ISSUE 35, 20 JUNE 2014 ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

RUSSIA
FABIO CAPELLO ENERGISED
BY EXPECTATION

CROATIA
STAR SUPPORTER
DAVOR SUKER

CHILE
REWARDED FOR
ATTACKING INTENT

Brazil 2014

MAGICAL
MANAUS W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY
CONTENTS

6
Rumble in the Jungle North and South America
Reserved friendliness, breathtaking nature and Central America 10 members
thrilling football are just three things that set 35 members www.conmebol.com
Manaus apart during the World Cup. Our writer www.concacaf.com
Thomas Renggli sets out to investigate this
jungle metropolis and recounts the history of a
city in which there is no escaping the heat.

19 Sepp Blatter: A great attacking spectacle

The FIFA President waxes lyrical about the World
Cup’s goal-laden start and praises the coaches
for their readiness to take risks, all the while
convinced that “the best is yet to come!”

29 S napshots of Brazil
Our editorial team give their very personal
impressions of the World Cup, describing the
moments that have particularly moved and
inspired them so far.

30 “ I still want to be out there winning

matches”
Davor Suker still gets restless whenever he
watches a football match. In The FIFA Weekly
interview, the Croatian Football Federation
president discusses his time as a player and the
ambitions of the current national team.

14 Chile
Alexis Sanchez and his team
defeated Spain 2- 0 to send the
defending champions home.
Magical Manaus
On the cover this week we feature a
celebrating Brazilian. The euphoria in
Seleção country shows no signs of
abating.

Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA World Cup 2014: Groups A-C

Group A Group B Group C

Brazil Spain Colombia

The FIFA Weekly Magazine App
Croatia Netherlands Greece
The FIFA Weekly, FIFA’s football magazine, is
also available in five languages as an Mexico Chile Côte d’Ivoire
e-Magazine on your tablet every Friday.
Getty Images

Cameroon Australia Japan

2 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
 THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

Europe Africa Asia Oceania

54 members 54 members 46 members 11 members
www.uefa.com www.cafonline.com www.the-afc.com www.oceaniafootball.com

24 Russia
Despite a faltering start to
the World Cup, Russia coach
Fabio Capello is still confident
that his side can reach the
Round of 16.

14 Germany
Thomas Muller practically
defeated Portugal single-
handedly before Chancellor
Angela Merkel joined in the
post-match celebrations.

17 Nigeria
Stephen Keshi is renowned for
discipline and structure, and
after the Super Eagles'
opening 0-0 draw with Iran,
his side need those characte-
ristics more than ever.

World Cup 2014: Groups D-H

Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H

Uruguay Switzerland Argentina Germany Belgium

Costa Rica Ecuador Bosnia-Herzegovina Por tugal Algeria

England France Iran Ghana Russia

Italy Honduras Nigeria USA Korea Republic

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

©2014 THE COCA-COLA COMPANY. COCA-COLA® AND THE CONTOUR BOTTLE

ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF THE COCA-COLA COMPANY. OFFICIAL SPONSOR

Heart in the right place World Cup host city Manaus’ love of football is clear to see.
Lost in the footballing jungle
“R
umble in the Jungle!” Four group matches are being
played in the city of Manaus, located deep within the
Brazilian jungle, but what is this legendary city real-
ly all about? Thomas Renggli lost himself in the streets of
this special metropolis and experienced the immense
warmth of its people.
F
IFA President Sepp Blatter discusses the high tempera-
tures in his weekly column, saying: “There was much
speculation that the unique conditions in Brazil could
put a damper on matches,” before adding: “Instead, we’re
seeing the exact opposite.”
F
abio Capello and his Russia team are under pressure, but
the Italian tactician still believes his side can progress.
We took a closer look at Russian football and spoke to
the national team’s successful coach.
Ivan Canabrava / Reuters
UNCOVERED
I
n this week’s review of the World Cup camps, news that
Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher has wok-
en from his coma spurred Germany on to a 4-0 win over
Portugal. Elsewhere, Chile have already qualified for the
Round of 16, Greece’s Theofanis Gekas is playing for the
last major contract of his career, and the Nigerian team
have their backs to the wall.
A
nd then, of course, there is the matter of reigning
champions Spain, resigned to an early exit after just
two matches. The question now is: Who will be their
successors to football’s biggest crown? Å
Sarah Steiner
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 5
MANAUS

Jungle
football
No other World Cup host city has provoked
as much debate as Manaus, located deep in the
heart of the Amazon. Yet as we discovered on
a sweat-inducing trip to the rainforest,
it is impossible not to fall for this town’s charm.

6 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
 MANAUS

Water!
imago

Italy's Daniele De Rossi

quenches his thirst

T H E F I FA W E E K LY 7
MANAUS
Cold shower
Wayne Rooney could not save England from
an opening match defeat in Manaus
A logical outcome
Playing football off Manaus’ Ponta
Negra beach
8 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
T
Thomas Renggli, Manaus
he experience of attending a
World Cup match in Manaus is
an odyssey unlike any other, and
is not one for the faint-hearted
or heat-averse football fan. Im-
agine playing the game in a sau-
na or a steel casting foundry and
you begin to get a feeling for the
temperatures involved. Even for
those not taking part out on the
Barren Staples/Reuters, Guillermo Arias/Keystone, Pio Figueiroa (2)
pitch, a trip to the city is an
eye-opening adventure. The
landscape itself shifts the meaning of every-
day life into a rather different sphere of sig-
nificance, while the aeroplane’s descent upon
arrival is simply breathtaking: the Amazon
looks less like a river than it does a vast
ocean in the middle of the rainforest. Yet
even such stunning views were not enough to
silence the travelling England fans, who
blasted out a rendition of ‘Football’s coming
home’ on the plane’s final approach.
However, they were wise enough to pay
heed to the local guides, who warned visitors
of the domestic dangers with tales of
Wet hair
The briefest of respites
from World Cup fever

bad-tempered crocodiles, poisonous spiders
and hungry piranhas, while strongly recom-
mending a yellow fever vaccination.
The probability of catching malaria is also
significantly higher here than in the rest of
the country.
Yet those able to push aside thoughts of
an emergency visit to hospital – and those
not required to stifle Andrea Pirlo and Mario
Balotelli – they were lucky enough to discov-
er a different, surprising side to the World
Cup, and indeed to Brazil itself. Compared to
the more sophisticated, headline-grabbing
attractions on the beach front in Rio de Ja-
neiro, Manaus, the biggest settlement in the
Amazon with a population of two million,
appears to hail from another world entirely.
The city’s isolated location seems to shape
the character of its inhabitants and visitors
are met with a reserved friendliness that of-
fers a stark contrast to the typical clichés of
loud, gaudy Brazilians. The pace of life is
slower, almost muted. The native Indian pop-
ulation is warm-hearted and shy in welcom-
ing guests, as if they were trying to apologise
for the fact that life here is not a pulsating,
round-the-clock fiesta.
Andrea Pirlo
taught England
a lesson in
32-degree heat.
Authentic ‘rumble in the jungle’
It may not have been a boxing match, but Eng-
land’s fixture against Italy was every bit as
much a ‘rumble in the jungle’ as Muhammad
Ali versus George Foreman was, only this time
it was Wayne Rooney and Co against Pirlo’s
Italy. Come the final whistle it was the 35-year-
old Italian veteran with the flowing, unkempt
beard who was celebrating, having given a per-
Camping atmosphere
There is always a Brazilian
emblem to be seen somewhere
MANAUS
formance that was a lesson both in economy of
effort and intelligence. In temperatures hover-
ing around 32 degrees Celsius with 90 per cent
humidity, Pirlo dosed his energy carefully and
ran no further than he needed to, but was still
hugely influential. The next four teams to ap-
pear in Manaus; USA, Portugal, Honduras and
Switzerland, would be well advised to study his
display as an example of how to play football
in extreme conditions. It was telling that with
the English players long since flagging and
gasping for air as the game entered stoppage
time, Pirlo was still able to rifle in a free-kick
that cannoned off the crossbar. “A lot of our
players were suffering from cramp and that’s
something we’ll have to cope with,” said Eng-
land manager Roy Hodgson of the physical toll
the game took on his squad.
Hodgson himself was rather more adept at
dealing with the heat. While his young attack-
ers Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck and Dan-
iel Sturridge expended their energy in the first
half through a mixture of interplay, cockiness
and carelessness, the 66-year-old sat in the
shade with statesmanlike composure, leaving
his assistants to tweak on-field matters from
the technical area.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 9
MANAUS

Hodgson’s Italian counterpart Cesare Pran-

delli, who had prepared his troops for the sti-
fling conditions by sending them to saunas in
Florence, was considerably more active on the
touchline before reaching his limit. “We had to
slow our rhythm down in order to get our
breath back,” said the coach. “Fortunately the
officials were wise enough to occasionally stop

Fabrice Coffrini/Afp, Bruno Kelly/Reuters, Reinaldo Coddou H./fotogloria, Pio Figueiroa

the game for drink breaks. But playing football
in these conditions is crazy.” The heat was too
much even for the most hot-headed member of
the Italian ensemble, Mario Balotelli: “I’ve
played a lot of matches in hot weather but nev-
er when it’s been like this. If the climate were
the same everywhere they’d have to introduce
time-outs.”
In football there are no binding rules re-
garding the maximum temperatures in which
the game can be played, although fans old
enough to remember the ‘Heat battle of Laus-
anne’ at the 1954 World Cup would argue there
should be. Switzerland hosted Austria at La
Pontaise stadium and by the time the players
took to the pitch under a blazing sun, temper-
atures had soared to 40 degrees.
Austrian goalkeeper Kurt Schmied suffered
Water break sunstroke in the first half but had to stay on be-
Italian captain Andrea Pirlo
cools off

Flags doubling as Bumper crop

sunshades Two street traders wait
The streets of Manaus for customers

10 T H E F I FA W E E K LY

cause the rules at the time did not allow for sub-
stitutions. Schmied played on as if in a trance; a
staggering, glazed-eyed spectre powerless to stop
Switzerland scoring three goals in eight minutes.
It did not occur to anybody that the ailing
players might benefit from a drink break. In-
stead, Austria’s masseur took matters into his
own hands and stood behind the goal and tried
to keep Schmied cool by plying him with wet
sponges and water. It was not long before the
Swiss ran out of steam, allowing Austria to pull
level within four minutes. In the closing stages
Switzerland’s Roger Bocquet collapsed on the
pitch and the hosts eventually lost 7-5 in what
remains the highest-scoring World Cup match
in history. Such scenes are unlikely to be re-
peated over the next three and a half weeks,
jungle football or not.
Mystical location
“It’s always 40 degrees in Manaus, but heat is
a lot better than the cold,” said Quanita, a
worker stationed at the city airport who is
employed alongside her mother to aid foreign
tourists for the duration of the World Cup.
The 22-year-old helps escort visitors from the
arrivals hall to the bus station, despite the
The opera house
Caruso only sang there in
Herzog's film Fitzcarraldo
Italy's sauna
visits prepared
them for
conditions in
Manaus.
straightforward route and clearly-visible sign-
posts making her presence largely unneces-
sary. Yet Quanita fulfils her role with a
warmth that makes you want to stay and en-
joy the city’s wild charm until the end of the
tournament, if not longer.
MANAUS
It was not always this way. During the
rubber boom towards the end of the 19th
century, Manaus was one of the wealthiest
cities in the world and had direct shipping
routes to Liverpool and New York. Today
Manaus can only be reached either by plane
or by boat, with no train lines or roads pass-
ing through here. The only paved street in
and out of the city leads to Venezuela. “We
live on an island here,” said Elder, a local of-
fice clerk. “I was born and raised in Manaus.
I’ve never been to Rio de Janeiro.” In conver-
sation with the 26-year-old it becomes in-
creasingly clear why the World Cup is being
hosted in such a mystical location. And as
visitors do not usually tend to get as far as
Manaus, the city began extending invita-
tions for them to arrive. Tax breaks were of-
fered to multinational companies, with Sony,
Samsung, Honda and Yamaha all opening
factories in Manaus as a result. That in turn
has given job security to the local popula-
tion, as well as raising the standard of living.
Furthermore, duty-free shopping is available
in the city centre, even if the cost of basic
goods is higher than in the rest of the coun-
try due to Manaus’ remote location.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 11
 Only eight countries have ever
lifted the FIFA World Cup Trophy.

Yet over 200 have been

winners with FIFA.

As an organisation with 209 member

associations, our responsibilities do not end
with the FIFA World Cup™, but extend to
safeguarding the Laws of the Game, developing
football around the world and bringing hope to
those less privileged.

Our Football for Hope Centres are one example

of how we use the global power of football to
build a better future.

www.FIFA.com/aboutfifa
 MANAUS

Manaus is not your typical football venue,

as many of the more intrepid visitors have dis-
covered to their delight. No World Cup host
city is more exciting or surprising than this
jungle metropolis, where the dark waters of the
Negro river and the clearer waters of the Soli-
moes flow side by side to create one of the Am-
azon’s most majestic sights.
In the city’s heyday only the very best was
considered good enough for Manaus. The Te-
atro Amazonas, the opera house, stems from
that bygone period and would provide a stage
for only the greatest tenors to perform on. A
large part of the construction materials for
the building arrived from Europe, with the
tiles for the roof shipped in from Germany,
the cobblestone for the courtyard imported
from Portugal, while the metal handrails in
the gallery and the ceiling frescos are prod-
ucts of Italian craftsmanship. However, today
the building stands as a relic of a long-forgot-
ten era. There is no longer any semblance of
an operatic atmosphere in the city; instead
the bustle of everyday life has taken over and
the streets are now filled with countless stalls
selling everything from bananas to jeans and
plastic toys.
The agony of cramp
English presence Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini (l) and Claudio Marchisio help
England’s Raheem Sterling to stretch out
The bumpy, weather-beaten pitch at the ­A rena
da Amazonia provided the platform for Pirlo’s
masterclass, much to the dismay of the thou-
sands of sweltering English fans. They had
arrived, if the inscriptions on their flags were
anything to go by, from all corners of the Brit-
ish Isles: Birmingham, Wigan, Tranmere,
Lemington Spa and Ellesmere Port. Some
were rather more creative, with a Stoke con-
tingent holding aloft a banner reading ‘For-
The only injury of shasa. Just as he never agreed to a rematch,
England are unlikely to meet Italy again at Bra-
zil 2014 as the only way the two former World
give me Delilah’ and ‘Stokies Here, Stokies
There’; a group from Wigston displaying a flag
reading ‘Where you’re smiling’, and some
the day had Cup winners can square off once more is in the
Final on 13 July in Rio. Another fixture b
­ etween
the two in Manaus is, regrettably, even more
Sheffield United supporters choosing ‘Blades
up the Amazon’.
Yet the weather seemed to affect those in
nothing to do improbable. Å

the stands as much as it did the players on the

pitch. Only once was a heartfelt version of ‘God
save the Queen’ heard throughout the 90 min-
with the heat.
utes, belted out after England had levelled the
score at 1-1. The only injury of the day had noth-
ing to do with the heat, however: team physio
Michael Regan/The FA/via Getty Images

Gary Lewin celebrated England’s equaliser so

fervently that he dislocated his ankle and had
to be carried away on a stretcher.
Manaus will host two more group stage
matches: on Sunday USA face Portugal and on
Wednesday Switzerland take on Honduras.
­Visitors will then leave the city as swiftly as
they arrived and the jungle will take over once
more, clawing back everything in its reach. The
planned Transamazonica highway will almost
certainly be one of its victims and it is already
covered in undergrowth, having only been par-
tially completed.
In the original ‘rumble in the Jungle’ on 30 England’s group matches
October 1974, Ali knocked out Foreman in the Italy (lost 2-1), Uruguay (19 June),
eighth round to regain the world title in Kin- Costa Rica (24 June)

T H E F I FA W E E K LY 13
NEWS FROM THE TR AINING CAMPS
Germany
Win it for Schumi
Sarah Steiner is an editor at
The FIFA Weekly
Some things are more impor-
tant than football, even for a
side heading into a crucial
group-stage clash in the World Cup. With just
hours to go before their tournament opener
against Portugal, the German squad received
the welcome news that countryman Michael
Schumacher had awoken from a coma. The
seven-time Formula One world champion was
seriously injured last December while on a
skiing holiday and has spent most of the last
six months unconscious in a hospital in Greno-
ble. The 45-year-old has now been taken to
Switzerland where he will begin rehabilitation.
The German players were all overjoyed at the
announcement, and none more so than Lukas
Podolski: “What wonderful news! Get well soon
Schumi! I was absolutely delighted to hear the
info.” The team remains hopeful that Michael
might be well enough to tune in to one or two
of their matches in Brazil. “Winning would
certainly be one way of bringing a smile to his
face,” added the Polish-born striker.
The news spurred the team on as they ran out
4-0 winners over Portugal in Group G, the
so-called “Group of Death”. Three strikes
from Thomas Muller and a header by Mats
Hummels sealed maximum points for the
Germans in a game in which Cristiano Ronal-
do & Co were unable to halt their opponent’s
ruthless attacking display.
14 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
German Chancellor Angela Merkel watched
the game from the stands before joining her
compatriots in the dressing room to celebrate,
her red and white clothing a close match for
the national team’s colours. A selfie of Podol-
ski posing with the Chancellor soon found its
way onto the Internet as the celebrations
continued. A German footballing fairy tale
now appears well within their grasp.
The team slogan of “One country, one team,
one dream” underlines their intentions. Even
Germany’s rivals are convinced they can go
far this summer. Diego Maradona revealed
to Venezuelan television that Die Mann-
schaft was close to perfection, while fellow
Argentinian Lionel Messi said that it was the
best performance he had seen at the tourna-
ment so far. R&B singer Rihanna also ex-
pressed her admiration on Twitter: “Germany
is too real today.”
Though quietly confident, the German squad
remains firmly focused on the task in hand:
“It’s a good start, but we mustn’t get carried
away,” said team manager Oliver Bierhoff.
Hat-trick hero Thomas Muller echoed his
sentiments: “We mustn’t act as if we’re the
superior force here. We’ll have to do this all
over again in our next match.”
There is a long way to go, but the future
looks brighter than it did this time last
week – both for the German national team
and Michael Schumacher. Å
Germany’s group matches
Portugal (4-0), Ghana (21 June), USA (26 June)
Football and politics “4-0 win!
Terrific start!! And here’s a selfie with
the Chancellor as promised!”
tweeted Lukas Podolski from the
dressing room.
Chile
Chanting Chileans
on the march
JordÍ Punti is a novelist and the
author of many football features
in the Spanish media.
The buses used to ferry
national teams from one
place to another at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
are each adorned with upbeat slogans,
chosen by popular vote on the internet.
Chile’s fans went for “Chi, chi, chi! Le, le, le!
Viva Chile!”, words of encouragement that
spur the players on every time they step on
board. For a nation that knows the verses of
Pablo Neruda off by heart, it can hardly be
described as a thought-provoking piece of
poetry, but it has struck a chord with the
fans for whom it is the chant of choice, one
that reflects the down-to-earth, joyful
approach the Chile team is taking to this
World Cup.
Hemmed in between the Andes and the
Pacific Ocean, and weighed down by the
pressure exerted in a geographical and
football-related sense by neighbouring
Argentina, Chile is a small country whose
approach to the competition has not always
been founded on reality. Part of the reason
for that is the sense of expectation generated
by their run to the semi-finals in 1962, a
tournament they hosted and which ended for
them with defeat by the Brazil of Garrincha
and Vava. Since then qualification for the
world finals has always been seen as a heroic
act pointing to great victories when in actual
fact all that lay in wait was even greater
disappointment. Yet on this occasion, with
the recent experience of South Africa 2010
under their belts, Chile appear to be feeling
the pressure less. Four years ago, Marcelo
Bielsa steered them to the Round of 16, where
they once again fell to Brazil, this time 3-0.
Qualifying for the world finals for a second
time in a row has given La Roja some wel-
come stability as one of South America’s
mid-ranking teams.
Though there are several factors involved in
Chile’s new-found equilibrium, perhaps the
most important is the role played by coach
Jorge Sampaoli, an Argentinian like his
predecessor. An advocate of Bielsa’s attack-
ing, possession-based game and a passionate
believer in football as a team sport, Sampaoli
is a forceful character who makes himself
heard and has transmitted his infectious
Instagram
enthusiasm to his players. “When I came on
board I found a very hungry team,” he said

Heading for the crossbar
Greece striker Gekas
is unlucky not to score.
after his appointment. “It’s a very strong
group who have battled against adversity and
taken some criticism. They’re tough players.”
One way in which Sampaoli has made is mark
is in restoring playmaker Jorge Valdivia to
the national-team fold. One of five players
handed lengthy bans in the wake of a
much-publicised breach of discipline in 2011,
Valdivia marked his rehabilitation with
Chile’s second goal in the 3-1 defeat of
­Australia in their Group B opener.
Sampaoli also deserves credit for shaping a
squad that strikes a happy balance between
well-known exiles and the leading lights on
the domestic scene. Chile have traditionally
exported quality players to Europe, only for
them to invariably fulfil secondary roles with
their clubs, while having to shoulder more
responsibility when returning to the national
side. The most obvious example is their
original boy wonder Alexis Sanchez, who
impressed at Barcelona last season without
ever emerging from the shadows cast by
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Andres Iniesta. In
the meantime, however, Sanchez has become
Quinn Rooney / Getty Images
the focal point of the Chilean attack, scoring
goals in quantity and setting them up too.
His strike against Australia made him his
country’s fourth-highest scorer of all time,
with only Roja legends Marcelo Salas, Ivan
Zamorano and Carlos Caszely ahead of him.
Valdivia, now with Palmeiras, is another such
case, as are Juventus duo Mauricio Isla and
Arturo Vidal and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo of
Real Sociedad.
The only headache for Sampaoli is what has
been dubbed in Chile as “the Vidal soap
opera”. The midfielder only just made the
squad for Brazil 2014 after recovering from a
knee injury and his coach is anxious not to
overwork him. The Juve man started against
the Socceroos but was substituted after an
hour, a change greeted with a public display
of disgust by the player. Roja fans have no
such cause for complaint, however, sending
out their war cry of “Chi, chi, chi! Le, le, le!”
as they eye a place in the second round.
Should they make it, there is every chance
they will once again meet Brazil, their
eternal World Cup rivals. Å
Chile’s group matches
Australia (3-1), Spain (2-0), Netherlands (23 June)
NEWS FROM THE TR AINING CAMPS
Greece
Gekas out to make
amends
Sven Goldmann is a leading
football correspondent for the
Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin.
He is currently based in Brazil for
the World Cup.
During his time in the Bundesliga, Theofanis
Gekas once explained why he had no desire to
learn German, declaring: “I’m being paid to
score goals, not to speak.” Now aged 34, his
mastery of the former skill was sufficient for
Fernando Manuel Costa Santos to include
him in Greece’s World Cup squad.
Following his side’s 3-0 defeat to Colombia on
matchday three, Gekas had some explaining
to do at his team’s World Cup camp in the
north-eastern city of Aracaju. After all, it was
the Konyaspor striker who had the best
chance to change the run of play. With the
score at 2-0, the ball was floated in at the
perfect height for him to head into an open
goal. Instead, Gekas somehow steered the
ball onto the crossbar and was promptly
substituted just moments later. After the
game, Santos had no problems finding the
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 15
 emirates.com

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To new people, new ideas and new states of mind.
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words to describe his team’s performance,
grumbling: “It seemed some of the players
had forgotten what kind of competition they
were in.” Back in Aracaju, the missed oppor-
tunity in Belo Horizonte was surely top of
the post-match briefing.
Gekas’ unconventional playing style meant
that his inclusion in the national side was not
without controversy. Over 90 minutes, the
former Bundesliga player rarely attracts
attention by making spectacular darting
runs or creating opportunities for his team-
mates. He does not run much and dislikes
breaking a sweat. Teams only continue to
field such players if they have something
special, and in Gekas’ case, that something is
his ability to score goals.
The attacker has played for five clubs over
the past two years, none of which are chal-
lenging for major silverware: Eintracht
Frankfurt, Samsunspor, Levante, Akhisar
Belediyespor and, most recently, Konyaspor.
The World Cup offers him the ideal stage to
showcase his skills and win the last major
contract of his career. Å
Greece’s group matches
Colombia (lost 3-0), Japan (19 June),
Côte d’Ivoire (24 June)
Anesh Debiky / Afp
Determined
Stephen Keshi is focused on
leading Nigeria to glory.
Nigeria
A hard taskmaster
Alan Schweingruber is an editor
at The FIFA Weekly. He is currently
based in Brazil for the World Cup.
A national coach needs the
backing of his employers to
build a team and achieve his long-term goals.
If he has a stable contract and is able to
combine charisma with success, he may well
remain at the helm for years. Vicente del
Bosque, who has been in charge of Spain
since 2008, is a prime example.
Del Bosque's fellow coach Stephen Keshi is
clearly the adventurous type, having
accepted an offer to take charge of the
Nigerian football team back in 2011 despite
the precarious nature of the position. The
Nigeria Football Federation had employed
six coaches in the space of just four years
- including big names such as Berti Vogts of
Germany and Lars Lagerback of Sweden –
prior to his appointment.
Keshi is not a man to shy away from conflict.
Disagreements of opinion with his superiors
have been a regular occurrence during his
tenure, so much so that the powers that be in
Nigeria wanted to fire him at one point, while
the coach himself has also threatened to
resign. Yet the former defender ensured his
place in Nigerian football folklore by leading
the country to glory at the 2013 Africa Cup of
Nations. That victory set the bar high. The
biggest nation in Africa - whose population of
approximately 160 million is three times
NEWS FROM THE TR AINING CAMPS
larger than England's - has now set its sights
firmly on World Cup success.
The Super Eagles certainly have a hard
taskmaster. Known for his emphasis on
discipline and structure, Keshi's decisions
often prove unpopular at first. When Elderson
Echiejile picked up a slight muscle injury
before the World Cup, Nigeria crossed its
fingers for a quick recovery. The coach,
though, decided to exclude the AS Monaco
man from his squad and call up Ejike Uzoenyi
instead. “We don’t have much time,” said
Keshi, who refused to entertain arguments
that the injury may have healed within a
fortnight. (Germany midfielder Sami Khedira,
who recovered from a cruciate ligament
injury in record time, would have probably
shrugged it off in under 48 hours.)
However, their hopes of World Cup glory
were dented by Monday's goalless draw
against Iran, a stalemate that leaves the
Super Eagles with a mountain to climb as
they look to qualify for the knockout stages.
But if anyone can do it, it is the man who
topped the group with Nigeria as a player at
the 1994 World Cup, only to be knocked out
by Italy in the second round. Å
Nigeria’s group matches
Iran (0-0), Bosnia-Herzegovina (21 June),
Argentina (25 June)
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 17
T HE DEBAT E

Appetite for goals

Flying Dutchman Robin van Persie made the score 1–1 against Spain (5-1) with a superb diving header.

The Dutch thrashed by hosts Brazil and the opening goal of the
game from Croatia.
world champions Spain The following day a turbocharged Neth-
5-1 and Germany beat erlands inflicted a 5–1 thrashing on world
champions Spain, and the Chileans defeated
Portugal 4–0 as the Australia 3–1. Colombia and Costa Rica also
World Cup opened with scored three against Greece and Uruguay re-
spectively, with the French posting the same
a glut of goals. tally against Honduras another day into the
tournament.
Germany's 4–0 triumph against Cristiano
Ronaldo and Co was yet another example of the
Perikles Monioudis teams adopting full-on attack in their opening
games, aiming to book places in the knockout
Scolari spoke of the importance of winning
the second group match, so as to make quali-
fying for the last sixteen a near certainty, but
for all their determined attacking efforts, A
Seleção came up short.
However, it is probably safe to assume the
teams will not suddenly abandon their appe-
tite for attacking tactics. That would appear a
little unrealistic after the rip-roaring start to
the tournament. The show must go on! Å

N
ot for the first time, the build-up to the
Opening Match at the World Cup was
marked by media grumbling about the
likelihood of a bore draw. It has become
near habitual for the first game at the
global showdown to end in a goalless
stalemate or a dour victory by only one goal.
stages at the earliest possible opportunity.
What next?
We may well see a different pattern in the
second round of matches, as suggested by
what happened to Brazil. Still on a high from
their opening day victory, the hosts ran out
Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

Not so for the opening encounter at Brazil 2014.
Attack from the off
When the action started for real, the Sao
Paulo crowd was treated to four goals, three
against stubborn Mexico and their in-form,
acrobatic keeper Guillermo Ochoa. Neymar
and Co failed to breach the Mexican defence
as the match ended goalless.
After opening with a victory, coach Felipe
The weekly debate.
Any thing you want to get off your
chest? Which topics do you want to
discuss? Send your suggestions to:
feedback-theweekly@fifa.org

18 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
 T HE DEBAT E
In this issue, FIFA.com users share their
views on the World Cup’s opening week.
Applause for Chile! The way they approach
the game against the world champion team
like Spain.
SArbabAhmed, Pakistan
Awseome goal, awesome player and a team
that would not give up! We will be back in
2018 and teams will know they are in a
football match. Well done Australia you all
played the game!
skycrazy, Australia
“Congrats Chile
for the victory.”
Congrats Chile for the victory. But do not
take rest. Just because you qualified for the
next round does not mean everything is
achieved. Make sure you beat Holland in
order to avoid Brazil next round who are
poised to win the group.
steve201081, India
Fennecs, follow the example set by Australia
- or Costa Rica or even Chile! Attack is the
best form of defence. Give everything! Be
yourselves! Play like you do in your own
leagues! We want to see football. We want to
see passion and spirit.
wahrane, France
“Attack is the best form
of defence.”
I feel really sorry for the Aussies, they
should go through with the Dutch. First
half they really had the upper hand. Shame
they don’t have the brilliance of van Gaal as I
knew the second half would turn out to be
Orange. But, my dear Australians, you have
lost to the new world champions and you
made them run for their title. Hats off, shame
you’ll bow out. I hope a win over Spain will be
the icing on your cake and you are a force to
be reckoned with in 2018!
dutchy1975, Great Britain
This is the end of a golden era and hopefully
this is a beginning of a new one as well. You
guys are true champions and I have staunch
faith in you and your teammates that you will
play the last match versus Australia full
heartedly with your head held high. People
start worrying and rumouring that tiki-taka
might vanish from the future Spanish squad
due to the change of Barcelona-based players
as well as their playing style. However, I
sincerely believe the new golden generation
will rise soon. I hope to witness a stronger
Spain national team in the Euro 2016. Last
but not least, thank you guys for all the hard
work, I will never forget the brilliant, splendid
and remarkable football La Roja have brought
us in the past few years and I wish all of you
the best of luck in your future life.
luckyfish81, Malaysia
Even if you guys do not make it, you guys
have done Africa proud. You guys played
well and should be proud of yourselves.
Ghana will beat Germany and Portugal and
move on to the next round.
YeyeEagles, USA
PRESIDENTIAL NOTE
A thrilling
attacking spectacle
J
ogo bonito! It’s the phrase that summed up
all our hopes and expectations in the
build-up to the World Cup. And now we’re
experiencing just that - the beautiful game
being played to perfection, with thrilling at-
tacking, a wealth of variety, and the courage
to be creative.
There was much speculation that the high
temperatures and special conditions in Brazil
could put a damper on matches. Instead, we’re
seeing the exact opposite. Coaches are pre-
pared to take risks and give their creative play-
ers free rein. The corset of strict tactical disci-
pline has been left in the dressing room. In
contrast to four years ago in South Africa the
teams are not prepared to settle for draws. They
are playing to win with no conditions attached.
Robin van Persie’s diving header to level the
scores at 1-1 against Spain was worth the trip to
Brazil on its own. This is the kind of diving we
want to see – and only this kind.
This free-thinking attacking play is also
due in part to the composition of the teams and
developments in technique. Exceptional play-
ers such as Neymar, Messi, Van Persie, Robben
and Muller cannot be kept on a tight leash.
They represent an increasingly complete gen-
eration of players . Today’s goalscorers are not
simply out-and-out strikers. They shape the
play from attacking midfield positions.
The first 12 matches alone in Brazil yielded
41 goals, an average of 3.42 per game. If this
rhythm were to be maintained through to the
Final, the fans would be celebrating 219 times,
a new record!
The first week of the World Cup has exceed-
ed all expectations. And the best thing of all is
that the climax is still to come. Viva Brazil!
Best wishes, Sepp Blatter
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 19
 First Love

20 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
 Place: Oran, Algeria
Date: 4 April 2013
Time: 6.28 p.m.

Nick Hannes / laif T H E F I FA W E E K LY 21
 FREE KICK
A girl called Fifa
Thomas Renggli
Y
ou can open just about any door in Brazil
with just a few words of broken Portu-
guese. A Bom dia (good morning) at the
breakfast table will guarantee that the
day begins with a smile. You can go for
a shorter greeting and say Oi (hello) or,
when you raise a glass, Saude (cheers) is always
a good option. Finally, if in doubt, it never
hurts to say Obrigado (thank you).
You will never hear these linguistic ice­-
breakers on the radio, however. Brazilian re-
porters have a tiny margin for error when it
comes to describing the course and intensity
of a football match. It is only a pass back to the
keeper or a throw-in taken by the defending
team that is transmitted at a normal tone.
With every metre that the ball comes closer to
goal, the volume of the commentator’s voice
builds like a crescendo. As the players edge
closer to the opposition penalty area, the pow-
er of his commentary borders on painful, and
when the ball hits the back of the net, it is time
to reach for the earplugs, or kill the volume on
the radio: Goooooooooool!!!
The intensity and rhythm of commentary
varies depending on nationality and the num-
ber of vowels to be found in team names. A
European commentator’s vocal chords may
manage to utter Bélgica, but the dam breaks
completely for Cooooostaaaaa Riiiiicaaaaa.
Still, perhaps that is appropriate. Who would
have thought the Central American minnows
would even score a goal at this World Cup?
It seems to be a great concern of Brazilian
parents to ensure that their sons can eventual-
ly become key protagonists in sporting theatre.
No commentator declines an opportunity to
flex his oral muscles on names like Marcelinho,
Paulinho, Ronaldinho and Robinho, nor to
make a disyllabic homage to their heroes: Zico,
F I F A 11
Players with the most
World Cup appearances
1 Lothar Matthaus: 25 appearances
Team: West Germany, Germany
Minutes played: 2047
World Cups: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998
2 Paolo Maldini: 23 appearances
Team: Italy
Minutes played: 2217
World Cups: 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
3 Uwe Seeler: 21 appearances
Team: West Germany
Minutes played: 1980
World Cups: 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
Cafu and – last but not least – Pele. By contrast,
Diego Maradona: 21 appearances
Team: Argentina
Minutes played: 1938
whoever gave current Brazil international Hulk World Cups: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994
his name neglected his responsibilities some-
what. He evidently chose to make use of the
Brazilian right of complete freedom when it
comes to choosing a name, and what he came
Wladyslaw Zmuda, 21 appearances
Team: Poland
Minutes played: 1807
up with is a reasonably common word, or at World Cups: 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986
least appears in a dictionary. Similarly, you will
find a man in Brazil who goes by the name of
Oceano Indico Pacifico – Indian Pacific Ocean.
For parents with a love of all things German,
6 Grzegorz Lato: 20 appearances
Team: Poland
Minutes played: 1800
the first name Müller is extremely popular World Cups: 1974, 1978, 1982
­(although that might change during the course
of this tournament), and the most supersti-
tious can even take a number. Um Dois Três is
actually a man’s name, not the title of a Brazil-
Cafu: 20 appearances
Team: Brazil
Minutes played: 1638
ian children’s television programme. World Cups: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
As is often the case in Brazil in November,
a baby boom is anticipated as a consequence
of the carnival in the spring. Brazilians will
have nine months to use their imaginations
8 Berti Vogts: 19 appearances
Team: West Germany
Minutes played: 1770
when choosing baby names, and if a recent World Cups: 1970, 1974, 1978
survey conducted on the Copacabana beach is
anything to go by, there could be many a new-
born in Brazil with as unusual a football-in-
spired name as you are likely to find. The girl’s
Wolfgang Overath: 19 appearances
Team: West Germany
Minutes played: 1764
name that appeared top of the list was none World Cups: 1966, 1970, 1974
other than Fifa. Å
Ronaldo: 19 appearances
Team: Brazil
Minutes played: 1623
World Cups: 1998, 2002, 2006
Miroslav Klose: 19 appearances
Team: Germany
Minutes played: 1511
World Cups: 2002, 2006, 2010
Source: FIFA
The weekly column by our staff (FIFA World Cup, Milestones & Super-
writers latives, Statistical Kit, 12/05/2014)
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 23
RUSSIA

Shouting for joy Alexander Kerzhakov celebrates his equaliser in Russia’s 1-1 group match draw with Korea Republic.

The sleeping giant

Russia might be overshadowed by the favourites at this summer’s World
Cup, but their 1-1 draw with Korea Republic hinted at their potential.

Thomas Renggli, Rio de Janeiro footballing need and field a team that can The bottom line is that although Russia
challenge for the most important title in the scored a point, they will be well aware that they

W
ith 140 million inhabitants, nine time
zones and an even greater plethora of
ethnic groups, the nation sandwiched
between Western Europe and the Far
East is as diverse, unfathomable and
fascinating as an entire continent.
While Russia continues to stake its claim as a
global power, it is making similarly significant
strides in the world of sport. After the Olympic
Games in Sochi back in February, the next pres-
tigious sporting event on the country’s agenda
sport. The Sbornaya have not yet begun to
mount that challenge in Brazil, never finding
their rhythm against a persistent Korea Re-
public side and threatening to drift off course
after a crucial error from goalkeeper Igor
Akinfeev put them 1-0 down. Fortunately,
coach Fabio Capello proved he was up to the
task by bringing on Russia’s top scorer in
qualifying, Alexander Kerzhakov, in the 71st
minute. Just five minutes later, he scored the
equaliser. “Kerzhakov is a fantastic player,
need to improve considerably if they want to
avoid going home after the group stages as they
did in their past three appearances at the
World Cup finals in 1990, 1994 and 2002.
Ahead of the team’s matches against Bel-
gium on Sunday and Algeria next Thursday,
Capello will be asking himself two major ques-
tions. Firstly, can he afford to leave his goalscor-
er on the substitutes’ bench? And secondly,
how can he best avoid further problems in
goal? Even before his critical mistake, Akin-
Felipe Dana / Keystone

is the 2018 FIFA World Cup. At “Russia House”
in Rio de Janeiro, the Russian Football Union
is showcasing its cultural and culinary assets.
In just four years’ time, the world’s largest
country will also be required to fulfil every
and always good for a goal,” said Capello of
his substitute’s performance. “It wasn’t easy
for our team after conceding that goal, but
the players reacted well. In that respect, we
can be satisfied.”
feev was more risk than rock, letting practical-
ly every ball rebound off him. Capello has al-
ready had his fair share of experience with
error-prone goalkeepers during his spell as
England manager.

24 T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Wrapped up in national pride Russian fans in Cuiaba.
Understandably, the Italian was keen to
turn his mind to more positive matters in
Brazil, saying: “Our team are very technical-
ly adept and have a lot of quality. Creativity
and inspiration are our strengths.” Despite
his team’s faltering start, the Round of 16
remains the minimum target for Capello, in
no small part due to his side’s impressive per-
formances in qualifying. After failing to
reach the World Cup finals in 2006 and 2010,
Russia qualified for Brazil as group winners,
consigning Portugal to the play-offs in the
process after a 1-0 home win in Moscow in
which Kerzhakov scored the only goal. “The
fact that we left one of the strongest Europe-
an teams in our wake shows how much pro-
gress we’ve made,” Capello pointed out.
The rise of the Russian league
Russia’s domestic championship has laid the
foundation for the rise of the country’s nation-
al team – financially, logistically and structur-
ally. In economic terms, the Russian Premier
League is already one of the top leagues world-
Alexey Filippov / Keystone
wide. It is no coincidence that the Russian
Football Union is sending the only team to the
World Cup finals made up entirely of players
who ply their trade in their home country. Ru-
bles and petrodollars have been flowing into
Russia’s domestic
championship has
laid the foundation
for the national
team’s rise.
Russian football at such a pace that even Eu-
rope’s biggest leagues can no longer keep up.
The balance of sporting power is still rem-
iniscent of that of the former Soviet Union,
with CSKA Moscow sealing last season’s
championship title ahead of Zenit St. Peters-
burg, Lokomotiv Moscow and Dynamo Mos-
cow. Of Russia’s old footballing powers, only
Spartak Moscow suffered a poor season, fin-
ishing in sixth place.
Russia’s new money aristocracy has made
this surge in fortunes possible. Now, as before,
state-controlled corporations play a major role:
RUSSIA
Lokomotiv are funded by Russian Railways
(RZD), Zenit by Gazprom, Dynamo by VTB
Bank and Spartak by oil company Lukoil. Only
at former Red Army club CSKA has the owner-
ship situation changed, with Chelsea owner
Roman Abramovich initially providing finan-
cial support before Bashkir oil company Bash-
neft became their primary sponsor. Recent
reports have suggested the club is now financ-
ing itself, but there is plenty of room for inter-
pretation in this statement, particularly as
present club owner Yevgeni Giner is a close
confidant of Abramovich.
Nevertheless, multi-billionaire Abramovich
is currently keeping out of Russian club foot-
ball. He recently pumped approximately €150
million into the system via his National Foot-
ball Academy, financing around 130 new foot-
ball pitches and optimising the country’s youth
development programmes in the process, and
also helped to finance former Russia national
coach Guus Hiddink’s €5 million net salary.
Enticing fresh perspectives
In 2006, the Dutchman’s appointment trig-
gered one of the most important turning
points in the history of Russian football, as
the sport turned away from homegrown
coaches and opened itself up to new systems
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 25
 “The Russian people respect me”
Fabio Capello has won pretty much everything there is to win in club football. Now the
68-year-old Italian has set his sights on leading the Russian national team to success.
Mr Capello, what do you think of the
­Russian national team?
Fabio Capello: My squad is one of the
oldest at this World Cup, but in terms of
technical ability, I think it's really good. My
players also demonstrate a lot of creativity
on the pitch. They play good football.
You’ve been working in Russia for two years
now. What’s been your biggest challenge
so far?
At the time when I took up the post as
head coach of Russia, the fans were angry
with the players. The poor display at the
European Championship in Poland and
Ukraine had taken its toll. For me, one of
the biggest challenges was to convince the
supporters to look forward rather than
back. Ultimately, we’re trying to build
something here and we’ve been able to
accomplish that together over the course of
26 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
Name
Fabio Capello
Date and place of birth
18 June 1946, San Canzian
d’Isonzo, Italy
Clubs as a player
Ferrara, AS Roma, Juventus,
AC Milan
Teams as a coach
AC Milan, Real Madrid,
AS Roma, Juventus, England,
Russia
Major honours
Four Italian Serie A titles
(as a player), five Italian Serie
A titles, two Spanish La Liga
titles, one Champions League
title (as a coach)
the last two years. We overcame a tough
qualifying group that included Portugal and
are now taking part in our first World Cup
finals since 2002.
There were other job offers on the table too.
What made you decide to choose Russia?
I wanted a new experience. The lan­
guage, the country and the lifestyle are all
very exciting. That’s why I chose Russia.
How much of a challenge is it for you not
speaking Russian?
The language barrier can prove prob­
lematic. I always work with interpreters at
the training camps, but some ideas are
quite difficult to convey. Sometimes you
really need to be able to find the right
words, to generate a good atmosphere, for
example. It helps having some players who
speak English and Spanish. But when
I have to deal with confidential matters,
I tend to consult a friend.
How much do the Russian people respect
you?
A lot. I really appreciate their respect
and it makes me happy. I can also sense
the excitement at the prospect of Russia
hosting the 2018 World Cup.
What have you seen of Russia?
Russia is a very diverse country.
I’ve visited a lot of cities and I was very
impressed. The country is currently
­u ndergoing development in many areas.
In a nutshell, what does the World Cup
mean to you?
Every World Cup is unique. It’s a
­ onderful competition. Success depends
w
on a wide range of factors: the physical
condition of the players, tactics, etc.
I believe that the players’ mentality is the
most important aspect, because if they’re
not 100 per cent ready to perform, tour­
naments can be really tough going.
Just how important is it to prepare well?
Good preparations are of the utmost
importance. It starts with the choice of
your World Cup base. It’s really important
for me to see and assess in advance the
pitches, the training facilities, the cities
and even the hotels.
Fabio Capello was speaking
to Alan Schweingruber

and ideas. No expense has been spared in the
pursuit of progress: with an salary of €8.29
million, Capello is the highest-paid coach at
this summer’s World Cup.
Capitalism caught up with Russian foot-
ball long ago, but the Russian Football Union
has also aligned its domestic championship
with those in the West. Until 2010, the league
ran from March to November, but the system
has since been adjusted, and this year the title
was awarded in May for the second time. This
gives Russian clubs the same schedule as their
rivals from Europe’s top five leagues when en-
tering European club competitions.
The issue of Russia’s relationship with
Ukraine is currently gripping world politics
and has also been a decisive factor in the coun-
try’s football history. During the Soviet era,
Dynamo Kiev was at the heart of the nation’s
footballing culture. A majority of the players
in the Soviet Union side that reached the final
of UEFA EURO 1988 hailed from Ukraine, with
only three Russians in the team.
Since then the balance of power has shift-
ed, and Russia now outperforms its neighbour
on the football pitch. CSKA Moscow and Zenit
St. Petersburg caused a sensation by winning
the Europa League in 2005 and 2008 respec-
tively. Russia’s national side almost pulled off
a major coup at EURO 2008 when exceptional
players such as Andrey Arshavin, Roman
Kirill Kudryavtsev / Afp
RUSSIA
­ avlyuchenko and Yury Zhirkov guided their
P found a way to get through to his players.
team to the semi-final with an almost Brazilian And if there is one thing he knows very well
flair. Only eventual champions Spain were able from his own experience, it is this: as long as
to halt their progress in the competition. he keeps bringing on the right substitutes,
In Brazil, Capello is relying on four players his communication skills will never be called
who were part of that remarkable campaign: into question. In football, goals are worth
Zhirkov, Ignashevich, Beresutskiy and Akin- more than any words. Å
feev. Despite this, many the country’s biggest
names are missing from the squad, and captain
Roman Shirokov was forced to miss the World
Cup after sustaining a knee injury in Russia’s
2-0 World Cup warm-up win against Morocco.
Nevertheless, Capello remains optimistic:
“When I took this job in 2012, people were frus-
trated about Russia’s exit from the European
Championship,” he explained. “It was very im-
portant to first work through this chapter be-
fore looking forward and starting completely
afresh. And we managed it.”
Language barriers
As part of this process of coming to terms
with the past, the Italian has also had to over-
come linguistic barriers. As he does not speak
Russian, Capello communicates to his team in
the dressing room via an interpreter. “That’s
the biggest difficulty,” he says. “It’s difficult to
translate feelings and emotions.” Despite
these issues the 68-year-old, who won numer- Russia’s group matches
ous trophies as a club coach with Real Madrid Korea Republic (drew 1-1), Belgium (22 June),
and above all with AC Milan, appears to have Algeria (26 June)
Stretching in
Sao Paulo
Capello guides
Russia through
their training.
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 27
 EVERY GASP

EVERY SCREAM

EVERY ROAR

EVERY DIVE

EVERY BALL

E V E RY PAS S

EVERY CHANCE

EVERY STRIKE

E V E R Y B E AU T I F U L D E TA I L

SHALL BE SEEN

SHALL BE HEARD

S H A L L B E FE LT

Feel the Beauty

BE MOVED

THE NEW 4K LED TV

“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

 MY WORLD CUP

T
he final whistle that sealed defending champions Spain’s 2-0 defeat by Chile signalled not only the end of their second group match at the 2014
World Cup in Brazil but also the end of an era for a Spanish side that has captivated the world with its tiki-taka style for years. What lies ahead for
La Roja after their premature exit at the World Cup group stage? There was no immediate answer to this question as American referee Mark Geiger
concluded the game after six minutes of injury time, but one thing was immediately clear: this year’s World Cup Trophy will be lifted by another
nation. Given that the names on the Spanish team’s shirts will likely change over the coming months, the final whistle also marked the beginning of
a new era for a new-look Spanish national team and perhaps a new interpretation of tiki-taka – but certainly heralded a new world champion. Å
Perikles Monioudis

“M
essi” collects a loose ball and sets off on
a mazy dribble. “Ronaldo” chases him
down from behind, closely followed by
“Muller”. A second “Messi” enters the fray. He
knocks the first “Messi” off the ball and claims
possession. “Müller” slide tackles the pair of
them and “Ronaldo” starts crying, as he’s tak-
en a knock. This could end in a brawl, and
there’s not a referee in sight.
There is loud encouragement from the
touchlines: “Yay!! Muller!” “Muller” turns with
a confused look on his face. It’s not like he’s
normally the recipient of praise. And surely
that was a foul? “Ronaldo” is still weeping
buckets, at which point the fathers of the su-
perstar wannabes finally appreciate the grav-
ity of the situation. They drag themselves
away from the live coverage of Germany v
Andres Kudacki/Keystone
T T
he World Cup can occasionally feel like a
fashion show, but it's not necessarily the
football stars who are on the catwalk. Fans
have long since developed a tendency to act
like supermodels. At this edition, ostentatious
loyalty and devotion to the colours have beco-
me a sport in which everyone takes part, and
there is seemingly very little in the way of qua-
lity control. Every evening on Rua Ronald de
Carvalho in Rio, not far from the legendary
Copacabana, one can marvel at a parade of
uninhibited showoffs. Robust young fellows
strut their stuff in XXL replica shirts bearing
the name of lithe and diminutive Argentinian
idol Lionel Messi. They meet young Brazilian
maidens sporting a Neymar look. The fashion-
conscious fan community shares the sheer joy
of wearing the right kit. And since 2006, if not
he hottest football parties in Rio de Janeiro
take place in what passes for the coldest
time of the year, with the sun on your face,
sand between your toes and Sugarloaf Moun-
tain on the horizon. It is the dream World Cup
on the beach of dreams. A fast-moving vendor
sells Caipirinhas, while the Dutch visitors
hail Robben, Van Persie and the joys of beer.
Vuvuzelas are banned but singing at the top of
your lungs is not. The wave of enthusiasm
sweeps everyone along. There are no grey areas,
only vast expanses of yellow. The Brazilians
celebrate Neymar, the rebirth of Jogo Bonito
and, rather prematurely, a sixth world crown.
The words to the national anthems are dis-
played on giant screens, The Girl From Ipane-
ma is playing on loop, and the Japanese ref
whistles at just the right time. The Copacaba-

Portugal and smartphones are returned to
pockets. Mini-Muller gets a telling-off, and
little “Ronaldo” words of consolation.
When dads ignore their lads in favour of the
stars, you know it must be the World Cup. Å
Sarah Steiner
even before, this role-playing has been a cen-
tral part of the World Cup experience: anyone
can be Messi for an afternoon. The grass roots
have rediscovered stars. It may be winter, but
it’s carnival time in Rio. Å
Roland Zorn
na makes you happy. Being at the World Cup
on the world’s most famous beach is like a
kid’s birthday party, karaoke and a carnival
rolled into one. A more enjoyable time to be a
fan will be in the next life. Å
Thomas Renggli

T H E F I FA W E E K LY 29
 Name
Davor Suker
Date and place of birth
1 January 1968, Osijek, Yugoslavia
Position
Striker
Height
1.83m
Clubs played for
1984–1989 Osijek
1989–1991 Dinamo Zagreb
1991–1996 Sevilla
1996–1999 Real Madrid
1999–2000 Arsenal
2000–2001 West Ham United
2001–2003 1860 Munich
International career
1990–1991 Yugoslavia
1992–2002 Croatia
Selected honours
1996 UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament
1997 La Liga (Real Madrid)
1998 Champions League (Real Madrid)
1998 World Cup adidas Golden Boot
1998 Ballon d’Or, 2nd place
2004 Named in the FIFA 100
Igor Kralj / Keystone

30 T H E F I FA W E E K LY

“I still want to be out there
winning matches”
Croatian Football Federation President Davor Suker was part of
the exceptional team that finished third at the 1998 World Cup in France.
The FIFA Weekly asked the 46-year-old former world-class striker
about retirement and the state of Croatian football today.
Mr Suker, you are currently the President of
the Croatian Football Federation. What’s your
team’s approach for this World Cup?
Davor Suker: Our national team is made
up of players who enjoy playing football.
We want to savour the World Cup, with its
excellent infrastructure and organisation,
and intend to play beautiful football.
We’re proud to be able to take part in the
World Cup, and we’re proud of all our fans
who appreciate attractive football. Croatia is
a sporting nation. Being here is vital for our
game and also important for keeping Croa-
tian football up there with the best in the
world.
Your team were right in it until you went 3-1
down against Brazil in the opening match.
What did we have to lose? The only way
we could win was by giving the best possible
account of ourselves. The matches against
Cameroon (4-0) and Mexico will both be like
finals for us. My players will give 150 per cent.
The same could be said of you when you were
a player. At the 1998 World Cup, Croatia
finished third and you won the adidas Golden
Boot. What do you make of Croatia’s current
internationals?
Although my generation achieved our
country’s best World Cup result to date,
I hope the current team goes just as far,
if not further. We have some very talented
players and a good coach in Niko Kovac,
all of which means we have excellent poten-
tial in this tournament. Back in 1998 – that
golden year of Croatian football – players like
Modric, Rakitic, Srna and Mandzukic were
probably watching us play, and now they’re
here themselves. It’s so great to have players
of that calibre in our team and to be a part of
THE INTERVIEW
Croatian footballing history here with them. national side to ensure players and teams
receive the right support as they develop.
That’s the history lesson, but how is everyday
life for you? What does a world-class striker Is that also true of the women’s teams?
like you miss most about football after retire- Yes. We’re currently investing in the U-17,
ment? U-19 and senior women’s teams. We’ve also
Whenever I watch a match, I long to be got new headquarters and we’re planning a
part of it. I want to make my mark on the training facility for our national sides. UEFA
game and be out there on the pitch, winning and FIFA are providing invaluable assistance
matches. I’ve always been a huge football fan, with that. After that, we’ll build four regional
but today I sit in the stands in the President’s camps across Croatia.
chair or in a directors’ box. These days I help
football in a different way. I promote it and From a completely neutral and purely sporting
work hard for the U-15, U-17, U-19 teams and perspective, is there a team at this World Cup
so on to ensure they reach European Champi- you would particularly love to be part of?
onships and World Cups. (laughs) I’d play for my country. I’d even
pay to be able to get out on the pitch with the
And you’ve been been a success so far. lads here!
We’re very proud of the fact that our U-17
side has qualified for the World Cup and Davor Suker was speaking to
European Championships and our U-18 and Perikles Monioudis in Sao Paulo
U-20 teams have qualified for the World Cup.
We’re investing in our young players and
organising lots of matches for them. We don’t
have a large infrastructure but the EU, UEFA
and FIFA give us plenty of support, and I
thank FIFA for that. Infrastructure projects
are our next big priority.
And structural changes too.
Yes. Attendances in our ten-team league
have doubled compared to the previous
16-team league. I’d advise every country with
a population of between five and ten million
to reduce its league to ten teams.
What other critical areas have you identified?
It’s very important to teach teamwork,
and continuity is vital too. We’ve got special- Croatia’s group matches
ists working with us on every transition from Brazil (lost 3-1), Cameroon (4-0),
U-17, U-19, U-21, all the way up to the senior Mexico (23 June)
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 31
MIRROR IMAGE

T H E N

Adidas football boots with screw-in studs

1954 World Cup

“The Miracle of Bern”: West Germany defeated clear favourites Hungary 3-2 in the World Cup Final.
The German players had significantly greater stability on the muddy pitch thanks
to their state-of-the-art football boots. Pictured above is the left boot of captain Fritz Walter.
Adidas

32 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
 MIRROR IMAGE

N O W

Adidas adizero f50 Messi football boot

2014 World Cup

Lightweight: this boot, styled to complement the colours of Argentina’s kit,

weighs just 165 grams and bears the name of four-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi.
Adidas

T H E F I FA W E E K LY 33
FIFA WORLD R ANKING → http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/index.html

Rank Team Change in ranking Points Ranking 01 / 2014 02 / 2014 03 / 2014 04 / 2014 05 / 2014 06 / 2014
1
1 Spain 0 1485
2 Germany 0 1300 -41
3 Brazil 1 1242
-83
4 Portugal -1 1189
5 Argentina 2 1175 -125
6 Switzerland 2 1149 -167
7 Uruguay -1 1147
-209
8 Colombia -3 1137 Top spot   Biggest climber   Biggest faller
9 Italy 0 1104
10 England 1 1090
11 Belgium 1 1074 78 Bulgaria -5 425 144 Madagascar 45 182
12 Greece -2 1064 79 Oman 3 420 146 Korea DPR -9 175
13 USA 1 1035 80 FYR Macedonia 0 419 147 Maldives 6 171
14 Chile -1 1026 81 Jamaica 0 411 148 Gambia -14 166
15 Netherlands 0 981 82 Belarus 1 397 149 Kyrgyzstan -3 163
16 Ukraine 1 915 83 Azerbaijan 2 396 149 Thailand -6 163
17 France -1 913 84 Congo DR 4 395 151 Antigua and Barbuda -9 158
18 Croatia 2 903 85 Congo 7 393 152 Belize -8 152
19 Russia -1 893 86 Uganda 0 390 153 Malaysia -8 149
20 Mexico -1 882 87 Benin 10 386 154 India -7 144
21 Bosnia-Herzegovina 4 873 88 Togo 1 383 155 Singapore -8 141
22 Algeria 3 858 89 Gabon -2 382 156 Guyana -5 137
23 Denmark 0 809 90 Northern Ireland -6 381 157 Indonesia -5 135
23 Côte d'Ivoire -2 809 90 Saudi Arabia -15 381 158 Puerto Rico -9 134
25 Slovenia 4 800 92 Botswana -1 375 159 Myanmar 14 133
26 Ecuador 2 791 93 Angola 1 364 160 St Kitts and Nevis -7 124
27 Scotland -5 786 94 Palestine 71 358 161 Tahiti -4 122
28 Costa Rica 6 762 95 Cuba -5 354 162 Liechtenstein -12 118
29 Romania 3 761 96 Georgia 7 349 163 Hong Kong -5 112
30 Serbia 0 745 97 New Zealand 14 347 164 Pakistan -5 102
31 Panama 4 743 98 Estonia -5 343 164 Nepal -5 102
32 Sweden -7 741 99 Zimbabwe -1 340 166 Montserrat 22 99
33 Honduras -3 731 100 Qatar -5 339 167 Bangladesh -5 98
34 Czech Republic 2 724 101 Moldova -2 334 168 Laos 5 97
35 Turkey 4 722 102 Equatorial Guinea 11 333 169 Dominica -6 93
36 Egypt -12 715 103 China PR -7 331 170 Barbados -9 92
37 Ghana 1 704 104 Iraq -4 329 171 Faroe Islands -7 89
38 Armenia -5 682 105 Central African Republic 1 321 172 São Tomé e Príncipe -5 86
39 Cape Verde Islands 3 674 106 Lithuania -2 319 173 Swaziland 5 85
40 Venezuela 1 672 107 Ethiopia -6 317 174 Comoros 10 84
41 Wales 6 644 108 Kenya -2 296 175 Bermuda -6 83
42 Austria -2 643 109 Latvia 0 293 176 Nicaragua -8 78
43 Iran -6 641 110 Bahrain -5 289 176 Chinese Taipei -6 78
44 Nigeria 0 640 110 Canada 0 289 178 Guam -7 77
45 Peru -3 627 112 Niger -10 284 179 Sri Lanka -6 73
46 Japan 1 626 113 Tanzania 9 283 180 Solomon Islands -8 70
47 Hungary -2 624 114 Namibia 6 277 181 Seychelles -5 66
48 Tunisia 1 612 115 Kuwait -7 276 182 Curaçao -5 65
49 Slovakia -3 591 116 Liberia 3 271 183 Yemen -4 61
50 Paraguay 5 575 116 Rwanda 15 271 184 Mauritius -4 57
51 Montenegro 3 574 118 Mozambique -4 269 185 South Sudan 16 47
52 Iceland 6 566 119 Luxembourg -7 267 186 Bahamas 0 40
52 Guinea -1 566 120 Sudan -3 254 187 Mongolia 0 35
54 Sierra Leone 17 565 120 Aruba 35 254 188 Fiji -6 34
55 Norway 0 562 122 Malawi 0 247 189 Samoa -6 32
56 Cameroon -6 558 123 Vietnam -7 242 190 Cambodia 0 28
57 Mali 2 547 124 Kazakhstan -6 241 190 Vanuatu -10 28
57 Korea Republic -2 547 125 Lebanon -11 233 192 Brunei Darussalam -1 26
59 Uzbekistan -6 539 126 Tajikistan -5 229 192 Timor-Leste -1 26
60 Burkina Faso 1 538 127 Guatemala -3 226 192 Tonga -1 26
61 Finland -9 532 128 Burundi -3 221 195 US Virgin Islands -1 23
62 Australia -3 526 129 Philippines 11 217 196 Cayman Islands -1 21
63 Jordan 1 510 130 Afghanistan -2 215 196 Papua New Guinea -1 21
64 Libya -2 498 131 Dominican Republic -5 212 198 British Virgin Islands -1 18
65 South Africa 0 496 132 Malta -4 204 198 American Samoa -1 18
66 Albania 4 495 133 St Vincent and the Grenadines -7 203 200 Andorra -1 16
67 Bolivia 1 483 134 Guinea-Bissau 50 201 201 Eritrea -1 11
68 El Salvador 1 481 134 Chad 31 201 202 Somalia 0 8
69 Poland 3 474 136 Suriname -5 197 202 Macau 0 8
70 Republic of Ireland -4 473 137 Mauritania 2 196 204 Djibouti 0 6
71 Trinidad and Tobago 3 470 137 St Lucia -4 196 205 Cook Islands 0 5
72 United Arab Emirates -5 460 139 Lesotho 2 194 206 Anguilla 0 3
73 Haiti 4 452 140 New Caledonia -2 190 207 Bhutan 0 0
74 Senegal -11 451 140 Syria -6 190 207 San Marino 0 0
75 Israel 3 444 142 Cyprus -12 189 207 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 0
76 Zambia 3 441 143 Turkmenistan 13 183
77 Morocco -1 439 144 Grenada -8 182

34 T H E F I FA W E E K LY
 Name TURNING POINT
David da Costa
Date and place of birth

“Football is
19 April 1986, Zurich
Position
Goalkeeper

80 per cent Clubs

2005–2008 FC Zurich U-21
2007–2008 Chiasso

mental – the
2008–2009 Concordia Basel
2009–2010 Chiasso, Wohlen
2010–2012 Thun

rest is talent”
since 2012 FC Zurich

Swiss Portuguese goalkeeper

David da Costa progressed
from being a rough diamond
to establishing himself as
goalkeeper at the top-flight
club he has supported since
childhood.

I
identify much more strongly with my em-
ployer than the average employee. As a
child, I was a dedicated FC Zurich fan and
hardly ever missed a home game. The idea
of being able to play for the club at the
highest level was just a dream for me, but
I got there in the end. I’m proud of that, and
the fans are proud of me. In that respect, my
background brings added pressure, as I don’t
ever want to disappoint them. I know exactly
how the fans feel, so I take time for them and
try to sign every autograph and pose for every
photograph I can, because it wasn’t so long ago
that I was in their position. I’ve still got auto-
graphs at home from players and coaches that
I ended up working with. unhealthy food. Afterwards I realised that I’d The third turning point in my life has to
Despite having a deep connection with the been making all kinds of mistakes and wasn’t be meeting my wife, Daniela. We met back
fans, I’ve had to try to distance myself from as disciplined and consistent as a professional in 2006, and became parents to a son a year
them. At the end of the day, I’m a professional should be. Today I know how little it takes to ago. Nelio has changed my life all over again.
– and therefore a role model. But I’m a direct put an end to your whole career. Nowadays, I go to bed at 11pm instead of 1am,
person and I like to speak my mind, and that I played for Switzerland at youth level, but and after matches my active recovery involves
has occasionally got me into trouble. back then the coach didn’t see me as a poten- walking my son in his pushchair. My appetite
There have been several turning points in tial professional; instead he saw a player who for parties has lessened a little too. After
my career. One key moment was my first move, was too easily distracted. My dream is to play winning the Swiss Championship in 2007 we
which took me from FC Zurich to Chiasso in for a national team one day, whether that be partied until 9am the next morning, but after
the Challenge League. I really didn’t want to Switzerland or Portugal. And since winning winning the Cup this season I was at home
leave, but my agent gave me the kick up the the Swiss Cup [in 2014], I know dreams can by 6.30pm… Å
backside I needed. My family also encouraged come true. I want to keep improving, and as a
me to take the leap, and I’ve been grateful to goalkeeper you are able do that. Adapted by Thomas Renggli
them for it ever since. As soon as you move Another turning point in my career was
away, you realise how good you had it at home. my appearance for FC Wohlen in the spring of
That applies to everything from cooking, 2010. We were about to play a match against
washing and vacuuming your own flat, all the Thun and we barely had 11 players fit enough
way to the football itself. I realised that talent to start the game. The coach initially wanted
Maurice Haas / 13 Photo

alone wouldn’t guarantee me a successful
career. My former goalkeeping coach Stefan
Knutti always said: “80 per cent is mental,
20 per cent is talent”. I had to give up a lot of
things such as partying, going out and eating
to play me up front, but then the first-choice
keeper picked up an injury, so I got to go in
goal. I had a fantastic game that secured me a
contract with Thun – my first Super League In Turning Point, personalities reflect
club. on a decisive moment in their lives.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY 35
Make a choice at adidas.com/allin
#allin or nothing
get ready
for the battle

© 2014 adidas AG. adidas, the 3-Bars logo and the 3-Stripes mark are registered trademarks of the adidas Group.

A Seleção of songs
Home alone with an empty
fridge and no samba football
on any channel anywhere?
There’s only one solution:
Brazilian music!
I
n a country where being ob-
sessed with football is the
norm it’s no surprise that a
disproportionately large num-
ber of musicians have dedicat-
ed a song or two to the first
true love of their lives, football.
Helpfully enough Brazilian mu-
sic website Vagalume has com-
piled a rather fine and tuneful
Seleção of such tunes.
Fluency in Portuguese is by
no means a prerequisite for
getting the most out of the
website. A first exploratory
scan of the contents indicates
a multifaceted, broad-based
and dynamic musical panora-
ma, entirely representative of
Brazil’s diverse cultural scene.
At one end of the spectrum
Sion Ap Tomos
we have seasoned duo Caju &
Castanha from Recife, per-
formers of the Embolada style
THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL
Hanspeter Kuenzler
for some 40 years now. Accom-
panied only by tambourines
they declaim their texts, often
improvised, sometimes satiri-
cal, sometimes a social critique
but always witty, in a form of
rap reminiscent of Jamaican
reggae MCs or West African
Griots. Their football-themed
contribution is called Futebol
No Inferno and covers among
other things the weighty top-
ics of heaven and hell.
By way of a contrast we
turn to Band Skank. The Belo
Horizonte four-piece initially
came together with the aim of
combining the dancehall reg-
gae that was all the rage at the
time with Brazilian melodies,
but mutated into a classy indie
rock band in the British tradi-
tion and have already featured
at European and American
rock festivals. É Uma Partida
de Futebol is an exhilarating
all-electric amalgam of calyp-
so, ska and rock.
The listener is continually
surprised by the delicate
blends and nods to other gen-
res. Chico Buarque, master of
subtle chansons, combines
smooth bossa nova with tin-
kling jazz piano in the an-
themic O Futebol, comparing a
footballer’s job with the work
of a painter or composer. And
eccentric “Brasil-Britpop” band
Pullovers draw parallels be-
tween football and flirting in
their eminently cheerful ditty
Futebol de óculos.
And should you feel in the
mood for a singalong, a button
on the left of the screen la-
belled Hinos de Futebol links
to the official anthems of the
biggest Brazilian clubs. Æ
http://tinyurl.com/pf6ohrx
THE OBJEC T
Perikles Monioudis
F
ootball has not always been the socially-ac-
cepted, widely-supported sport it is today.
In Germany, for example, there used to be
no shortage of sceptics who described the
game as “uncultured oafishness with the feet”
and viewed it as the “English disease”. They
would have readily have banned it by law, their
belief being that youngsters were better off
spending their time performing synchronised
gymnastics exercises. The concept of individ-
ual e ­xpression in sport did not enter the
minds of football’s detractors. At the time,
sport meant imitating the moves of a gymnas-
tics instructor and obeying his orders.
Even in England football was not without
its critics. The FIFA Collection houses the
­caricature pictured above, which is from the
cover illustration of the magazine L’Assiette au
Beurre in 1902. It depicts two French p ­ layers,
with one saying to the other: “Stupid fool,
dirty lout – that’s how the poet Kipling de-
scribes anyone who plays the uncouth game of
football. He’ll never be president of Racing.”
Rudyard Kipling was born in India in 1865
and moved to England as a five-year-old.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
37 years later and his most famous work, The
Jungle Book, is still read by children the world
over today.
Kipling was not given to snobbishness – he
declined a knighthood – but even for him foot-
ball was a step too far. He would certainly not
have wanted to preside over Racing Club de
France, as the Parisian outfit founded in 1882
was called at the time.
In that era the only sports considered
­worthy of playing required the use of hands.
It is therefore somewhat ironic that the R
­ acing
Club rugby team, one of a variety of sports
now offered at the club, has long been more
successful that its football team. Å
T H E F I FA W E E K LY 37
 The FIFA World Cup™
is where all of us want to be.

© 2014 Visa. All rights reserved. Shrek © 2014 DreamWorks Animation L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.
 The FIFA Weekly FIFA QUIZ CUP
Published weekly by the
Fédération Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA)

Internet:
14 goals conceded in two World Cup appearances and a team with
www.fifa.com/theweekly no goals against – test your knowledge!
Publisher:
FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20,
PO box, CH-8044 Zurich
Tel. +41-(0)43-222 7777 1 One keeper made just two World Cup appearances and conceded 14 goals – but still ended up a
Fax +41-(0)43-222 7878
world champion. Who coached his team?
President:
Joseph S. Blatter K S W B

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
2 What’s in the picture?
Art Direction:
Catharina Clajus

Picture Editor: A Foundation stone of the Home of FIFA in Zurich

Peggy Knotz, Andreas Wilhelm
I World Cup trophy
Production: O Wall of a VIP box at the Maracana
Hans-Peter Frei E Fair Play trophy
Layout:
Richie Krönert (Lead),
Marianne Bolliger-Crittin,
Susanne Egli, Mirijam Ziegler
3 Which nation never conceded a goal (except in penalty shoot-outs) at a World Cup?
Proof Reader:
Nena Morf, Kristina Rotach

Contributors:
Sérgio Xavier Filho, Luigi Garlando,
Sven Goldmann, Hanspeter Kuenzler,
E G L N
Jordi Punti, David Winner,
Roland Zorn

Contributors to this Issue:

Lucia Clemens (Picture),
Alissa Rosskopf
4 Which country is a previous Word Cup winner?

Editorial Assistant:
Honey Thaljieh

Project Management:
Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub

Translation: D Kingdom north of …

Sportstranslations Limited G Republic east of …
www.sportstranslations.com
N Island south of …
Printer: O Union west of …
Zofinger Tagblatt AG
www.ztonline.ch

Contact:
feedback-theweekly@fifa.org

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.
The answer to last week’s Quiz Cup was PASS
Detailed answers on www.fifa.com/theweekly
Inspiration and implementation: cus
Send your answers by 25 June 2014 to feedback-theweekly@fifa.org
Correct solutions to all quizzes published from 13 June 2014 onwards will go into a draw in January 2015 for a trip
for two to the FIFA Ballon d’Or on 12 January 2015.
Before sending in answers, all participants must read and accept the competition terms and conditions and the rules,
which can be found at:
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T H E F I FA W E E K LY 39
 A S K T H E W E E K LY
Defending champions Spain’s 5-1
defeat by the Netherlands and their
early exit were the first major
surprises of this World Cup. Has a
reigning champion ever lost at a
World Cup by such a high margin?
Stefan Lehmann, Kusnacht,
Switzerland
No. It was also only the fifth time
the reigning champions have begun
the tournament with a defeat after
Italy’s 3-2 loss to Sweden in 1950,
1-0 losses for Argentina against
Belgium in 1982 and Cameroon in
1990, and France’s 1-0 defeat by
Senegal in 2002. The last time
Spain conceded five or more goals
in a match was exactly 51 years ago
when Scotland beat them 6-2 in a
Madrid friendly on 13 June 1963.
The only time Spain lost by a higher
margin at the World Cup was in
Brazil in 1950, when the Iberians
were defeated 6-1 by the hosts. (thr)
13
Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa’s
favourite number. Not only does it
adorn the back of his shirt, it is also
the date of his maiden World Cup
appearance (13 June 2014). In the
group game against Brazil he
made a string of extraordinary
saves to keep the World Cup hosts
at bay, while his birthday is on 13
July - the day of the Final. No
prizes for guessing what he
would like as a present.
T HIS WEEK’S POLL
Which two Group H teams will
qualify for the Round of 16?
At this summer's World Cup, there is no group more open than that of Belgium, Algeria, Russia
and Korea Republic. Who are your favourites, and which two teams do you think will progress?
Email your predictions to: feedback-theweekly@fifa.org
L A S T W E E K’S P O L L R E S U LT S
Which teams will qualify from Group D?
55 % Costa Rica and one other
26 % Italy and England
19 % Italy and Uruguay
68
WEEK IN NUMBERS
140
The number of international
caps won by Italy goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon, who has so far
been unable to add to that tally
at the World Cup due to an
ankle injury. He is now back in
training and hoping to regain Russia coach Fabio Capello turned 68
his starting berth, which on the day of his side’s 1-1 group stage
appears more than likely draw with South Korea. It may not
according to his stand-in have been the victory he was after, but
Salvatore Sirigu: “We have to the Italian was nevertheless satisfied
be realistic. There is no with his players’ efforts: “My team’s
Getty Images
competition for places reaction to going behind was really
between Gigi and me. He’s good. That was the best birthday present
more than a player.” they could have given me.”