Netzer in July 1971.

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In Turning Point, personalities reflect on a decisive moment in their lives.

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

NameShkelzen GashiDate of birth, place of birth15 July 1988, ZurichPositionMidfielderClubs1998 – 2009 FC Zurich 1999/2000 Grasshopper Club (loan) 2008 FC Schaffhausen (loan) 2008/2009 Bellinzona (loan) 2010/2011 Neuchatel Xamax 2011/2012 FC Aarau 2012 – present Grasshopper ClubNational teamSwitzerland U-21 (5 appearances, 2 goals) Albania (3 appearances)

The season in Switzerland is drawing to a close and unless something dramatic happens, I’ll finish the season as the Su-per League’s leading goalscorer – the first Grasshopper player to do so since Uru-guayan Richard Nunez in 2003. I’m re-

ally proud. Theoretically, my season could’ve been extended by representing Switzerland at the World Cup in Brazil, but in 2013 I chose to play for Albania instead. It’s completely point-less asking me whether I regret it. You have to stand by your decisions. Perhaps my choice will be called into question once again if Koso-vo eventually receives official recognition by FIFA. I can say now, though, that nothing will change because I’m extremely proud to repre-sent Albania. At the first friendly match in Tirana the whole stadium was chanting my name. That’s when I realised that the people here really count on me.

The Albania national team coach Gianni De Biasi says I’ve now become a real Swiss. I think he’s referring to my manners and my open-ness. In sporting terms, I’d describe myself as a combination of the two cultures: my tech-nique and intuition probably come from my genes; my attitude and ambition are products of my Swiss homeland. I’m proud to possess this cultural mix. And I truly hope that Swit-zerland win the World Cup in Brazil.

I came through the ranks at FC Zurich, where I really benefitted from Lucien Favre’s guidance – I regard him as one of the best coaches around. However, my development came to a standstill at one point: I was never really given a chance at the very top level and never felt like I had the trust of the club’s sport-ing leadership. Maybe I relied a little too much on talent alone, although I don’t think you could ever really class me as a problem player. I never had serious issues. Football is just like a “normal” job in the sense that if you began your career somewhere, then you’re always regarded as the apprentice. This was why I left the club in 2008 and it was the right choice, even though my subsequent career could hardly be described as straightforward. After a successful

loan spell at Bellinzona, I decided to switch to Neuchatel in 2010 as it seemed like a fantas-tic opportunity to me at the time. I felt that the move could serve as an ideal springboard to a big foreign club, though in hindsight it didn’t quite work out that way. I was offered little in the way of playing time. Three differ-ent coaches in the space of a year and in-creasing financial problems didn’t exactly improve the situation either.

I realised that something had to change. It was at this point that I received an offer from FC Aarau in the Swiss second division. It wasn’t an easy decision. Those who dream of a career abroad don’t want to play in the second tier. But I knew the move could also have a liberating effect for me. My brother, to whom I often turn for advice, said to me: “It’s not going to be easy, but if you’re convinced, then go for it.” I completed the switch to Aarau, taking a pay-cut in the process. I quickly real-ised that I had to assert myself, and prove my-self all over again. I realised that talent alone isn’t enough to be successful. The situation served to spur me on: I trained more, worked

more consistently on my fitness and spent more time lifting weights in the gym. The transfer to Aarau was a real turning point in my career: a case of one step back, but two steps forward. I scored 24 goals and notched up 17 assists in 44 games, which was enough for Grasshopper Club to come calling with an offer. In my first season with the club we won the domestic Cup and finished the Super League as runners-up. In my second, under coach Mi-chael Skibbe, we’re challenging again.

By the way, my beard is not a sign I’m ma-turing with age. I’m just seeking inspiration from the players of ZSC Lions, the ice hockey club now on the verge of the title. I’m a huge fan of the team and am aware that we at GC also want to become champions. So I hoped a play-off beard could work for football too. Å

As told to Thomas Renggli

Shkelzen Gashi, 25, became one of the hottest prospects in Swiss football after a stellar season in the second division with FC Aarau.

“One step back, two steps forward”

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Tomorrow brings usall closerTo new people, new ideas and new states of mind. Here’s to reaching all the places we’ve never been.

Fly Emirates to 6 continents.

emirates.com

http://www.emirates.com

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F I F A Q U I Z C U PThe FIFA WeeklyPublished weekly by the

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

Internet:www.fifa.com/theweekly

Publisher:FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20,

PO box, CH-8044 ZurichTel. +41-(0)43-222 7777Fax +41-(0)43-222 7878

President:Joseph S. Blatter

Secretary General:Jérôme Valcke

Director of Communications and Public Affairs:Walter De Gregorio

Chief Editor:Perikles Monioudis

Staff Writers:Thomas Renggli (Author),

Alan Schweingruber, Sarah Steiner

Art Direction:Catharina Clajus

Picture Editor:Peggy Knotz

Production:Hans-Peter Frei

Layout:Richie Krönert (Lead),

Marianne Bolliger-Crittin, Susanne Egli, Mirijam Ziegler

Proof Reader:Nena Morf, Kristina Rotach

Contributors:Sérgio Xavier Filho, Luigi Garlando,

Sven Goldmann, Hanspeter Kuenzler, Jordi Punti, David Winner,

Roland Zorn

Contributors to this Issue:Benny Epstein, Andrea Grünenfelder,

Alois Hug, Yvonne Lemmer, Markus Nowak, Alissa Rosskopf

Editorial Assistant:Honey Thaljieh

Project Management:Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub

Translation:Sportstranslations Limited

www.sportstranslations.com

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Contact:[email protected]

Reproduction of photos or articles in whole or in part is only

permitted with prior editorial approval and if attributed

“The FIFA Weekly, © FIFA 2014”. The editor and staff are not obliged to publish unsolicited manuscripts and photos. FIFA and the FIFA logo are registered trademarks of FIFA. Made and printed in Switzerland.

Any views expressed in The FIFA Weekly do not

necessarily reflect those of FIFA.

Please email your answers to [email protected] by 21 May 2014. Correct submissions for all quizzes published since the Ballon d’Or 2013 will go into a draw on 11 June 2014 to win two tickets to the FIFA World Cup Final on 13 July 2014. Before submitting answers, all participants must read and accept the competition terms and conditions and the rules, which can be found at http://en.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/the-fifa-weekly/rules.pdf

The answer to last week’s Quiz Cup was PEPE (detailed answers on www.fifa.com/theweekly).

Inspiration and implementation: cus

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A E O Y

This is the iconic ball from 1970, but which was the first World Cup where the official matchball was no longer made of pentagons and hexagons?

This letter written in this way on a shirt is almost certainly unique. It belongs to...

With players like these, Brazil will surely win the 2014 World Cup! Only one of these four internationals is not a member of the current squad – which one?

Three stars, four VIPs and five points – solve our quiz and win tickets to the 2014 World Cup final!

O 1994 Y 1998A 2002 I 2006

C Angel N Sergio R Daniel V Fabio

Whose home country will contest the 2014 World Cup with three stars on their shirts?

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T H I S W E E K ’ S P O L LA S K T H E W E E K LY

L A S T W E E K ’ S P O L L R E S U LT S

W E E K I N N U M B E R S

32%

24%

14%

12%

18%

Has a team from outside the top flight ever won the FA Cup?John McDermott, Bedford

The English knockout cup is renowned for giant-killing and shock upsets. The last lower league team to win it were Sunderland in 1973 with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United in the final. A year ago Wigan Athletic became the first club to win the cup but drop out of the top flight in the same season. Tottenham Hotspur can claim to be the only winners of the competition from outside the professional eche-lons, as they were still in the Southern League in 1901. The prestigious trophy even went “abroad” in 1927 when Welsh club Cardiff City defeated Arsenal 1-0 in the final. (thr)

What’s your dream Final at the 2014 World Cup?

Brazil – Argentina

Brazil – Germany

Brazil – Uruguay

Brazil – Spain

Other combinations

Who will win the final of the Women’s Champions League?

Tyreso FF or VfL Wolfsburg? Email your answers to: [email protected]

goals were scored by Manchester City (pictured Yaya Touré) en route to the English title – their best tally in 56 years. City had not been able to break through the century-mark since 1957/58, and they were joined in doing so this season by Liverpool, who scored 101. Indeed, this was the first English top flight season to include two teams with 100 or more goals since 1960/61.

Inter Milan appearances, a club record, was the tally reached by Javier Zanetti (pictured) in his farewell match at the San Siro last Saturday. The 40-year-old, who has been with Inter since 1995, has made 614 of those appearances in Serie A and will retire just short of Paolo Maldini’s league record of 647. Zanetti’s presence also seemed to inspire Inter, who ended a four-match winless streak by beating Lazio 4-1.

102 30Costa Rican league titles was the landmark reached by Saprissa (pictured Daniel Colindres) on Saturday, enabling them to set a new national and continen-tal record. The San Jose outfit are, after all, the first team in Central America to rack up 30 cham-pionships, having reached the milestone ahead of Costa Rican rivals Alajuelense, Guatemala’s Municipal (both 29) and Olimpia of Honduras (28). G

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T H E F I FA W E E K LY

handshake for peace · personal life stories could hardly be more of a contrast, but they share the...

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