RUSSIA 2018 Giants collide as South American action resumes

(FIFA.com) 23 Mar 2016

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The South American qualifying campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ is set to return to action following the hiatus at the end of last year. Unbeaten leaders Ecuador, who have earned maximum points so far, will be intent on cementing their place at the summit, while Brazil and Uruguay go head-to-head in a classic encounter steeped in history, with both eager to stay near the top of the standings. Elsewhere, Chile and Argentina will meet again as they eye all three points to stay in touch with the front-runners. FIFA.com previews the fifth round of qualifying matches.

The matchBrazil-Uruguay
The hosts, buoyed by victory over Peru in their last qualifier, have their sights set on a win that would consolidate their place near the top of the table. Coach Dunga has put his faith in many of the players who began the qualifying campaign, such as talisman Neymar, as well as Dani Alves, Willian and David Luiz. Veteran Kaka makes a return to the national set-up after a surprise inclusion, but Marcelo is absent with injury. The match in Recife will be a yardstick for Brazil to gauge their progress following slip-ups at the 2014 World Cup and the Copa America in Chile. Meanwhile, Uruguay go into this fixture full of confidence following a resounding 3-0 success over continental champions Chile. Coach Oscar El Maestro Tabarez, is expected to be able to call upon the returning Luis Suarez, one of the world's best and most in-form strikers. There will not be many changes to La Celeste, who can once again count on linchpins Fernando Muslera, Diego Godin and Edinson Cavani, as they seek to add to their long list of exploits with a first-ever World Cup qualifying victory on Brazilian soil.

The other attractionsChile's euphoria at lifting their maiden Copa America title and starting these qualifiers with victories has now waned, giving way to a period of uncertainty. In addition to drawing at home to Colombia and losing in the Estadio Centenario to Uruguay, they have also lost coach Jorge Sampaoli. Under the guidance of the new man in charge, Argentinian Antonio Pizzi, La Roja will be hoping to make Santiago a fortress once again when they take on a perennially difficult Argentina side. Although Arturo Vidal will be missing, Chile will have the services of Alexis Sanchez, Marcelo Diaz and Gary Medel. For their part, Argentina settled into their campaign with a win away to Colombia last time out following a patchy start to the qualifiers. Coach Gerardo Martino will have Lionel Messi available for the first time during the competition, and will field his strongest line-up, including Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain, whose scoring form in Europe has caused a sensation. Furthermore, the game could provide Argentina with a measure of revenge after losing to Chile in the final of the 2015 Copa America.

Ecuador go into their tie with Paraguay looking to consolidate their achievements thus far. With four wins from as many matches, La Tri will be eager to make home advantage count in Quito to stay in pole position. In order to do so, coach Gustavo Quinteros will rely on key figures Antonio Valencia, Felipe Caicedo, Cristian Noboa and Enner Valencia. The visitors, for their part, can approach this fixture boosted by their triumph over Bolivia last time out. Coach Ramon Diaz, who raised a few eyebrows by calling up Juan Iturbe to the Albirroja squad, is aware of the difficulty he faces but is confident nonetheless: "Ecuador are top of the table and playing at home, but we have faith in our team. The players know how to deal with games like this."

Bolivia and Colombia will lock horns in a meeting that will be crucial to avoid losing further ground on the top teams. Bolivia are currently undergoing a significant upheaval and their young side will look to their home fortress in La Paz to earn a second victory in this qualifying campaign. Their opponents, Los Cafeteros, are going through a tough spell of their own and results have suffered as a consequence. However, they will rely on the talents of James Rodriguez and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, as well as the goalscoring ability of Carlos Bacca to secure a win that would keep their dream of reaching Russia 2018 alive.

Peru and Venezuela may be the bottom two teams in the table but their respective situations are rather different. The former boast players of the calibre of Claudio Pizarro, Jefferson Farfan and Paolo Guerrero, and have played with an attacking style since coach Ricardo Gareca's arrival, albeit without achieving the desired results. Meanwhile, La Vinotinto have lost all four of their fixtures and appear to have strayed from the path taken in previous qualifying campaigns. Coach Noel Sanvicente called up experienced duo Salomon Rondon and Oswaldo Vizcarrondo alongside a number of youngsters in an effort to turn the tide and get Venezuela back on track.

Player to watchLionel Messi (Argentina)

The five-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner will feature in this competition once again following his exceptional performances en route to Brazil 2014. Messi was injured during the first four qualifying matches this time around and Argentina felt his absence keenly, so much so that they lost at home to Ecuador for the first time ever and only earned five points from a possible 12. Now fit again and in spectacular form, the Argentinian star will be crucial to Tata Martino's side given the difficulties the Albiceleste had going forward in their previous encounters. 

Did you know?
History is heavily on Argentina's side in light of their previous South American qualifiers away to Chile. The home team have only won one of the six matches played, a 1-0 triumph secured by Fabian Orellana on 15 October 2008, with Argentina having won four and drawn one. Chile have not lost at home for six matches in World Cup qualifying, their last reverse being a 2-1 defeat to the Albiceleste on 16 October 2012.

What they said"We have to pick up points no matter what against Peru and Chile in order to regain the all-important confidence and get us out of this sporting crisis we're in." 
Venezuela coach Noel Sanvicente

Matchday 5 fixtures:24 and 25 March
Bolivia-Colombia
Ecuador-Paraguay
Chile-Argentina
Peru-Venezuela
Brazil-Uruguay

Pickles and the stolen World Cup

(FIFA.com) 20 Mar 2016

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Most of football’s Hollywood-worthy plots take place on the field, featuring underdog triumphs, late goals and impossible drama. However, arguably one of the game’s greatest storylines, involving mystery, intrigue and an unlikely hero, took place away from the floodlights, featuring a church hall, a ransom note and a loyal dog.

On Sunday 20 March 1966, the FIFA World Cup Trophy was stolen. It was an event that sparked global news, panic amongst the FA – who had been granted it ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup™ – and London’s Metropolitan Police, before ultimately making a celebrity of the eventual finder, Pickles the dog, and his owner David Corbett.

It’s an event that still resonates with football fans around the globe today, as Corbett will testify. “It is amazing really,” he told FIFA.com. “I think it’s the fact that every four years it comes up again, it’s not like something that happens and then it’s forgotten.” Journalists from around the globe get in contact to hear his memories of the tale, though he modestly admits: “People remember the dog, they don’t remember me!”

While the Collie is the star, the plotline that led to Pickles’ ascension into football folklore is intriguing in its own right before the hairy hero enters during the final act.

With the World Cup due to kick off in four months’ time, the FA received a request to display the Trophy at the Stanley Gibbons Stampex stamp Exhibition at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster – a well-policed part of London, just a couple of hundred metres from the Houses of Parliament.

Then FIFA President Stanley Rous agreed to this, as long as these three conditions were followed: the Trophy had to be transported by a reputable security firm, it must be placed in a locked glass case which was guarded 24 hours a day and it was to be insured for £30,000. The trophy was only valued at a tenth of that, while it was surrounded by stamps worth £3m.

Crucially, though, security was not around the clock and, with the exhibition closed, somewhere between 11am and 12:10pm – with a church service taking place on the floor below – the perpetrator broke in through the back door and left without a trace. Cue hysteria and embarrassment, after the world-famous trophy was stolen from under the nose of the reputed Metropolitan Police.

A golden ransom
One member of staff on watch was quoted as saying “nothing at all went wrong with our security, the Cup just got stolen” before police issued a description of a suspect: a slim male in his 30s, sporting slicked black hair and a possible scar on the right of his face. Hoaxes causing halted underground trains and possible sightings ensued, before FA chairman Joe Mears received a ransom note.

It began: "Dear Joe Kno [sic] doubt you view with very much concern the loss of the world cup... To me it is only so much scrap gold. If I don't hear from you by Thursday or Friday at the latest I assume it's one for the POT."

Doesn’t look very World Cup-y to me

The policeman on duty's response to David Corbett showing him the recently recovered Jules Rimet trophy

The sender, known as ‘Jackson’ eventually agreed to meet in Battersea Park, though instead of Mears, Detective Inspector Len Buggy – posing as the chairman’s assistant ‘McPhee’ – would bring the demanded £15,000. However, the case in fact contained just £500 – concealing newspaper below. After being told to drive around south London for ten minutes the supposed-thief, real name Edward Betchley, caught sight of the police back-up vehicle and ran, only to be arrested.

Claiming to just be a middle man, Betchley was eventually convicted as such – getting two years in prison – with the burglar never found, though during his court case Betchley did show he was still a fan of the game, saying: “Whatever my sentence is, I hope that England wins the World Cup.”

Heroes to the fore
Enter Pickles and Corbett to the stage. Now a week since the robbery, which had been dissected in detail across the national press, Corbett sets out to the telephone box across the road to see if his brother’s new baby had been born, with Pickles in tow.

On his way, the black and white dog started sniffing around at an unusual package. “It was wrapped in tightly-bound newspaper and string, laying against my neighbour’s car wheel,” Corbett retold, likely for around the thousandth time in the last half century. “I picked it up and it’s quite heavy, though not very big – it wasn’t a spectacular cup.

“At the time the IRA (Irish Republican Army) were at large, so I personally thought it was a bomb. So I put it down. Picked it up, put it down again. Then curiosity took hold. I tore a bit off the bottom and there was a plain disc. Then I tore around and there was Brazil, Germany, Uruguay. I ran back in and said to my wife: ‘I think I’ve found the World Cup!’”

His wife was unperturbed and when presenting it at his local police station was met with the underwhelmed response of: “Doesn’t look very World Cup-y to me.” Even so, Corbett was whisked away and, once the cup was confirmed as genuine, he suddenly had the realisation that he was in the firing-line. “I was the A1 suspect. Until I was sitting in Cannon Row police station I never even thought of that!”

After a few hours of questioning, and a few weeks on a list of suspects, his name was cleared. Stardom followed, with the pair appearing on television and at grand openings, receiving a cash reward. Pickles meanwhile was an extra in a film – the Spy with a Cold Nose – and was given a medal and a year’s supply of dog food. Corbett also remembers the two of them being invited to England’s World Cup winner’s banquet – with Pickles being a very popular guest – even if he eschewed all the pomp and circumstance by relieving himself on the five-star hotel’s elevator doors.

Corbett’s faithful friend remains close still, buried in the garden of the house he resided in South Norwood, the same home where his owner still lives today. And whenever the south London resident sees the iconic image of Bobby Moore, hoisted on shoulders, he knows he played his part. “I feel a bit of pride seeing it and, also, I know I got to hold the original trophy too!”

Pogba: Ronaldo made me fall in love with football

March 2016

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Football is first and foremost a game, and Paul Pogba is someone who loves to play. He likes playing with his hairstyle, his clothes, his mannerisms and his friends – not to mention with the ball.

He also likes playing with his cell phone and joking with his mates as he calmly and unhurriedly waits for our interview. And though his lineage is Guinean, his movement and style – languid, nonchalant and musical – could pass for that of a Caribbean native.

However, Paul Pogba was born and raised in France. At just 16, so precocious was his talent that he was snapped up by Manchester United. After successfully completing his development there, he headed to Italy for a new challenge with Juventus. There he has enjoyed further success, just as he has done with every age category of the France national team.

In 2013 he was captain of Les Bleus when they won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, where he alsopicked up the adidas Golden Ball as the tournament's outstanding performer. Just a year later he was voted Hyundai Best Young Player at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ after helping his side reach the quarter-finals, and was recently named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI for 2015.

It would be something of an understatement to say things have been happening quickly for Pogba, who will turn 23 on 15 March. “When you have lofty goals in your life or career, you need to be able to deal with a lot of responsibility,” he explained to FIFA.com, without mentioning his own rapidly ascending trajectory. “My dream is to have a great career, so if I want to achieve that I need to be able to adapt quickly.”

His impressive facility with languages is one thing that has helped his progression at club level, while with France his character and attitude have been his strongest assets. “I’m gradually acquiring experience and have the good fortune to be valued by Les Bleus. I give my all for the shirt and the country, so I have no problem accepting the responsibility that it entails and putting in the maximum effort.

Asked what his first wish will be when he blows out the candles today (15 March), he does not hesitate: “Winning the Scudetto with Juventus. Once that’s done, it would be a dream come true to win my first [senior] title with France.”

Role models 
The international title in question is, of course, this summer’s UEFA European Championship, which Les Bleus will be vying to win on home soil. The last time France staged a major tournament – the 1998 World Cup – they ended up winning it, making comparisons inevitable with this year’s event. Pogba was just five in 1998 but still has vivid memories of the Final. “We watched it on TV at home and I remember going out in our car afterwards to celebrate with friends and sound our horns.”

The crowning victory over Brazil by Zinedine Zidane and Co was to leave an indelible mark on the youngest member of the Pogba family. “Ronaldo is my footballing role model and the player that made me fall in love with football. I was enthralled by him as I used to play up front when I was younger. His technique, pace and eye for goal, as well as the variety of his play, was something I liked and admired,” said the Frenchman.

“And of course Zidane too!” he added quickly. “He’s a French icon and someone who made a real impression on us. We won’t forget him. Everyone respects and admires him and we all want to emulate what he’s achieved in his career.”

In this regard, Pogba has taken the first step by playing for the same team as the legendary Frenchman in Italy. Now, he is aiming to claim his first senior team honours at the upcoming EURO. “I’m confident that with this generation of players we can bring back the good times for French football. We have a fine squad and a very savvy coach who will know how to help us achieve our goals.”

Family tiesPogba has another, more heartfelt footballing objective. It is also one that is shared by his older twin brothers Mathias and Florentin, as the latter explained. “It’s something that’s just there, you know, in the back of our minds, and we talk about it occasionally. It’s a dream we have for the three of us to share the same pitch, regardless of what game is is. But we know it will be difficult to fulfil.”

Difficult, though not impossible, as both are professional players – Mathias with Scottish side Partick Thistle and Florentin with France’s Saint-Etienne – and both have opted to represent Guinea at international level.

“My brothers are the people who advise me best on football. Every time I progress and take a step forward, I always say it’s thanks to them and all my team-mates,” said the Juve man.

Can he envisage a meeting of Guinea and France and all three Pogbas in action at once? That would surely test the loyalties of the family matriarch Yeo, who proudly walked her son down the red carpet at January’s FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala.

One thing is for sure, Paul Pogba will continue to play, before, during and after every game, and with a touch of #pogbdance and #pogboom. Unfamiliar with the terms? Then check out the player’s social media presence and enjoy them for yourself.

Mexican quartet vie for ticket to Japan

(FIFA.com) Tuesday 15 March 2016

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Four teams, just one dream: to represent the North, Central America and Caribbean Zone at the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2016. Whatever happens, however, it will be a Mexican club – with all four of the semi-finalists in the 2015/16 CONCACAF Champions League hailing from the Azteca nation.

Holders Club America will be determined to continue their title defence into the final, though they must first dispose of Santos Laguna – twice finalists themselves. Competition first-timers Queretaro, for their part, are aiming to extend a dream debut campaign when they clash with mighty Tigres – Mexico’s domestic champs and runners-up in the 2015 Copa Libertadores.

FIFA.com takes a closer look at the action ahead, prior to the semi-final first-leg encounters.

The fixtures Queretaro - Tigres
Tuesday 15 March, Estadio La Corregidora, Queretaro (Mexico)

Queretaro began their first-ever tilt for this trophy on the front foot and are now just two matches away from the title decider. A team with a blend of youth and experience, they can count on the firepower of Emanuel Villa – the competition’s six-goal leading scorer. Los Gallos Blancos – under the guiding hand of proven winner Victor Manuel Vucetich – are fully focused on taking advantage of their notable teamwork in the first leg at home, though taming Tigres will be no easy feat. The latter boast one of the strongest squads in Mexican football and have international experience in spades.  

Santos Laguna – CF America
Wednesday 16 March, Estadio TSM Corona, Torreon (Mexico)

Both America and Santos Laguna came through their quarter-final ties in emphatic fashion, Las Águilas ousting Seattle Sounders 5-3 over two legs and Santos 4-0 aggregate victors over LA Galaxy. America too have the added morale boost of Sunday’s win in the clásico nacional versus Guadalajara, while their midfield is in particularly fine fettle: Michael Arroyo is the club’s three-goal top scorer in this Champions League campaign, while Rubens Sambueza leads the competition’s assists charts with six.

Los Guerreros, for their part, also won in domestic action and will be relying on Djaniny Tavares to lead their charge. The striker has netted four times in the Champions League and has 17 shots on goal to his name, more than any other forward.

The duel 
Martin Bravo versus Hugo Gonzalez, a form duo with points to prove 
Scorer of a brace in the quarter-final second leg versus LA Galaxy and also on target in domestic action on Friday, Santos’ Argentinian striker Martin Bravo has earned a starting berth on the back of his purple patch in front of goal. However, in the upcoming semi-final he could well find himself facing a man on a mission in America keeper Hugo Gonzalez – recently between the sticks for Las Águilas in place of the experienced Moises Munoz. The 25-year-old Gonzalez is determined to cement his own starting spot with the most successful club in CONCACAF Champions League history and, if selected, would do his utmost to ensure Bravo’s hot streak comes to an abrupt end.

Did you know?
Queretaro’s Edgar Benitez is edging closer to appearing in his third final in this competition, the Paraguayan having won the trophy in 2010 with Pachuca and finished second in 2014 when at Toluca.

The stat 
91 – The number of shots at goal that Santos Laguna have taken over the course of the CONCACAF Champions League 2015/16, more than any other team. As a result, Los Guerreros are also the competition’s leading scorers, with a total of 16. 

What they said“We’re a team that never stops running and we give it our all. As far as we’re concerned, all our remaining games are finals against big teams.”
Emanuel Villa, in an exclusive chat with FIFA.com

“We have a date with history.”
This message featured in a YouTube video of the Santos Laguna players in the build-up to the America tie.