Balls To You

A quest for perfection for the most basic thing: A ball

2006-06-30T01:00:00.000+08:00

By Alice Rawsthorn International Herald Tribune

Published: June 25, 2006

LONDON Things did not bode well. The German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann complained it was "unpredictable." His counterpart from England's team, Paul Robinson, dismissed it as "goalkeeper unfriendly." Brazil's strikers found it so tricky that they scheduled extra training sessions. Even before the World Cup had started, players were voicing concerns about the official ball, Adidas's multimillion dollar +Teamgeist.

Burdened by a pompous name (the German word for team spirit) with a silly + as a prefix and Adidas's lofty claims that it was the smoothest, roundest and most accurate soccer ball ever, the +Teamgeist seemed set to become the joke of the 2006 World Cup. Its prospects were not helped by the fact that many of the correspondents flocking to Germany remembered that Adidas made startlingly similar statements four years ago when it unveiled the Fevernova ball for the 2002 tournament.
How has the +Teamgeist performed since the World Cup started? Is it living up to Adidas's claims? Or fulfilling the players' fears? Goalies are still grumbling, but to the surprise of cynics, the new ball does seem to be livening up the game.

"It's always tempting to dismiss innovations in ball design as marketing hype, but this one is creating more excitement," said Jack Huckel, director of museum and archives at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York. "It can be shot from longer distances with greater impact and bent at greater speed. You see it exploding off the players' feet. I've tried it out and you feel the difference. Though, as a former goalkeeper, I understand why they don't like it."

The commercial importance of the World Cup ball to Adidas is obvious. How many other products are launched as part of one of the world's most popular events to a global television audience of hundreds of millions of enthralled fans? Adidas pays millions of dollars to be the official ball supplier to the World Cup in the hope of creating a bestseller. Having sold a record six million of the Fevernova ball of 2002, it has even higher expectations of the +Teamgeist.

It is harder to understand why designing a soccer ball should be so daunting. After all, it is a ball. How hard can it be to design a round object of a specific size and weight? The challenge the sports industry's designers, engineers and scientists have struggled with for decades is to produce a ball in so robust a form that it enhances, rather than inhibits, the quality of play by behaving in exactly the same way wherever and whenever it is kicked.

From the late 1800s to 1970, soccer balls consisted of 18 hand-stitched brown leather panels. During the 1966 World Cup, viewers complained they could not follow the ball on their black-and-white television screens, and FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, commissioned Adidas to design a television-friendly alternative. The result was the Telstar with 32 leather panels - 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons. Launched at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, it has been the default design for soccer balls ever since.

Adidas has since developed a new ball for every World Cup with varying degrees of success. A notable flop was the Tango España of 1982 with rubber inlaid over the seams. The rubber rubbed off when the ball was kicked, and each ball had to be replaced during the match. More successful was the Questra of 1994, whose polyurethane foam coating made it faster in flight. All of these balls adopted the 32-panel format, as did the Fevernova.

"After so many years of 32 panels, we decided to try something completely different for 2006, and chose a 14-panel structure," said Hans-Peter Nürnberg, who led the +Teamgeist design team for Adidas as senior development engineer. "By reducing the number of panels and the length of seams, we made it rounder, better balanced and therefore more accurate."
The new ball has two layers, inner and outer, with a new thermal bonding technology used to create a seamless surface.

Adidas's rationale is that this makes the ball more consistent because the impact of the player's foot will be the same wherever it strikes the surface. As there are no seams, the ball does not absorb moisture during the game and thereby stays the same weight. The +Teamgeist is slightly heavier than an unused Fevernova but weighs less than a Fevernova that has been used for a whole match, as it has not retained water. This too ensures that it behaves in the same way throughout the game.

Adidas subjected the +Teamgeist to intensive laboratory and field tests before putting the ball into production last July. Nürnberg said it exceeded expectations in the tests, which included repeated kicking by a robotic leg to replicate the 2,000 kicks it would endure in a typical World Cup match and rotating the ball 250 times under water. Even so, the toughest test for a soccer ball is its performance in a match.

After the first stage of the World Cup, observers are convinced that the +Teamgeist can be kicked more powerfully from longer distances. Torsten Frings's goal for Germany against Costa Rica was an example, as was Tomas Rosicky's first goal for the Czech Republic against the United States. Similarly, the swerve of the ball is accentuated as it bends to the left or right. "The bend is more dramatic," affirmed David James of Sheffield Hallam University's sports engineering department. "This ball is great for players like David Beckham, at least it should be." Another factor, analyzed by his colleagues at the University of Sheffield, is the +Teamgeist's tendency to swerve from side to side before hitting the back of the net when it is kicked straight without spin.

All of this makes life tougher for goalkeepers, as they face stronger shots and unexpected swerves. As matches progress, these problems are aggravated by the +Teamgeist's lightness, which makes it harder to catch. "It's so light that it slips out of your hands," Huckel noted. "That's why we see more goalkeepers thumping the ball away rather than trying to catch it."
The +Teamgeist also has a tendency to confuse goalies by wavering as it hurtles towards them. James attributes this to the aerodynamic complexity of its shape. "We're at the cutting edge of science here because we understand more about the aerodynamics of airplanes and Formula One cars than of spheres," he said. "A perfect sphere moves through the air with considerable difficulty, which is why sports balls tend to have rough surfaces. The felt on tennis balls and dimples on golf balls improves their aerodynamics and helps them to move faster." The seams on the old 32-panel soccer balls had the same effect, whereas the seamless +Teamgeist bobs about disconcertingly, like a milder version of a knuckleball in baseball.

Despite the goalies' grumbles, the +Teamgeist has proved even more popular than Adidas expected, setting a new sales record of 15 million balls so far. Nürnberg's design team is already working on its successor. "We need to erase the imperfections in its structure," he said. "Although we can't expect to produce something as revolutionary as the +Teamgeist for every World Cup."

The Money Cup

2006-06-20T03:02:00.000+08:00

'Is sport too closely linked to money these days?' This was the one of the questions Cambridge included in their General Paper examinations back in 2001.

This inspired me to write about the current disturbing issue prevalent in the World Cup - money. Much hype has been placed on the heat, Shamsul Maidin refereeing his third game and the sporadic arguments between the England and Manchester United manager on the fitness of Wayne Rooney. However the media failed to emphasize on how profit motive proved to be a social anathema in this year's games, or simply how monetary gain could prove to be the sine qua non of success.

Hundred of thousands to each player to play, thirty thousand for a win and half of that for a draw. Does it sound familiar? By this time, I suppose the Togo players have already pocketed much of that controversial sum. This long-standing pay dispute has venerated myriad problems ranging from loss of team morale to the highly disputed walk out of their coach. The worst is yet to come, their threat to boycott their match against Switzerland will inevitably lead in unthinkable ramifications. They were just unrelenting despite Fifa's intervention, a plausible ban from future competitions apparently did not halt their unreasonable claims. It was outright ugliness, the three red cards committed in the Italy-USA match suddenly didn't look so bad. Fending off challenges from African powerhouses such as Nigeria and Cameroon to reach the World Cup Finals, and giving it up for a fast buck. I suppose the Nigerian players would have gladly forfeited their salaries for a month to play in the finals, for what reason? The Beautiful Game of Soccer.

Back in the Johan Cruyff days of Total Football, the impact of bonuses were minuscule. They played purely for their passion of the game. Gabriel Batistuta, ranked in the top twenty soccer players ever in AskMen.com, resisted the much higher payroll from larger clubs when he chose to stick with the relegated Fiorentina and reaped great success after. The Togo players should just take a leaf out of Batistuta, and not whining like babies for bonuses when poverty has already engulfed their country. Perhaps Eric Cantona can knock some sense to them with his endorsed 'Joga Bonito' compaign. Play beautiful.

Even more disgrace for former Botwana footballing manifesto Bhamjee who apparently got himself expelled from Fifa for selling tickets two times the original price. He must have been mad to give up the 54000 pounds annually he earns working for the leading football association just to earn a few hundreds. To think he has another year to go before retrieving his pension. Fifa must be secretly laughing on the cash they saved due to the stupidity of this man, and right now he must be asking himself 'What for?'.

From the high profile Italian corruption incident to the most recent betting case by Socceroos' two goal hero Tim Cahill, the similarity of these two lies in 'profit motive'. I've heard the Saudi Arabian players were offered gargantuan sums for their draw in their opening match, and businessmen are willing to give even more out of this world sums provided the Saudi Arabia team gets to the second round. Major upsets driven by the lure of money by the opulent Asian nation? We'll see soon enough.

Now the new question of year 2006. 'Is the World Cup too closely linked to money these days?'

Alvin Ng Choon Boon
(currently a JC2 student)

The journey so far.

2006-06-18T13:58:00.000+08:00

June 17
Italy 1 - USA 1

Ghana 2 - Czech Republic 0

Portugal 2 - Iran 0

June 16
Mexico 0 - Angola 0

Netherlands 2 - Côte d'Ivoire 1

Argentina 6 - Serbia & Montenegro 0

June 15
Sweden 1 - Paraguay 0

England 2 - Trinidad & Tobago 0

Ecuador 3 - Costa Rica 0

June 14
Germany 1 - Poland 0

Tunisia 2 - Saudi Arabia 2

Spain 3 - Ukraine 0

June 13
South Korea 2 - Togo 1

France 0 - Switzerland 0

Brazil 1 - Croatia 0

June 12
Australia 3 - Japan 1

USA 0 - Czech Republic 3

Italy 2 - Ghana 0

June 11
Angola 0 - Portugal 1

Mexico 3 - Iran 1

Serbia & Montenegro 0 - Netherlands 1

June 10
Argentina 2 - Côte d'Ivoire 0

Trinidad & Tobago 0 - Sweden 0

England 1 - Paraguay 0

June 9
Poland 0 - Ecuador 2

Germany 4 - Costa Rica 2

-- Reuters, AP & AFP.

England Vs. Paraguay

2006-06-13T14:54:00.000+08:00

England is so not going to win the World Cup after this display. Despite all the hype about the technically most gifted midfield in the tournament, this match is easily an forgettable outing for David Beckham and friends. Sad to say, I am a big fan of David Beckham and his dead ball abilities. His telling crosses and pinpoint passes has accuracy tagged on his forehead. Yes, he never should have been captain but he did not shurg off responsibility and that is specimen of an honest team player. Without Rooney, England are too dependent on Beckham's delivery and to be honest, Beckham needs to play with good players around him to perform.

Ironically, Manchester United lacks an excellent crosser of David Beckham's mould and England lacks strikers that can consistently get to the end of his crosses and convert them. Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and Ruud Van Nistelrooy need to be in the England team right now. Unlike the other tournaments, I don't see Michael Owen rising up to the occasion for this one. A serious of injuries and a dent to the self-belief in his brief stint at Madrid may have caused a permanent dip in his ability. Peter Crouch is never going to be world class and Eriksson is too conservative to try the precocious talents of Theo Walcott.

The match was awful to watch as every single player played way way below their abilities. Paraguay's nervy start was one of the worst performances in the World Cup so far and England failed to add more to their early lead. Negative tactics prevailed in the end and don't you feel so sick in the stomach when Owen Hargreaves was introduced? Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, both match winners in their respective clubs look uninspiringly ordinary, as if their powers neutralized each other whenever they play together in the same team. David Beckham was largely anonymous after that freekick which led to the goal. Peter Crouch was having his own personal battle with the referee's decisions.

Wayne Rooney alone cannot win the World Cup and if the team continues with their brand of lukewarm football, Trinidad and Tobago may sniff a point in their next game.

Germany Vs. Costa Rica

2006-06-11T13:38:00.000+08:00

European efficiency against American flair. History was made, if you're into details, this was the highest scoring opening match. The 4-2 scoreline did not suggest a turbo-charged, exciting game of football. The Germans, to be fair, have shown that they do have enough firepower to get to at least the last 8 of the competition. With a little bit of luck in the draw, they may even go all the way. The weakest link looks like the right-back Arne Friedrich who played Paolo Wanchope onside for the first goal and leaving the centrebacks to cover for him on many occasions.

The centrebacks with a combined height of nearly 3.9m deal comfortably with the aerial threats but look suspectible to speedier and more skillful opponents. The likes of Robinho, Lionel Messi or even Arjen Robben could cause some problems with their footwork and playing on the ground.

Torsten Frings who pulled the strings in midfield during Ballack's absence did relatively well and capped the night off with an absolute screamer, worthy of any great strike. Ballack's return should relieve him some attacking responsiblities and give the midfield an even better balance.

The left sided channel of Germany's attack looks particularly promising with Philip Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger tormenting the Costa Rican right back with their overlapping runs and their ultra-direct approach.

In Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, they have a well balanced strikeforce, reminiscent of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Klose is an excellent finisher and has last world cup's experience in his bag and should lead the attack comfortably. Seasoned, experienced and composed. Lukas Podolski, as many critics put it, is the next line of German players likely to join the likes of Gerd Muller, Rudi Voller and Jurgen Klinsmann. He disappointed a little in the opening game but he is more likely to excel in the bigger games. A consistent yet unpredictable forward line gives Germany many options.

But in truth, the game had no winners. The biggest loser was defense as both teams struggled to cope with unimaginative attacks. My bet is that Paolo Wanchope will get on to the scoresheet again soon. 2 shots, 2 goals.

The Beautiful Game

2006-06-11T00:45:00.000+08:00

Every World Cup represents another 4 years older for the spectator. I vividly remember the 3rd/4th round match between Sweden and Bulgaria in USA 1994, a 4-0 victory for the Swedes and Stoichkov missed his chance to become outright top scorer. Of course, the final was a boring affair, the only time in World Cup history where the biggest prize is decided by spot kicks. The culprit this time, Roberto Baggio, who was the hero in Italy 4 years ago.

I was primary 4 then. Someone who can't even trap a simple pass. The lousy players all become defenders. And then the defenders are the ones to blame if the opponents score. I was of course the defender. I didn't know the significance of the World Cup then until crazy friends in my class told me. I was introduced to Championship manager, a soccer management game that is by now, all too familiar with all the testosterone-charged alpha males. Christopher Ong (not the STI intern), my primary school classmate I have to thank for bringing the game to my life.

4 years on, the World Cup in France remains one my most-loved. As I supported the Oranje all the way to the semi-finals only to be undone by Brazil in the penalty kicks again. I remember all the goals. Patrick Kluivert and Dennis Bergkamp is still my favourite international strike partnership. Marc Overmars, Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids and Ronald De Boer complete the midfield quartet. The wonder goal scored by Bergkamp in extra time of the game remains a heart-thumping moment whenever I think of it. The euphoria and happiness that followed was just undescribable. Those were the good old days when Channel 5 still showed most of the matches after the group stages.

What followed in school was this World Cup carnival. Us being Sec 2s played in a little grass field below our academic block. It was the place where we honed our skills, fight, live and breathe football. We gave ourselves names and I remember I was Paul Scholes. Soon after, friends called me Scholesy for a while. We had our own tournament and we had our national anthems and tunnel run-ups. All of us just wanted to get a kick and play ball. The tournament ended in my dismay as Cantona-less France went on the lift the cup with new hero Zinedine Zidane.

Holland who reached the semi-finals of both international tournaments before the 2002 World Cup failed to qualify. France and Argentina, hot favourites for the prize had early exits. Germany who had such an easy run-in to the World Cup final was not the fans' favourite. It was a World Cup of underdogs (Senegal, Turkey, South Korea) and ended with the two teams with 7(then) World Cups between them. I rooted for Korea like many others who wanted a fairy-tale story. A quiet World Cup really, it came and went. The real scoop was the Korea story for this one dispatched Portugal, Italy, and Spain. It was a pity they did not beat Germany, as Brazil was awaiting. What a collections of scalps that would be.

For me, it was A levels year. 1998 I predicted how 2002 would be and where I would be. I went as far as 2006, thinking how my life would change and how that World Cup would be. 2002 was to be Ronaldo's year. The World Cup quietly went and amidst my new found friends, my family started to crumble.

What will happen this World Cup? What will happen next? Will I be struggling to find a job in the 2010 World Cup? Will I be watching with my own family in the 2014 World Cup? Or will I be drowning in beer, eating peanuts?

The World Cup does not reflect my life but as each one comes along or when anticipating the next one, it becomes a time for reflection of what has happened and what would happen.

I want Rooney and Beckham to win the World Cup, only them.
I also want...so many things.

Half time English Premiership

2006-01-01T18:21:00.000+08:00

End of 2005. My view on the performance of the Premiership teams so far.

Arsenal: 7 defeats halfway through the season with 3 coming at a trot would be unthinkable 2 seasons back. The Arsenal team this season is no different from the one last season minus Patrick Viera. It only goes to show how an enigmatic figure can change the fortunes of the club. Injury to Ashley Cole is played down for Arsenal's downfall, whom acts extra attacking bite and energy to free-flowing Arsenal. Thiery Henry, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg must pick up their swagger again. Alexander Hleb didn't leave much of an impression and inadequate backup for Sol Campbell and Toure constiutues to a lack of confidence at the back. The only bright spark is probably only Robin Van Persie who may be a coming star in this year's World Cup. Skillful, fast and a lethal left foot, he is the white Anelka. A classic North London battle against hated rivals Tottenham for the final Champions' League spot is worth anticipating.

Aston Villa: Largely anonymous for the first part of the first half of the season. Steven Davis is a precocious talent who may find his way to bigger clubs next season. Milan Baros is starting to hit form and David O'Leary must find the right players to provide the service that he needs. Aston Villa with so many years and exposure in the Premiership are just regular mid table finishers. Bolton, Boro, Wigan, Man City are all above them in competency. Another mid table finish this season.

Birmingham: Jan Jarosik, a Chelsea player has been the best player for Steve Bruce's side so far. His midfield partner Nicky Butt is a pale shadow of the one he was in Manchester United in the late nineties. The defence has been a total letdown this season, Matthew Upson doesn't merit a place in the England side and too lightweight and inconsistent to lead the backline. Emile Heskey has been a lone ranger up front and hasn't been too convincing. The departure of Walter Pandiani will make way for more second tier strikers from the League One. Hardly encouraging for the relegation candidates.

Blackburn: Craig Bellamy and Sheffi Kuqi are good fowards and I forsee it will blossom into a fine strike partnership. After beating Wigan, they became the first team outside the top 5 to beat Wigan at home. In Morten Gamst Pedersen, they have an excellent midfielder who deserves to be piling his trade with the top teams in Europe. However, inconsistency is costing Mark Hughes' side. Encouraging performances followed by lapses in the defensive department. Best hope is the Leauge Cup for them this season but they face a hungry Manchester United side that is out of Europe.

Bolton: Sam Allardyce has turned Bolton from relegation contenders a few seasons ago to European chasers. Bolton's midfield quartet of Kevin Nolan, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Gary Speed and Jay Jay Okocha has been dynamic, creative and efficient. Their defining moment came at the 4-0 whipping of Everton. Jared Borgetti hasn't adapted as quickly as Big Sam would have hoped but there is quality on the bench to cover for the attacking department. Bolton is essentially a very well managed team with a group of players that are tactically sound, extremely fit and unbridled determination. Just look at Gary Speed. UEFA Cup quarter finalists and another shot at it next season.

Charlton: A blistering start to the season. Danny Murphy reminded us of the old Paul Scholes and Gazza. Jerome Thomas and Dennis Rommendahl were ferraris down the flanks and Darren Bent reminded us of a younger Les Ferdinand. Charlton always start the season well and end the season in a freefall landslide. Things are not looking bright in the Valley and Charlton players start to lose consistency and motivation after losing a few games. Luke Young though, remain as solid as ever. Another disappointing mid-table finish this season.

Chelsea: Frank Lampard, John Terry, William Gallas, Claude Makelele and Petr Cech left off where they started last season - A series of top-class efficient performances week in week out. For a squad obviously not lacking in world-class squad depth, Chelsea have a luxury of players taking turns to hit form. Last season it was Damien Duff and Arjen Robben, recently it has been Joe Cole and Hernan Crespo. Consistentcy is not an issue for Mourinho's all-conquering side, but they'll have Manchester United and Liverpool pushing them all the way if they are distracted by European ambitions. However, the 11 point advantage they have over their rivals give them the cushion to slip up a little. Jose Mourinho will become the second manager to win back to back Premiership titles come May.

Everton: A complete mess. They were unlucky to draw Villareal in their third round Champions' League qualifier and after being knocked out of the elitist continental competition, confidence was shattered. An embarrassing defeat in the first round of the UEFA cup, failure to progress at the League Cup leaves them the FA Cup as their only possible silverware this season. The unfathomable fact is that this is the same Evertone team that finished 4th place last season with big name signings. Phillip Neville, Mikel Arteta, Andy Van der Meyde, Nuno Valente, Simon Davies and Matteo Ferrari are all decent performers in their previous clubs but have all failed to gel as a team with last season's heroes. David Moyes has struggled to motivate his team this season and probably still suffering the hangover of last season's success. A possible relegation candidate but may just escape.

Fulham: They are one of the best attacking teams in the country to be honest. Steed Marlbranque and Luis Boa Morte in particular are the people Fulham have to hold on to secure another Prremiership season. Chris Coleman is a talented young manager but his squad is simply too thin for a decent mid table finish. Good football don't win you matches. Fulham to escape relegation yet again.

Liverpool: After a sluggish start to the season, Rafa Benitez's side have chalked up 10 successive wins, a strong position for the Champions' League quarters (against Benfica in second round) and a new found confidence surrounding Anfield. Guus Hiddink at Australia is reviving Harry Kewell's fortunes and Benitez is giving him a run in the team to wake up the sleeping footballing genius inside Kewell during his Leeds days. If Carragher and Steven Gerrard can keep themselves fit for the entire campaign, there is no reason why this Liverpool side cannot push Chelsea all the way to the end of the season.

Manchester City: Under Stuart Pearce, they have become a very disciplined and hardworking side. Joey Barton, in particular has been spectecular in midfield, scoring the essential goals, making the necessary tackles and carving the chances for his team mates. Andy Cole has been a good signing as well and linking up perfectly with Darius Vasell. Stuart Pearce has also managed to convert Antonio Siberski and Danny Mills to quality Premiership players. With a few quality signings in the next transfer window, UEFA Cup position is highly likely for the blue half of Manchester.

Manchester United: Contrasting fortunes in domestic and european arenas. It's already a catastrophic season in many's eyes when they were knocked out by Benfica and scoring just 3 goals in the group stages. Domestically, they've scored more points than they did in their treble winning season at this point of the season and its a real shame that Chelsea is just doing much better. Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nisterooy need to stay fit for this Manchester United team to function. League Cup semi-finals await and together with the FA Cup may be their saving grace for them this season. Hard luck for the domestic title this season.

Middlesbrough: Together with Everton, the most disappointing teams in the Premiership so far. With a team boasting of past Premiership hotshots like Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank and Yakubu and promising English stewarts like Stewart Downing and James Morrison, underperforming is really an exaggeration. Steve McClaren's side usually performs better in the second half of the season but things are not going to improve if they continue playing the way they are now. Unlikely to continue their 3rd European campaign unless miracles happen in their UEFA Cup competition.

Newcastle United: The biggest mistake so far this season is to sell Jermaine Jenas to Tottenham Hotspurs. Emre and Scott Parker are decent acquisitons but why not keep the 3 of them in the same team? The crux of the problem is still their defensive liabiltity pair of Titus Bramble and Jean Boumsong who are both extremely error-prone, slow and weak in the air. Injuries to Stephen Carr and Stephen Taylor have conpletely left the defense in shambles and the excellent Shay Given have to fend for himself many a times. Michael Owen breathed new life into St.James' Park for a while but the ageing Shearer, incompetent Shola Ameobi and the uncommitted Albert Luque are not the best of alternative attacking options. Graeme Souness to get the sack at the end of another disappointing season.

Portsmouth: A team that is both lacking in quality and media coverage. Their biggest signing Laurent Robert has cemented his status as the Premiership's Djalminha with his host of disciplinary and off-field problems. The problem with Portsmouth is that we've never really even heard of their players. A platoon of Newcastle rejects such as Lomana Lua Lua, Andy O'Brien and Andy Griffin is not gonna save this club from relegation. Not even Harry Redknapp.

Sunderland: If there is anything more certain than Chelsea running away with the title this season, it has to be Sunderland finding themselves at the foot of the table at the end of the season. Mick McCarthy is to blame for his failure to motivate his players who were First Division champions. The likes of Wigan and West Ham have more or less secured Premiership status with much more hunger, drive and belief. With the exception of Dean Whitehead, the whole team including the manager deserves to go down this season.

Tottenham: Martin Jol has finally revived the sleeping giants of English football. It is heartening to know that for one Premiership game, Tottenham fielded 8 Englishmen on the pitch: Robinson, King, Dawson, Gardner, Carrick, Lennon, Jenas and Defoe; which is extremely rare in the increasingly foreign saturated English league nowadays. Edgar Davids, Ahmed Mido, Lee Young-Pyo and Jermaine Jenas have all been excellent signings and performing consistently. Definitely Europe next season but which competition?

West Brom: May yet again escape relegation this season. Bryan Robson's side has been chalking up the odd wins, most notably against Tottenham. They need a fair share of luck to survive but considering that Sunderland has already hogged on to one relegation slot, Birmingham, Portsmouth and Everton playing more and more like Division One teams, they do stand a decent chance of slogging it out again in the Premiership next season. But then again, Bryan Robson's managerial abilities are always in doubt and he needs to push West Brom to a decent finish this season.

West Ham: Few expected them to be at the top half of the table for most of the season. Nigel Reo-Cooker and Marlon Harewood have impressed in particular. For me, the best player for West Ham halfway through the season has been Roy Caroll who gave his team the neccessary big stage experience he acquired during his Old Traffod days. Teddy Sheringham at 39 is still a very intelligent player and much more useful than many of the strikers in the other Premiership clubs. Only complacency can stop them from celebrating their first season back at the top flight.

Wigan: Paul Jewell is already the manager of the year by assembling a wonderful team of fighters and creating a sporting fairy tale. Not only has he steered clear of relegation this early in the season, the team is challenging for UEFA slots and was 2nd in the league during a certain period. Henri Camara is justifying every single penny that Jewell paid for with his highly energetic displays and goal-scoring feat. Pascal Chimbonda and James Bullard are my favourites players for the Lactics so far. Reward them with a UEFA Cup place.

Social Change in the Football World

2005-12-23T09:01:00.000+08:00

Dear All,

I am sure you have recently seen the draw for the Football World Cup 2006 in Germany. It is evident that FIFA is stifling the footballing development of African nation. Five qualifying slots for the second largest continent on earth is simply not enough. Although the footballing history and heritage of Africa may be relatively new, in recent times, the continent has produced stars at a productivity rate rivalling both Europe and South America, and far exceeding the other continents. Indeed in the last 10 years, 6 players have been awarded the FIFA World Player of The Year Award. Of these 6, 3 have been from South America, 2 from Europe and 1 from Africa. In the shortlist for this year's award, the top 3 nominees include a European, a South American and an African. Players from a variety of different African countries are plying their trade in the most demanding leagues in the world. This is not similar to the case in South America, where the high level of footballing expertise exhibited by two countries, Brazil and Argentina, is the sole rationale for awarding the continent, where there are only ten countries participating, four and a half qualifying spaces. The following countries have multiple players playing at club level equal to those of other European and South American countries- to name but a few, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, Morroco, Egypt, Tunisia, South Africa and Liberia.
All along I have been comparing the level of African footballing standards to those of South America and Europe. Because that is where they belong. Africa cannot be compared to Asia, where only Japan, South Korea and Iran have a production line of players capable of playing at a world class level. And yet Asia has only half a slot less than Africa does. Africa cannot be compared to North America, where the United States and Mexico have had a stranglehold on the top two places in the continent in all living memory. Indeed, the reason for Europe holding as many qualifying slots as they do is that FIFA would like to see the best teams in football advance to their showpiece tournament. The only continent where the best teams are failing to qualify is Africa, simply because there are too many good footballing countries in that continent, too many to fit into the measly five slots they have been offered. The evidence is indisputable that Africa indeed needs to be considered a footballing powerhouse. Unfortunately, the improvement in African teams has not been met by a similar increase in World Cup slots.
In addition to qualifying slots, the entire layout of FIFA's seeding for the World Cup draw is an impediment to the progress of countries who have qualified from Continent Federations which were offered fewer spaces. Because of a seeding progress which splits nations by continent, countries from Africa, North America or Asia are almost certain to be grouped together with at least 2 established footballing countries from Europe. No disrespect is intended to nations like Saudi Arabia, Trinidad&Tobago and Australia. They without a doubt have earned their right to participate in the World Cup. But the inability of non-European countries to be grouped with one of these less established countries arbitrarily and unfairly impedes and hinders their chances of qualifying from the group stage of the World Cup to the knockout phase. I cite the case of the United States of America, who were drawn with Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana in the upcoming world cup. The USA is a non-European side, and as a result they are bound to draw at least 2 well established footballing nations unless they manage to gain a top seed. This naturally places them up against a large obstacle from the very beginning of the world cup, and they are placed at a disadvantage. Which brings me to the system of selecting the nations given top seeding. This system has no transparency, and is far too ambiguous for a selection that will have such a major impact on so great a prize. One single measuring stick should be selected as the determinant of seeding, and this should be kept constant at every ensuing tournament.
Clearly, FIFA has performed with tremendous ineptitude with regards to qualification and seeding. Indeed, while I am not suggesting that they have acted in such a manner, one may mistakenly think they have acted in a very Euro-centric manner. In the interest of fairness and the hopes of a more equal world cup in the future, where every nation, from Hong Kong to Argentina, from Benin to Andorra, is given an equal opportunity for success, please pass this email on. Let us create world awareness, indeed let us be proponents of fairness.

May all the teams be treated fairly, and may the best team win.

Fwd Mail by Kaveh Namazie.

You Can't Win Anything With Youngsters

2005-11-03T18:43:00.000+08:00

Liverpool legend Alan Hansen had to eat his own words (above) after dispelling Manchester's United chances in the wake of an opening day defeat against Aston Villa in the 1995/96 season. The youngsters at the park were namely, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham. As history has it, that Manchester team went on to clinch domestic honours in the form of the Premier League title and the FA Cup.

!0 years on, Manchester United hangs in the balance of European qualification with another group of youngsters leading the side. The defeat to Lille this morning was disastrous. Lacking in creativity, an increasingly shaky defense and an out-of-sorts midfield. Later in the press conference, Sir Alex Ferguson acknowleged his side's weaknesses and call for fans worldwide to rally behind the team and to place trust on these youngsters.

Kieran Richardson, Philip Bardsley, Darren Fletcher, Alan Smith, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Gilluepse Rossi are the current crop of youngsters hogging Manchester United's team sheet. Failure to capture Arjen Robben, Michel Essien has highlighted the shift of financial prowess to the Blue side of London. Top players are no longer enticed by the prospects to play at the Theatre of Dreams and this has resulted the shift in focus on the youth system.

It is still too early to judge whether this batch of young players can match up to the '96 batch in terms of technical ability and cultivate a winning mentatlity but the stark difference between these 2 sides is the lack of natural leaders in the squad.

The 1996 Manchester United side is led by the charismatic Frenchman Eric Cantona. Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Roy Keane are all leaders in their own right and that has transcended to stability and consistency to the side. The core of the team is placed on these leaders that lead the field, very much like how John Terry, Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele is doing now for Chelsea. The absence of Roy Keane in this current side was glaringly obvious, assistant captains like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand are too lightweight and too quiet to run the team. The lack of natural leaders on the field and throwing youngsters straight into the forray resulted in much greater responsibility and much more pressure to perform. David Beckham and company just had to complement and fit into the team that is operated so efficiently by Steve Bruce and company. They had leaders to take care of them on the pitch, cover for their mistakes, crticize them for a bad pass and that has resulted in more freedom of expression on the pitch without too much pressure.

With the exception of Christiano Ronaldo, the rest of the youngsters have not won anything with Manchester United and it may take some time for them to win something if the senior players in the side do not brush up their play. Ruud Van Nisterooy is no Eric Cantona and Rio Ferdinand can never be Steve Bruce in terms of leadership.

Wayne Rooney and Christiano Ronaldo are overloaded with praises and money that have affected their performance on the pitch. It must be noted that they have won only 1 major trohpy between them while the current longest-serving Manchester United player Ryan Giggs have won 1 European Cup, 1 European Cups' Winners' Cup, 9 domestic league titles and 6 FA cups. Showering young players with praise must be kept in check and not let them get over their heads.

It is very difficult to see this current bunch of young players emulating their predecessors. Their disappoiting display this morning and in previous matches show the lack of bite in attack and sloppy midfield distribution without Roy Keane or Paul Scholes in the middle of the park. Rio Ferdinand is half the player he was in World Cup 2002 and Ruud Van Nisterooy is essentially a player that requires quality service to produce the goods. Sadly to say, this current crop of Manchester United young players looks overall less promising than the talented West Ham team comprising of Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand and Jermaine Defoe which got relegated without any real leaders in their squad.

The current team of youngsters are stuck in past glories they did not help build, presuming they are quality players just because they don the red jersey. The team is over-relying on Ruud Van Nisterooy and Wayne Rooney who cannot produce anything substantial alone. Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke were successful in many ways due to superb service from Beckham, Scholes, Keane and Giggs. The same cannot be said for the current midfield side.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson rightly noted that trusting the young players and fielding them is the future of the sport. New UEFA rules require clubs to field more home-grown or home-trained players in the squads which will change the wholelandscape of European competitions. In light of the crazy amount of money clubs spent on players by Chelsea and buying over the best players in the World in an attempt to seize total domination in club football, Sir Alex Ferguson's only hopes is to rely and place trust on the youth system he helped built to create another footballing dynasty.

His trust was awarded one in 1996. His trust could be misplaced this time.

Frank Lampard For Best Player Honours

2005-10-31T03:00:00.000+08:00

The multi-million signings that Jose Mourinho brought in to Stanford Bridge all failed to outshine one man bought by Claudio Ranieri in their all-conquering Premiership season. Even before the arrival of Mourinho, Frank Lampard was the lynchpin of the Chelsea side that finished a credible 2nd in England and semi-finalists of Europe. A product of the West Ham youth system, Frank Lampard has never looked back when he was brought to Stanford Bridge after West Ham was relegated.

Mediocre in his days at West Ham, Frank Lampard never looked the type of player that will be consistently wearing the England shirt. He would be, at most, a '10 caps player'. He looked lightweight in the middle of the park against the Roy Keanes, Paul Inces and Vieras. Now, Frank Lampard are rubbing shoulders with the Ronaldinhos, Ballacks and Kakas. What motivated his total transformation into the world-class player he is now is still unknown. Digging into his past, he was once accused of having a sex scandal with football fans together with Kieron Dyer and another unnamed Premiership footballer. That shows how much he has moved on from then. Alan Hansen commented that he was the most improved player in English football history. English schoolboy to Midfield Mastero.

Frank Lampard is fast writing himself into Chelsea's history with their historical triumph in winning their first English league title in 50 years. The catalysts were no doubt John Terry, Claude Makelele and himself. To score 20 goals a season as a central midfielder is amazing. To play every single Premiership game at the highest level and maintain a consistently above-par and sometimes, sublime performances are even more baffling. His recent brace against Blackburn cemented him as the top-scorer of English Premiership hitherto. Frank Lampard is not as affable as Gianfranco Zola, not as charismatic as Ruud Gullit, not as influential as Gianluca Vialli. But no player in history of Chelsea or even in history has continue to score goals, provide assists, defend, run kilometres in every single game, stay injury-free with minimal discilpinary problems in the rocket-speed English football environment.

To be frank, I was waiting for Frank Lampard's unbelievable form to die down. It never happened. I was hoping that he never became the Paul Scholes of the late nineties. He probably surpassed Scholes. I was waiting for him to fumble in the big European stage when his style of play is not as expressive. He bagged a double sensational strike against mighty Bayern Munich last season. His play is direct and never fanciful. His delivery of short and long passes are dead accurate. His free-kicks are not nice to look at but he hits them with an excellent rate at the back of the net. If Ronaldinho was the Maradona of the 21st century with all his flair and unpredictability then Frank Lampard has got to be Pele. Nothing fanciful, just hell lot of efficiency.

Competing with the likes of Ronaldinho, Pavel Nedved, Kaka, Shevchenko is no mean feat, all of them are great players in their own right and are all influential and reasons for their respective teams' success but none comes close to beating injury-free Frank Lampard. Awarding the FIFA player of the Year have always been performance-based. No Englishmen nor any player from the English League has ever won it. If there's one person to nick it, its got to be Frank. He is the epiotme of professionalism and sporting excellence.