World Cup shorts: Suarez feasting reaches dizzying new heights
June 26 – From hero to zero to hero. Suarez provides reasons to be pious as Colombian keeper Mondragon provides inspiration for the older generation.
Real Madrid leads the way as UEFA pays out €1.1bn to its clubs
By Paul Nicholson
June 26 – UEFA have published figures for revenue distribution to its clubs that competed in the 2013-14 Champions and Europa Leagues. In total more than €1.1 billion in participation and performance related revenue was paid out, with the lion’s share of €904 million going to clubs in the Champions League.
Team doctors rule as FIFA medics knockout FIFpro temporary sub idea
By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 26 – FIFA medical experts have admitted they are powerless to intervene in cases of concussion if national team doctors decide players are fit enough to continue after taking knocks to the head. The controversial issue has re-emerged at the World Cup after Uruguay’s Alvaro Pereira (pictured) was allowed to continue playing against England after being briefly knocked unconscious in the game between the two sides last week.
David Owen: How I fell out of love with Holland’s 20th century boys
Dear Holland,
I’m sorry, but it’s over between us.
Along with millions of other school kids, I became besotted with you 40 years and a week ago – on 19 June 1974, the day of the Cruyff turn. It was a difficult time: Sir Alf Ramsey’s World Cup-winning team had broken up and England hadn’t made it to the 1974 tournament in West Germany. What is worse, Scotland had. Into this emotional void strode coach Rinus Michels’s team of strutting demigods headed by Johan Cruyff,
It’s a man’s world in France. Trailblazer Costa quits before a ball is kicked
June 26 – The first woman manage of a senior male professional team, Helena Costa, has resigned before she had the chance to see Clermont Foot kick a ball under her management. Costa’s appointment caused a media frenzy when announced last month and she was set to be a progressive trailblazer – a woman appointed to manage a professional men’s team in the French second division. But the Portuguese found her position untenable due to a poor working environment.
Matt Scott: The £6bn black hole that could bring financial fire for football
“The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them.” Job 1:16, King James Bible
It is very unlikely that, 4,000-odd years ago when Job is said to have walked this earth, there was any such a thing as insurance. Even if there was, and even if the old boy had kept up with his premiums, his sheep and his servants might still not have been covered anyway.
Uruguayans rush to defence of Suarez as FIFA deliberates bite night sanction
By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 26 – Uruguay’s entire coaching staff have leaped to the defence of Luis Suarez as FIFA decides what sanctions to take over his already infamous biting episode. FIFA’s disciplinary panel was due to make a ruling either Thursday or Friday ahead of the country’s last-16 fixture against Colombia on Saturday.
European and Scottish football chief David Taylor dies, aged 60
June 25 – David Taylor, one of Europe’s leading and most respected football administrators has passed away, aged 60. A passionate Scotsman and Scottish football supporter, Taylor joined UEFA in 2007 and variously held the positions of UEFA General Secretary and CEO of UEFA Events SA, and latterly UEFA corporate business advisor.
Day 14 Match stat pack: NIG v ARG, BOS v IRA, HON v SUI, ECU v FRA
June 25 – Groups E and F play to conclusion with Nigeria needing to avoid defeat against Argentina to be Africa’s first, and potentially only, representative in the last 16. Though Iran will be looking to do the same for Asia. The Swiss need a good win over Honduras to beat Ecuador into the next round, assuming the South American can overcome a high flying French team.
Media tracker charts skew towards English language nations
June 25 – Media tracker Moreover Technologies has come up with a number of data sets around how the media worldwide is covering the World Cup and what is trending in terms of stories. While doubtless Luis Suarez’s bite night last night will be the current most covered story globally (stats still to be released), the data throws up interesting information on what is capturing the world’s imagination.
Bulgarian clubs agree on TV income distribution
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 25 – The Bulgarian league has distributed its TV rights income for the 2013-14 season showing the disparity in domestic TV deals between the big leagues of Western Europe and those in its poorer East.
Mihir Bose: Why the system, not Hodgson, is to blame for England’s problems
One of Roy Hodgson’s favourite writers, Stefan Sweig, killed himself in Petropolis, a town near Rio in 1942 despairing of where European civilisation and culture was headed. Now what has happened to Hodgson in Brazil does not bear any comparison with what Sweig was going through as the fight with Nazism raged in Europe with no definite indication that this evil could be defeated.
Those of us who write about sport often use absurd,
FIFA draws the line over offside TV glitch, as TV viewing breaks records
By Andrew Warshaw
June 25 – FIFA has acknowledged that its television production team should have thought twice before broadcasting a graphic suggesting Brazil forward Fred was offside when scoring in the 4-1 win over Cameroon.
Belo blues revisited as English bow out with a whimper
By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 25 – Prince Harry wasn’t the only VIP attending England’s final game of the World Cup in Brazil’s third largest city. Just when England fans thought it could not get any worse, the match took place in the very city where England’s much-lauded team were humiliated by a bunch of amateurs from the United States all of 64 years ago.
FIFA set to get its teeth into Suarez after bite night spoils party
By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 25 – Uruguay’s Luis Suarez faces the possibility of a lengthy FIFA ban after bringing infamy to the World Cup with yet another biting storm that has once again cast a dark shadow over the brilliant but highly temperamental striker.