A new year

Day -530 WorldCup2018

Happy New odd football year! No Euros, no World Cup, no Olympics. The year will start with the African Cup of Nations but, let's all admit, most European football fans' only interest in Afcon is how long their club teams are going to be without their African players. I do wish I could watch it. TV is not an option so I will have to search online.

The other tournament this year is the Confederations Cup in the summer. Try as hard as Fifa do to make it a worthwhile event it is still mostly regarded as an exhibition summer tournament between Euro and World Cup years.

Whatever you watch, wherever you watch here's hoping you enjoy it and that the best team wins. Ha! And may that team be the one you support.

Shortest review of the year

Day -531. WorldCup2018

I'm supposed to do some sort of review of the past year, aren't I? It was 366 days long, the Euros were ok, not great, there was lots of other football and I kept up this crazy countdown. That's it. Too late.

Aston Villa: mid-table Championship team

Day -532. WorldCup2018

Goodnight to another day which has turned into the morning of a new day. I'm giving myself a rest tonight. I won't even mention how terrible Aston Villa were today. The most expensively assembled team in the Championship, with most of that money sent on a collection of centre forwards, and they can barely muster a decent shot on goal. Thankfully, an eagle-eyed assistant referee spotted a handball which resulted in a penalty and a 1-1 draw against Leeds. A run of 5 or 6 consecutive wins would do nicely now.

The 48 team World Cup

Day -533. WorldCup2018

Everybody wants change, except for the Europeans. Everybody sees the necessity for change for their own gain, except for the Europeans who don't want change unless they can gain something from it.

The talk of expanding the World Cup to 48 teams was in the news again today as Fifa president Gianni Infantino reiterated his belief that this is the way forward for the World Cup. And again he said that his idea has the backing of most of the national federations.

The main opponents are the Europeans where most of the players who would participate in a World Cup play. The club owners, the big ones who belong to the European Clubs Association, are worried about their players having to play more.

In the end UEFA will probably go ahead and reluctantly accept the change. All the other continental confederations see it as a good move, ensuring more countries will qualify from their region. UEFA will most likely vote for the new format and then immediately demand they get more spots. Most of the World Cup finalists come from Europe already and, rather than see this as an opportunity for the World Cup to become truly a tournament for the whole world, the Europeans will selfishly look to make this a bigger showcase for their countries.

It would be naive to not recognise that the main driving force behind this change is money, and specifically more revenue for Fifa. With more matches on TV and more sponsorship money, research conducted by Fifa itself suggests that a 48 team tournament would result in an increase of $640million in profits. But, predictably, at the same time Fifa insists that a decision on the new format should have purposes beyond money.

"It should not be a financial decision," the Fifa report said. "Instead, the goal of expanding the FIFA World Cup is to further advance the vision to promote the game of football, protect its integrity and bring the game to all."

As typically cynical of a response a quote like that would normally generate from football fans, mostly European ones, there is a sound argument for an expansion. Football is stronger all over the world now, the gaps in quality are not so big anymore and there are a lot of talented teams that get excluded every four years, primarily because the Europeans get the highest percentage of spots.

The biggest issue may be the financial difficulties of a host nation to run a 48 team tournament. Brazil had many documented issues with construction costs for the last World Cup. Unless Fifa offer more assistance it will be very hard for one country to support so many matches, in more stadiums, with more public transport and hotels in places where they don't exist. The first expanded tournament would be in 2026. The favourites to host are a joint bid between Mexico, Canada and the US. That would make it easier, but how will 48 teams in one country work?

If Fifa can justifiably reason out the added expenses then I say bring it on.

Liverpool 1988

Day -534. WorldCup2018

My continued football watching over the Christmas holidays involved Liverpool-Stoke today. While Liverpool have a way to go before they become the feared, sometimes untouchable team of the 1980s, something about today reminded me of watching highlights of them beating Nottingham Forest on Big League Soccer in 1988, with Brian Moore. I seem to remember that he introduced the match as a great example of attacking football, and told his viewers to sit back and enjoy. Him saying this may all be a warped memory on my part but if you do want to watch a great example of attacking football, take the 5 minutes to watch this.

Liverpool and Chelsea are making the English Premier League very watchable this season. They have a lot more directness and speed about their play then Arsenal's dancing around the penalty box and Manchester City's insistence on trying to execute the highest amount of passes in a season. Liverpool and Chelsea are the pass, pass, go to Man City's pass, pass, pass and pass. A simplistic view, I know but I know what I enjoy.

A little side note about this video: is it a trick of the camera on the eyes or is the halfway line at Anfield extremely crooked?

Happy football

Day -535. WorldCup2018

Today I was watching Aston Villa huff and puff to another tight 2-1 win against another team that they would have brushed aside five years ago. In reality they couldn't even have imagined five years ago that they would be playing against Burton Albion, with Villa happily coasting through another season of Premier League existence and Burton trying to make it as relative newcomers to league football in England.

And when I say I watched Villa today that's a little bit of an embellishment of my story. Not for the first time this season what I had on TV was a Premier League match while I followed twitter updates of Villa. Today it was Chelsea-Bournemouth, and having it on TV serves two purposes. It allows me to watch good quality football which, in my head, I superimpose on to what's going on at Villa Park, or wherever Villa happen to be playing (this fantasy soon dissipates once I read the tweets about how terrible Villa are). The second helpful thing is that it gives me a match clock. While everybody, or at least 99% of the Villa tweeters, are begging that Villa score a winner but forgetting to mention how much time is left, I have my top right corner of the TV clock running.

However, that personal insight into how I watch football was not meant to be my point. I was more struck by Burton Albion and Red Bull Leipzig, and Leicester and CFR Cluj. I may be a romantic, a dreamer but I love the joy that football can bring to football supporters. These were all teams that existed and did nothing much more than that. Leicester were, of course, the ultimate dreams-can-come-true story but the others, and there are even others, have given their supporters, the people in those cities or towns something to be very happy about. And before I get the money story thrown at me, just as money was thrown at these clubs, I'll say "so what"?

Leipzig are being called "controversial" because Red Bull pumped money into the club, and more or less bought success. But has it made a lot of people in Leipzig happy and proud of their team? Of course. CFR Cluj are the same. A small team, built into Romanian champions and Champions League qualifiers with the backing of wealthy owners. That happiness in supporting a winning team can't be taken away from the people of Cluj. And just look at Leicester last season. What that team did was probably the cause of the biggest feel-good story that city has ever experienced.
Burton Albion are not quite there yet but they have progressed from being a non-league team to one step below the Premier League in a very short time. Now the town of Burton upon Trent is known for more than just its' brewing heritage.

I'll take this happiness through football success theory a step further to the international level. Wales, Iceland, Northern Ireland. Enough said. But I'll say more. Who were the happiest fans at the Euros last summer? Truly happy, truly proud. One of my best memories of this year was seeing the incredible euphoria of the Welsh supporters at the final whistle of their quarter final win against Belgium.

Football can make people happy. It has been the cause of my good mood many a time. I'm not going to justify it, and defend that fact, any longer. I suppose what the happiness stems from is the dream or hope of something you want to believe is possible actually happening. So whatever it is, embrace the possibility and enjoy the path.

George Michael

Day -536 WorldCup2018

While many teenage girls across the world were hoping to wake George Michael up before he and Andrew Ridgley go-go in the summer of 1984, I was drooling over my own idol, Michel Platini, and his single-handed winning of the European Championships for France. Maybe I wasn't as big a fan of the Wham-er as I was of the footballer but that music is firmly ingrained in my memory of that era.
And as big of a football genius as Platini was, so did George Michael become to be recognised in the music world. What an end to Christmas Day 2016 it was to hear the sad news of his passing.

My Christmas wish

Day -537. WorldCup2018

Merry Christmas to all the football fans who are as passionate about this crazy game as I am, who enjoy the highs but also the incredible lows. And also to all the non-football fans who have patience for people like me and who I have educated over the years to appreciate the nuances of this game and it's fans. And I can't forget those who remain steadfast in their dislike of the game and everything associated with it. I wish you a happy non-football filled Christmas but know that I won't give up on you either. It is a lot more than 22 men kicking a ball around a field, watched by men drinking beer and yelling at the 22 men, in a stadium or on TV. I will bring the passion to you too, if you will let me but I will also let you be and respect your disinterest.

Whoever you are, whatever makes you tick and gets the emotions going, if you read what I write and ignore it, like it or love it, have a wonderful Christmas.

Chapecoense: Copa Sudamericana champions

Day -538 World Cup 2018

In extreme sadness, happiness is sometimes found. Not the kind of joy that can ever replace what caused the sadness, but a moment of happiness that shows that that memories will live on, new relationships will be born and that the loved ones of those gone will hopefully find solace in the coming together of a larger community. Football has had many of these moments.

On Wednesday, Chapecoense were presented with the Copa Sudamericana trophy. Their new president received the award at the draw for the Copa Libertadores, for which Chapecoense have now qualified as the winners of the competition, the final of which they never got to play in. I don't understand much Spanish or Portuguese but after a tribute by the COMNEBOL president and a representative of Atletico Nacional there is a wonderful tribute to Chapecoense and the highlights of their run to the final. It's worth watching at least from about minute 1.50.

Malta once more

Day -539 WorldCup2018

After yesterday's emotional release about Maltese football, which I most definitely stand by, I was wondering how I would follow it up, And I'm having a hard time. I enjoyed writing yesterday. I came to me easily because its a subject that I have invested a lot of emotion in.

I do not enjoy highlighting the negative side of Maltese football but because I was immersed in it for so long I find it easy to vent my frustration. And I believe it is necessary to voice these concerns. The powers that be in Malta need to know that the supporters do not want to feel like they have been, and are still being, taken for a ride for season after season. Rumours are one thing, but serious allegations that the public were paying to watch matches of which the results had been pre-determined means that the football public needs answers and assurances that something is being done about this mess.

A conversation I had today reminded me that there were many happy memories of watching live football in Malta. I have mentioned before the personal memorable moments: the goal to go 1-0 up against West Germany; the fighting performance of the team and the huge crowd support in the revenge match against Spain; the joy of watching a rare win, 3-1 against Jordan on a cool Spring evening in a mostly empty stadium. And all those weekends spent watching back to back league matches were a significant part of my childhood. It was fun, a lot of fun.

I sense an irony here, in a twisted (Maltese?) humour sort of way, I enjoyed being a supporter when everybody told me that it was a corrupt league. If the rumours are true and the allegations are proven and the sport is seriously cleaned up, then what happens the next time I'm back there? If I'm watching a "clean" league has it lost some of it's charm? You can see how twisted that is. And I'm not even convinced by my own argument. It was just a niggle in my brain.

I'll move on tomorrow but I know I'll be back to this in the future

Malta again

Day -539 #WorldCup2018

After yesterday's emotional release about Maltese football, which I most definitely stand by, I was wondering how I would follow it up, And I'm having a hard time. I enjoyed writing yesterday. I came to me easily because its a subject that I have invested a lot of emotion in.

I do not enjoy highlighting the negative side of Maltese football but because I was immersed in it for so long I find it easy to vent my frustration. And I believe it is necessary to voice these concerns. The powers that be in Malta need to know that the supporters do not want to feel like they have been, and are still being, taken for a ride for season after season. Rumours are one thing, but serious allegations that the public were paying to watch matches of which the results had been pre-determined means that the football public needs answers and assurances that something is being done about this mess.

A conversation I had today reminded me that there were many happy memories of watching live football in Malta. I have mentioned before the personal memorable moments: the goal to go 1-0 up against West Germany; the fighting performance of the team and the huge crowd support in the revenge match against Spain; the joy of watching a rare win, 3-1 against Jordan on a cool Spring evening in a mostly empty stadium. And all those weekends spent watching back to back league matches were a significant part of my childhood. It was fun, a lot of fun.

I sense an irony here, in a twisted (Maltese?) humour sort of way, I enjoyed being a supporter when everybody told me that it was a corrupt league. If the rumours are true and the allegations are proven and the sport is seriously cleaned up, then what happens the next time I'm back there? If I'm watching a "clean" league has it lost some of it's charm? You can see how twisted that is. And I'm not even convinced by my own argument. It was just a niggle in my brain.

I'll move on tomorrow but I know I'll be back to this in the future.

Malta football mess

Day -540. WorldCup2018

Irony, good timing with a little dose of fate. That was the day that played out in front of me today. Or just ironic timing.

But first, my disclaimer. As ridiculous as it has sounded to many people who have known me over the years I was, am, and will continue to be a supporter of Maltese football. It will sound repetitive to whoever has read me writing this before, but for the sake of what is to follow I have to say it again. I spent many hours in Malta watching football of questionable quality. Some of it was downright boring and it was necessary to look for alternative entertainment within the stadium. The young boys playing football between the stands and the fence very often caught the eye more than what was happening on the pitch. The mindless banter of the people sitting around me was more inspiring than the athletic ability of the footballers. And the tricks played on the taste buds by the hot water disguised as coffee or hot chocolate made up for the lack of any magic on the pitch. But despite all this, and because of all this, it is what I loved, what I grew up with. I can go to Wembley, or the Nou Camp and it will never feel as unique as Ta' Qali on a sunny, winter's afternoon with the smell of cigarette smoke wafting through the air. And I was watching players I knew, some personally, but all of them because they were Maltese like me. There was a connection and I could live with the incredulous comments from friends who couldn't understand why I wouldn't rather be sitting at home in front of the TV watching Man United against Liverpool.

That background should ensure that I get some understanding of my frustration at what is going on in Malta and it's football now.

Today is 33 years to the day that Malta suffered it's biggest loss ever, 12-1 to Spain. It was the match that seemed to signify that Maltese football had hit absolute rock bottom. And it started a 33 year long catalogue of conspiracy theories surrounding bribery and that match. All allegations, I must stress. Nothing was ever proven. It could just have been an incredible Spanish performance on that day that they needed to win by 11 goals and they did it despite the score only being 3-1 at half-time.

Today, a Maltese newspaper (Malta Today, Matthew Vella) reported on the presence of a company in Malta that was used to facilitate transfers of football players "on paper". They never really happened, but commissions and fees were still paid.

One year ago today, I wrote about another Malta based company that had third party ownership of Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo when he was transferred from Sporting Lisbon to United. Sporting claimed they were owned a bigger portion of the transfer fee but the Court of Arbitration for Sport decreed that Sporting had to pay a large sum to Doyen for the transfer. It raised questions about the ownership of footballers and who was benefiting from their transfers between clubs.

Today the continued saga at Birkirkara FC, one of Malta's most successful clubs in recent years, was in the local newspapers again. Last summer Birkirkara were celebrated for the best result ever by a Maltese club in Europe. Their 2-0 win in Scotland, against Hearts, saw them qualify for the third qualifying round of the Europa League. For the past two weeks or so the team have been battling with a terrible run of results, the firing of their coach, the arrest of their Croatian goalkeeper on suspicions of match fixing and the allegation of the goalkeeper that he was kidnapped by the club president and other players. Apparently the president marched into the team's dressing room and demanded to know what the players knew about the match fixing allegations. Yesterday the president made an emotional speech at a meeting of the Malta FA Council where he vowed to fight what has made Maltese football so rotten (as reported in The Times of Malta). Fighting words, but what effect will they have when the MFA's integrity officer has said in the past that many of the clubs, whose presidents and owners were in that room, generate most of their revenue from bribes received for throwing matches?

There are a lot of other stories being written about the allegations surrounding Birkirkara (Maltawinds.com, Gerald Fenech). It is hard to really know what is true. And in a small county it is not easy to determine whether a connection between certain individuals, club owners, businessmen, football officials, is just a small island coincidence or planned convenience.Third part ownership companies, fake transfers, bribes for match fixing, foreign investors in Maltese clubs: is all the money connected?

Last week the Toronto Star ran a story about the infiltration of Eastern European gambling syndicates in the Canadian Soccer League. This is a league where matches are played in front of crowds of a 100 people, some of whom as the author wrote, are out walking their dogs. The league is seen as an easy target, just like those in countries "like Malta and Albania". There we have it: Malta's semi-professional league, looking to become more professional and raise the profile of football in Malta, is on an equal easy-target-for-criminals level as a part time league in Canada watched accidentally by dog walkers.

What today could be seen to signify is that Maltese football has come full circle in 33 years. How much lower can we go, again?

After Berlin

Day -541. WorldCup2018

Another quiet day with football in the back seat. The suspected driver in the Berlin attack was now not the driver, now a suspect. Somebody else out there did this. May he be caught and not allowed to get away with this.

Berlin and Turkey

Day -542. WorldCup2018

Another horribly sad day that I will not want to look back on in over two years. The truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market and the murder of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, again, make my description of football seem quite meaningless.

The Antlers...almost!

Day -543. #WorldCup2018

The Club World Cup final was a good one. That's what I read on the BBC when I woke up. Extra time was being played and I thought about looking for it online. I resigned myself to it being a futile search as I was sure Fifa's minions would have blocked any broadcast that wasn't making money for Fifa. Fair enough, I guess. Everybody in the business of making money has to make money. It just jars a little bit with Fifa's goal of taking football to all corners of the world. I watch a lot of football on TV, but am not going to pay a ridiculous monthly fee to buy a channel which I'll watch one match on.

On the pitch, Real Madrid had to work for their win. Kashima Antlers were 2-1 up in the second half. Cristiano Ronaldo was in no mood for a fairytale, unless it involved him, and his hat-trick, including two in the extra 30 minutes, gave Real the "best club in the world" title again.

This was the tournament where Fifa introduced the official use of video replays. But there was another innovation used today for the first time. Ronaldo was substituted in extra time and the man on BBC's live updates had to do a double take and go back to the substitution and mention that it was Real's 4th change. "I guess that's allowed in this tournament", was my bringer of news' comment on the BBC. Yes, Fifa are experimenting with a 4th substitute in extra time in this and other tournaments. It says something about how much importance Fifa give to the Club World Cup when they use it to experiment. But you could argue that both ways: nobody really watches so let's try new stuff, or it's a big tournament worthy of innovation.

Well done to the Antlers for giving Real a real run for their money. The champions of Japan were extremely close to beating the team that would have happily proclaimed themselves the "best in the world" before officially winning the title.

The CWC final

Day -544. WorldCup2018

In a few hours the first Asian team in the final of Fifa's Club World Cup will attempt to stop Real Madrid's unbeaten run at 36 matches. Kashima Antler will, off course, be more concerned with becoming the first Asian winners rather than caring about Real's long streak. In a few hours, plus a couple more, you will know if the dream came true for the plucky team from Japan who's stated game plan is to play like crocodiles and snap at the Real players. But you won't know from me. I don't quite have enough motivation to be up early looking for an online feed. It could be good but it could also be a stroll for Real. I'll look forward to hearing about it.

A lot of nothing

Day -545. WorldCup2018

The end of the day. That's always my time for this. And it's not a figurative "end of the day." It's usually the 24th hour of the day that I sit down to write this. And on a day like today I have all these things I want to get into but don't have the energy for. Oh, to make this a full time job!

Today it's Antlers and Madrid. Not Antlers in Madrid, of which I'm sure there are many decorative ones at this time of the year, in Madrid. More Antlers in Japan, of the Kashima type, who will play the real Madrid as opposed to the not real Madrid on Sunday in the Club World Cup final (and that is a very bad joke from many years ago when my friend and I would entertain ourselves watching live Maltese football. It's a terrible joke, which coincided with the installation of the new scoreboard at the national stadium in Malta that displayed the "real time", but didn't have a word for the other time. We were watching Maltese football, we needed self-entertainment).

Sunday, 05.30 Toronto, Canada time. Add, or subtract, whatever you need to that to figure out what time you need to be looking for a live stream online. Like I said, a few days ago, in the old days before it became the Macdonald's, Visa, Budweiser, etc Fifa Club World Cup it was easy to watch on free, antenna-on-the-roof TV. Now you need to add another worrisome monthly bill to your household to be able to watch to it.

The other thing on my mind, to be discussed further, is Gianni Infantino's fantastic (in his head) new plan for World Cup USA/Canada/Mexico 2026 with 48 teams. Easy, he says, 16 groups of 3 teams. And apparently, again according to the lovable Gianni, the national federations love the idea. I didn't see any mention of exactly which national federations he managed to brainwash but, hey, it might not be that bad of an idea. Why limit the biggest football tournament in the world to 32 teams when in 2018, for example, one of Ghana, Nigeria and Algeria are not going to qualify because Africa get so few spots?

Who doesn't agree with Infantino's insight is the European Clubs Association. They think a bigger World Cup will mean more matches for their precious investments, the players they spend millions on for whom they get no compensation for their huge transfer fees if they get injured at a World Cup. Jovial Gianni has reassured everybody in advance that his expanded World Cup will not mean more matches. He has it all figured out that the winning team will still play 7 matches over 32 days, just as it was with a 32 team World Cup.

But like I said I don't have the energy for all this right now. I can't get into how this is the same ECA who announced that the top 4 countries in Europe- Germany, Italy, Spain, England- will each get 4 guaranteed spots in the Champions League. The ECA that looks after the big spenders.

I don't even really have the time to mention my personal disillusionment and embarrassment with my Aston Villa. My hope that they would rebound after relegation last season is looking rather less hopeful. Last Tuesday I made the effort to watch them play Norwich online and it was the most pitiful display of football I have watched for a while. And they still won. Norwich that is. Villa were dreadful, if that is worse than pitiful. I now want to ignore them for a while and hope that when I come back to consciousness they have won 7 or 8 in a row and are in with a shout of playoff redemption. That's the joy of living in North America and following, or not, hockey, basketball or baseball. They play a thousand and one games all season before it all coming down to playoffs, so you can tune out for 500 games and it may not matter. Lose 10 in a row? Ah, it's ok. Check back in 2 months and they might have won 10 in a row while you forgot they were still playing. Not so with Aston Villa and the week in, week out of the cut throat English Championship. I still want to call it the Second Division. Villa don't deserve the honour of playing in such a lofty named division.

So that's my short post about what I don't have the time to write about. Maybe tomorrow, which it now is.

Best in the world?

Day -546. WorldCup2018

It'll be Real Madrid and Kashima Antlers playing for the title of best club team in the world on Sunday in Fifa's Club World Cup. Real Madrid beat Mexico's Club America 2-0 but the video review system was almost the main talking point again. The referee thought about using it to have a look at Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, Madrid's second, but then decided he could use the good old fashioned, "what did I see with my own eyes?" technique. Which, admittedly, hasn't always worked very well.

It's a funny concept, isn't it, this "best in the world". Whoever wins this can say they are that, because Fifa created this tournament to decide who is the best. If Real Madrid win they are the best in the world but not the best in Spain, because they qualified for the Champions League (which they won to be in Japan) only because UEFA allows almost-Champions to play in that tournament. And Kashima? Well, if they win they may deserve the title for beating the second best in Spain, best in Europe team. And after all they did beat all the other teams in, er, Japan to be at the Club World Cup. They are not even the best team in Asia. But a tournament is a tournament, and the winner can claim to be the best.

I went along with this train of thought, having no idea where it was going when I started. There may have been a point which is probably something along the lines of, "but who can call themselves the best club team in the world?" Somewhere I went off the rails and could see my point rolling gently away down the tracks and I didn't have the energy to recover and chase it down. I thought about hitting delete but I'll leave it up there to see what response, if any, it gets.

Were Brazil the best team in the world in 1982, or Italy?

Kashima! Kashima!

Day -547 WorldCup2018

Kashima Antlers, of Japan, the only team in Fifa's Club World Cup who are not continental champions are in Sunday's final. They, surprisingly perhaps but maybe not so in the circumstances, beat Atletico Nacional 3-0 in today's semifinal. But that's only part of the story.

Atletico Nacional are the team that were meant to play the tragedy-hit Chapecoense team in last month's Copa Sudamericana final. The Atletico players said they were looking to win the Club World Cup for Chapecoense and the Atletico supporters in Japan were wearing Chapecoense colours. Cynical as many non-fans (and even fans) of the sport may be about the possibility that football players have thoughts beyond their next match, their pay cheques or their image, it is also equally hard to believe that the Atletico players weren't affected emotionally by what happened a couple of weeks ago. I really do not believe they were in the best competitive frame of mind. And it didn't help that luck wasn't on their side with a historical decision going against them.

For the first time in a competitive match referees had access to video replays. Kashima were awarded a penalty in the first half for what The Guardian described as "an off-the-ball trip", seen by the referee on a video replay. The same report also mentioned that the Kashima player "looked to be offside." Which, of course, begs a question with many parts to be asked but wasn't brought up: "Could the referee only review one part of the play, could he not see the offside and who decided what he was to review?"

Atletico hit the crossbar and had numerous chances to score, but as we all know the team that scores more goals wins. Near misses don't count. This, however, seems especially harsh on Atletico who were only behind because of that controversial penalty. The second and third goals were scored right at the end when Atletico had probably given up on defending.
Still, Kashima deserve to be recognised for winning three matches, two of which could be considered as surprises, to reach the final where they are expected to face Real Madrid. It will be a great occasion for the Japanese team, playing at home against one of the consistently best teams in the world.

Last week I quoted Kashima midfielder Shoma Doi and wondered about his ambition when he said: "When I was starting out, I used to say that playing in the FIFA Club World Cup was my dream. I feel very happy to have fulfilled that dream now.” I'll say now that playing in the Club World Cup final, in Japan, against Real Madrid must be about a good as it gets.

Russia 2018 and doping again

Day -548. WorldCup2018

With the publication of the second. Richard Maclaren report into what appears to be state sponsored doping in Russia across many sports there is an obvious call, again, for Russia to be stripped of the World Cup in 2018.

How can a country that supported and encouraged drug taking by its own athletes be trusted to run any major international event? The chairman of the Russia 2018 organising committee, Vitaly Mutko, also a Fifa Council member, is widely understood to have used his position of Minister for Sport to facilitate the cover up of the athlete doping. So how can Fifa entrust their showpiece event to a country that allows their cheats (and politicians) to support cheats?

Will Russia lose the World Cup? My thoughts on what will happen were best summed up by Sean Ingle in The Guardian last Saturday, in number one of his "five questions on the Russian doping scandal." The short, and only answer, is nothing.

"What do Richard McLaren’s devastating reports mean for Russia’s chances of being stripped of football’s 2018 World Cup?
Very little. Barring an unforeseen act of God, the 2018 World Cup is staying put. True, there are growing calls for Russia to be excluded from international competitions – with Richard Ask, the head of Denmark’s anti-doping agency, specifically referencing taking it away. Yet within football’s corridors of power nothing has changed: Fifa simply has no appetite to move the competition from Russia.
It is worth remembering that even after the first McLaren report in July – just when cries for all Russian athletes to miss the Olympics in Rio were at their loudest – football’s world governing body issued a statement that could have been dictated by a senior politburo member during the grimmest days of communism. “Fifa,” it said, “is confident that the local organising committee and the Russian government are going to deliver an outstanding event for football fans two years from now.”
The second part of McLaren’s report added greater texture and depth, but, fundamentally, its overriding theme – that the Russian state deliberately doped its athletes and corrupted international sport – was unchanged. Why would Fifa change tack now?"

The real world

Day -549. WorldCup2018

Fans of Istanbul football teams marched in solidarity with the victims of the bombings at the stadium of their rivals, Besiktas, on Saturday that killed 44 people. Rivals in football yet connected by that rivalry as football fans.

Yesterday was the last day of the Brazilian football season. Fans all over the country sang songs normally sung by supporters of Chapecoense, the team that was virtually wiped out in the tragic plane crash in Colombia last week. Chapecoense were meant to play at home against Atletico Mineiro yesterday. Both clubs agree to not play the match, the league agreed and no points were awarded.

Perspective.

Fifa's baby: will it grow?

Day -550, #WorldCup2018

Fifa's Club World Cup made it into the European news today because Real Madrid landed in Japan in preparation for their semi-final appearance on Thursday. Today's two quarter finals probably barely got noticed outside of Japan, South Korea, Mexico and South Africa. I would comfortably wager that the majority of viewers in Spain, or elsewhere in Europe, on Thursday, would have no idea that Jeonbuk Hyundai or Mamelodi Sundowns were part of this same tournament. And Auckland City? They were gone long before Real Madrid fans even remembered that their team would be off on their December jaunt to Japan.

Real Madrid play Mexico's Club America on Thursday, the day after Atletico Nacional of Colombia take on Kashima Antlers, Japan's representative as the host nation champions.

I question the existence of the Club World Cup with tongue in cheek. It is one of those ideas coming out of Fifa which is just a little to easy to poke fun at for the questionable reasons (addressed in an earlier post) for which it saw fit to create this tournament. I do, however, see the validity of crowning the best club team in the world. It's the method that I find amusing.

Just as the Confederations Cup, billed as the coming together of the six continental champions, has eight participants the club version is more peculiar in that seven teams are entered. The six champions are joined by host nation's league winners. That's one extra match for Fifa to sell to TV and the guaranteed interest of the Japanese fans, at least those of Kashima Antlers.

Give this a few years and Arsenal may be in the Club World Cup. Fifa may adopt more of UEFA's thinking and just as teams that are hardly "champions" compete in the Champions League, purely for UEFA;s financial gain we may see an expanded Club World Cup. Seeing as Arsenal are perennial Champions League round of 16 losers (and having not won the English league for many years) they would make excellent candidates.

TFC v Seattle: The silence

Day -551. WorldCup2018

It's 1am on the night that could have been, should have been for Toronto FC, but wasn't. Before I could write this I had to get home, thaw out, warm up, and then wonder how I was going to overcome the feeling of despair I felt at that loss, not for me but for the players and for the majority of the fans in the stadium. Heartbreak for Toronto FC would not be a far-fetched description. I wondered where to start, and the end seemed like a pretty good point. If Toronto FC had won I probably would have also started at the end, because a happy ending would have been so easy to describe.

The last kick of the game was followed instantly by the most deafening silence I have ever heard. It was intense how quickly it hit the stadium. As soon as the sound of the rustling of the net from Seattle's winning penalty hit our ears 95% of the people in the stadium realised it was over. After 120 minutes and a penalty shoot out Toronto FC would not be MLS champions. It wasn't a gradual dawning. It didn't go from cheers to subdued cheers to murmurs to moans and then silence. It went from a very loud crowd taunting the penalty taker, and cheering the home goalkeeper to nothing. In a instant. Did I say it already? I have never heard anything like it.

There was some noise. Right as the silence hit, the whole Seattle squad was screaming and the 1000 or so Seattle players were cheering. But those sounds didn't pierce the silence. They just exaggerated it.

It started with so much hope, and so much noise from the home support. And Toronto, as expected, came out on the attack. And they maintained that for most of the 120 minutes. The overall pattern was that Toronto attacked and Seattle looked to counter, apart from a spell towards the end of the second half. Even then Seattle couldn't muster a shot on target, or anywhere remotely near the target. Toronto thought they had won it in the second half of extra time when Altidore's slow, lobbed header was clawed out from partly inside the Seattle goal by the excellent Swiss, former TFC, Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

Sadly, it was gradually apparent that Sebastian Giovinco was not having one of his better days. He was not going to be the match winner, no magic from him today. He didn't even make it to the end and nobody in the stadium who understood what was going on could have been surprised at the substitution.

The best player on the pitch was Michael Bradley, the nullifier of many Seattle attacks and the creator of many of Toronto's best moments. But just to prove how cruel this, or any sport, can be his authoritative calmness deserted him when he took his penalty. Or maybe it was him being too calm that was his downfall, when he needed a to be a bit more wound up. The right balance of the two might not have been there as he pretty much passed the ball to Frei in the Seattle goal.

And that was that. It's no consolation for Toronto tonight if they were told this was their first final and they will be back. It was tonight that they wanted it. There will be other times, the team, the fans and the City hope.

As we all trudged away into the cold, cold, very cold night with the sound of the singing Seattle supporters dancing around in the crisp air, and the fireworks that seemed misplaced (what was there to celebrate) the only positive that lingered could be that all 36,045 of us witnessed a very significant football match in Canada. There haven't been many of those over the years. So, to paraphrase the cliche, football in this country was also the winner.

Toronto FC will have to wait, but thank you for the fun ride.

The orange ball is here

Day -552. WorldCup2018

I've never been to a World Cup or a European Championships. The closest I got was being in Switzerland when Euro 2008 was happening. So the MLS Cup happening in Toronto, with Toronto FC playing in it, will be the biggest football thing that's I've ever been in the right City for. Laugh as you may you Europeans, you who may ridicule football in North America. The excitement is incredible and Giovinco, Bradley and Altidore have made Toronto FC a team very well worth watching.

I spent the whole day reading everything I could about it and really getting a feel for the hugeness of the occasion. Now I'm mentally exhausted. Nothing more to say until about 24hrs from now.

There is happy news. The league heeded my call and have found the orange ball.

Who's got the orange ball?

Day -553. WorldCup2018

The pitch is in perfect condition, the time and place of the pre-game street party has been announced, the fans have their tickets (thousands of others have complained that they couldn't buy any while others have been selling them on re-sale websites for big profits), the press conferences have started and their is definitely a buzz for Toronto's football team, on the verge of giving the City a rare winner. What else do we need? The orange ball.

Years ago, watching on TV, I was always captivated by the orange (red?) ball that was used when a match was played in snow. It made it seem so exotic, and exciting, that the players needed a ball they could see through the snow. And this was before I had ever experienced snow. So it wasn't just the sight of the different coloured ball. It was what it signified- that this mysterious, cold, white stuff was coming down so hard that the players wouldn't be able to see a white ball. And if a groundsman had to run on with a shovel or a broom to clear snow off the lines, then it was another level of wow-ness.

It's snowing in Toronto tonight. The forecast chance of snow for Saturday keeps changing. But wouldn't it be great if the referee rolled out the orange ball. Even it wasn't snowing at kickoff, the sight of that ball would mean that somebody thinks there is a good chance it could turn snowy. I believe it was Nick Hornby who wrote in his excellent book, Fever Pitch, that the ingredients for a good football match are rain, a mid-week night kickoff and a brawl amongst the players (I paraphrase). There is something about a player sliding into a tackle on a muddy pitch and carrying on with that slide for a further twenty metres down the pitch with another player attached to him. Now imagine that with the sliding mass of two players shrouded in a cloud of snow and an orange ball flying out of the white chaos. The snow, Mr. Hornby, would be the last special ingredient.

It's going to be cold on Saturday night. Wind chill could make it feel like -9C. That is going to be a unique enough experience. But add in some blowing snow, mixed in with the TFC fans' non-stop chanting and bouncing and that will be an atmosphere like no other.

The orange ball, ref. Don't forget the orange ball. Bring it and it will come.

The World Cup...no, the other one

Day -554. WorldCup2018

Hands up if you are a football fan in Europe or North America and you know that Kashima Antlers are playing Auckland City in Yokohama, Japan at 19.30 (local time) on Thursday in Fifa's premier, and only, club competition.

Yes, it's that time of the year again when Fifa try to steal the club spotlight for a couple of weeks and in attempt to create some buzz about it they assume that the rest of the world really cares. And in a weird psychological way they try and impose world club football fandom upon us.

In years gone by the tournament was the Intercontinental Cup, played between the European Cup winners and the Copa Libertadores (South America). My memory is of a match played at an odd time, in Japan, amid the constant sound of horns. Why were the Japanese fans blowing horns for 90 minutes, I wondered. And the South Americans always seemed to win. (This is completely non-statistical but Penarol and River Plate and a bunch of Brazilian teams were always the winners in my memory).

Then money came into football, serious money. The Champions League was born in Europe which saw the birth of many a meaningless first round group match for which clubs got paid a ridiculous amount of money from contracts that UEFA got TV companies to sign. And the TV companies paid for these contracts by charging gullible customers for the privilege of watching a meaningless group match while being mindlessly sucked into the product advertising in the pre-game/halftime/post game from companies that was also helping to pay for those UEFA TV rights contracts. And all the other continents followed suit and had their own Champions League.

And Fifa, who couldn't be left out of any money-making opportunity, had to be part of this action. So, under the guise of bringing the football community together, or helping develop football around the world, or wanting to be fair and break the establishment monopoly of the South Americans and Europeans, Fifa decided to bring all the Champions League winners together into their own money making competition.

“When I was starting out, I used to say that playing in the FIFA Club World Cup was my dream. I feel very happy to have fulfilled that dream now.” Kashima Antlers midfielder Shoma Doi.
Amy I really too cynical? But, also, am I alone in my cynicism. Please tell me that I'm not the only one who is amused by that and thinks that Shoma Doi was paid a lot of money by Adidas, or Coca Cola or Visa to say that. Was that really his dream. Shouldn't it first be that he actually wins the Asian Champions League? Kashima Antlers didn't. They are only playing as the champions of the host country. Or wouldn't it be that he plays for Japan at the World Cup?

But maybe it's just me, a European, that is not impressed by this Fifa CWC hype. I am a Eurosnob, after all.

As a postscript, the irony is that when the non-money making Intercontinental Cup existed I watched it every year on my TV served by a flimsy roof antenna in Malta. Now that it's the Adidas, Visa, Coca Cola Budweiser, Macdonalds Fifa Club World Cup I don't see it on my 300 channel cable TV in Canada.

Besikats, Besiktas, what have you done?

Day -555. WorldCup2018

The goings on in today's Champions League matches distracted me from Toronto FC's date with history on Saturday. Not a complete distraction as I was still having a conversation about hanging outdoor stadium heaters while watching Celtic play like they finally decided they needed a result in their last group match, long after they had been eliminated.

The Champions League always offers up many meaningless last matchday matches. Only one group out of the four had anything to play for today. Benfica hosted Napoli where a win for either team guaranteed progression to the round of 16. But if Besiktas didn't beat Dynamo Kiev than a draw would have been enough for both of them. I was keeping an eye on those results, expecting Besiktas to have a relatively easy win against the group's bottom team for whom even third place and a consolation spot in the Europa League was beyond them.

The match in Portugal looked like it would be a winner takes all. And then Dynamo scored, and Besiktas had a player sent off and Dynamo scored from the resultant penalty. And Dynamo scored again, and again. And then it was half-time. The Besiktas players and manager must have done some serious miscalculations about the combination of results necessary for them to move on. Surely they would realise at halftime that they had it got it terribly wrong and that they needed to score more goals than their previously woeful opponents, and come out fighting in the second half to produce a miraculous mother of all Champions League comebacks. And then Besiktas had another player sent off, and Dynamo scored again and again.

And thus at 6-0 the meekest, yet biggest, collapse ever of a team in a position to reach the last 16 ended. Oh, to be in that dressing room after that match, only to want to get out of there as quickly as possible.

It'll be a cold one

Day -556. WorldCup2018

A short one.

The prediction for Saturday's weather, or should I say the forecast, is for a high of -1C with chance of snow at night. I know I've lived here for a while when -1 doesn't seem that bad. But -1 when you are sitting in one spot watching a football match is bone-chilling freezing. Kickoff time for Saturday's match is 8pm, or somewhere around there but don't get me started on that.

"Qu'est-ce que vous chantez?"

Day -557. WorldCup2018

In Toronto FC's second season I was working on a project exploring the influence of European football on football in North America. It was very helpful having a new MLS team in Toronto, and lucky for me. A meeting with one of the senior managers at the club was extremely insightful and one aspect of Toronto FC'S philosophy which I particularly remember was that they wanted to keep a real football feel to the club, and not be a North Americanized soccer club.

On the fans' side the amount of copying or imitation of European stadium supporter behaviour, including the songs, was easily apparent. Adoption may be a better description than imitation. There's nothing wrong with using the best examples of football fan culture to create an atmosphere worthy of a real football stadium. It took a lot of organising from all the Toronto FC supporter clubs and it has now developed into what is probably the best atmosphere at an MLS stadium.

Part of my research for my project included searching online for video material demonstrating the link between European football and that over on this side of the Atlantic. One of my favourites was a pretty popular chant of the RC Lens supporters in France and adopted by the Toronto FC fans. I knew a lot of the English songs but this was a new one to me. I haven't heard it for a while here but here is the TFC Massive chant from a few years ago.

A TFC fan

Day -558. WorldCup2018

One week to go before the biggest football match ever in Toronto. There's been a few of those "biggest ever" recently and winning them has led Toronto FC to this one. The fans are ready and the City is looking forward to finally having a winner. The term "bandwagon" has been thrown about, but is that so wrong, to want to back a winner and possibly become a longer term fan.

The other label I came across on the Twitter chat yesterday was "Eurosnob." Tickets went on sale for season ticket holders and there were, understandably, a number of disgruntled individuals who did get tickets but not in their normal seats or sections, because this a league event not a Toronto FC one even though it is being hosted by Toronto at BMO Field.. Amongst all the "what's the big deal, we're in the final, it's in Toronto and we have tickets" and the "I hate MLS and TFC for taking my money and not caring about the real fans" comments somebody mentioned how a number of "Eurosnobs" were now bugging him to buy tickets for them. It's pretty self-explanatory: the European immigrants who never took MLS or TFC seriously, and maybe even poked fun at this amateur league. Now we all want to be part of it.

I say "we" because I'm sure that if I was at the match next Saturday sitting next to a 10-year season ticket holder, and we got talking, I'm sure that that's what he would think of me. I never bought a season ticket for TFC, I went to a handful of matches and not every season, I support a team in England and happily watch them on TV every weekend and I could tell my seat neighbour who Aston Villa's substitutes were in a particular match but would struggle to remember the name of TFC's right back a couple of years ago. So there I am, the typical Eurosnob.

But hold up there, I say. There's a number of reasons why I was not a season ticket holder, none of which I have to justify to my sneering neighbour. I was still a fan and have been since the beginning. I wish I could be there for every home match, but it doesn't work for everybody. Do I only support when it's fun to be there, when the team are winning and the stadium is full and I go for the atmosphere? I grew up watching football in Malta. I was at matches with a few hundred other people The football on offer was occasionally a step above dire. And I went back again and again, week after week.

I am incredibly excited by what TFC have done this year. I have not cared about the outcome of a football match as much as I did last Wednesday for a very long time. I watched Chelsea-Manchester City this morning and while I marvelled at the amazing quality of the football (I was almost drooling and could go on about it) it lacked the excitement, the nervousness, of wanting a team to win. Being a neutral eliminates a few necessary football fan ingredients,

Call this what you may, but as a European watching MLS I do still have a few fun questions about the quirks of football here. It's different, I get it, and this doesn't take away from what Toronto FC, the club, and the fans have achieved here.

Why is the advertised kickoff time not really the kickoff time? I'm used to it now: 7pm means it will start some time between 7.08 and 7.11? But why still call it kickoff time, because it's not. Why not find another word for what happens at 7pm?

Why do so many people come to the stadium so late and leave so early? When the match starts there are always an amazing number of empty seats. This summer I got off the train from work at Exhibition station (right by the stadium) and people were streaming towards the station from BMO Field. I checked, it was the 68th minute and TFC had just scored the first goal of the match.

Why do so many people wander about during a match at BMO Field? Watching on TV it is very easy to see all the people walking about in the open north end of the stadium. Constantly. What are they there for?

What's with the covered faces of the supporters in the south end supporters' sections? I hope the simple explanation is nose and mouth protection from the many flares and smoke bombs. Otherwise, I wonder if it's an attempt to copy the European "Ultras", And that would be sad because, as a European that's a symbol of the ugly side of football. It's a happier thing here, a fun place to go for anybody. What does the image of a men with scarfs covering most of their faces say to young fans?

Eurosnob or not I cannot wait for next Saturday to come around. This is like being in the World Cup or European Championship final host city that I was never in. It's going to be fun.

Eurosnob?

Day -559 WorldCup2018

I should have a sub-countdown going on now until December 10th, a Toronto FC countdown to the MLS Cup. That's probably all I'll be writing about until then.

I gathered, from reading the chatter on Twitter today, that I could easily be labeled a Eurosnob when it comes to MLS, or just Toronto FC, football. Why, and am I? I thought about it and will come back to it tomorrow.

TFC, the day after and 9 days before.

Day -560 WorldCup2018

Oh what a night, it was last night. That Toronto FC epic win will be remembered for a long time. Yes, we will tell our grandchildren about it.

My story will be about not being able to be there, and the excitement of planning how to watch it on TV at home. I knew I was going to be competing with the rest of the family watching Survivor when the second half started. "Survivor, the grandchildren will say, we love it. Season number 387 is the best! And did you see that alliance? Can you believe it?" "Stop, this was my story!" So my plan included setting up the laptop at halftime, connected to the second TV, and the obligatory commercials at the beginning of an online stream played. All good, the second TV is bigger anyway. It was the first TV until we decided the second TV fit the space better, so the number 1 got relegated.

All good, until the warning popped up: "you should plug your laptop into a power source RIGHT NOW or it will lose power and then you will need to restart and go through all the online stream set up again and in that time you may miss a goal or a sending off and you'll want to check Twitter and waste time and then possibly miss Giovinco taking on the entire Montreal defence and scoring the goal of the century". Yes, you know that warning. Off I ran up the stairs from the basement to find the magical wire, knowing I probably only had about 30 seconds. I was doomed but, like Toronto FC, I believed. No power cord. Not here where it should be, not there where it could have been if I didn't put it where it should have been. And not even there where I knew it wasn't anyway but in desperation you hope that by some miracle (or because of an ageing brain) it made it's way to where it definitely couldn't or shouldn't be. Left it at work. Great.

Plan B. Follow on Twitter as I have with Aston Villa for many Saturday's now. No, not tonight. That's not good enough. Plan C? Convince the ladies that this is history in the making, it may never happen again. Survivor will be on next week. No, Wednesday is Survivor night after all. That won't work. Plan D will do: watch on PC which is quite close to Survivor TV. No volume. How can I watch football with no volume? Yes, I found a pair of headphones in my work bag a couple of days ago which I didn't know existed. Perfect. It was actually very good, a better picture then the slight distortion that happens when I project the laptop screen onto a TV.

TFC scored the go-ahead-on-aggregate goal just as Jeff P snuffed out the latest flame and told the poor, exhausted, in-need-of-a shower (but the girls still have make-up...huh?) contestant that the tribe had indeed spoken and he  could go off and have a shower and shave and come back next week to sit on the jury, looking completely unrecognisable from the person who just took the lonely walk down the dark trail to Survivor oblivion. Now I could watch it on TV. Not quite. First we have to stay tuned for scenes from next week.

And then it was done and without any opposition we all watched, and all enjoyed, the end of the most glorious Toronto FC night ever. Until that cold night on December 10th, that is.

Aston Villa, all that time spent watching you on TV and listening to nerve-wracking radio commentaries, they were all great, and there will be more but....And, Maltese football, all those Sunday afternoons at The Stadium (and probably cracking jokes at some point about North Americans and 'soccer'), the no-atmosphere stadium atmosphere was unique, but.....This Toronto FC thing is here, I'm part of it, the excitement is real. And I'm loving it.

From Toronto to Medellin

Day -561. #WorldCup2018

Toronto FC win! Toronto FC are in the MLS Cup final. I didn't know where to start this. I wanted to build up the suspense for the Europeans who would have been sleeping while all the excitement was going on. But I just had to get it out because it wasn't any normal match. It was one of those "I was there" or "I wish I was there" kind of nights.

It had all the elements of a classic cup tie: goals (seven of them), rain (lots of it), a record crowd (37,000), best atmosphere ever for an MLS match, a bit of pushing and shoving, home team having to come from behind to win, game ending injury for the home team's star player, and extra time.

If it finished 3-2 for Toronto it would go to extra time, we were told over and over again. And what were the odds that it would? And it did. 0-1, 1-1, 2-1 (Toronto are through), 2-2 (Montreal are in), 3-2. Extra time. Seba Giovinco tries a shot, it looks like his calf gives in and off he goes. From the wonderful, game changing skill of the little Italian to the workmanlike, industrious, experienced Benoit Cheyrou. A bit of wind out of the TFC attacking sails. But what's playoff/cup football without an instant, unexpected hero? 90 seconds after he comes on, Cheyrou makes it 4-2. A few minutes later, super sub Tosaint Ricketts scores. Incredible scenes. The crowd really were going wild. The rain kept lashing down. 20 minutes to go, Toronto leading 7-5 on aggregate. It still seemed reasonable that Montreal could score twice to send it to penalties. Didier Drogba was throwing his weight around; Jozy Altidore was chasing him down in a fascinating battle between the two powerhouse centre forwards. In the end everything but the kitchen sink was not enough for Montreal. They threw it, Toronto flung it back at them.

It was enthralling, exciting and nerve-wracking. England-Germany, Italia '90 semifinal was the last time I felt this nervous watching a football match. Maybe there hasn't been a football match I have cared about so much since then. Teams I support never win., I said last week.They did tonight. On what could be a very, very cold night, (maybe MLS's coldest night ever), on December 10th, TFC will host Seattle in the MLS Cup final. What a night for the supporters who have seen the team go though an incredible amount of managers, terrible seasons and one rebuild after another in 10 years. Finally the owners got it right, the manager got it right and the fans have a night to remember.

I could share a video of the amazing TFC support tonight. But it's other fans I am thinking of. Just before kickoff the stadium announcer asked everybody to observe a moment's silence in memory of the victims of the tragic air crash in Colombia. Sadly the moment was over as quickly as it took the announcer to ask for silence. Barely 10 seconds of respect for the football team that was wiped out, it was the only negative of the night. But it did make us remember that there was supposed to be a match in Medellin tonight that was not going to happen. But the Atletico Nacional faithful still packed their stadium and, in a way that football fans know how to express grief, they sang their hearts out in honour of Chapecoense.

Chapecoense

Day -562. #WorldCup2018

When I woke up this morning to the news of the plane crash in Medellin and that the Brazilian football team Chapecoense were on the plane, my first thought was not that footballers had died, but that a plane crash had, sadly, claimed the lives of so many people.

As I read more about it during the day, the sadness increased. As a football fan, a sports fan, there is an emotional connection. It was such a fairy tale story with the most tragic of endings. The unheralded team, from the small city had made it to the big time and were about to play for the biggest prize in their short history.

As much as it is of little comfort to the distraught families right now the reaction of the football community has been touching and poignant. Chapecoense's opponents in the Copa Sudamericana final, Atletico Nacional, have requested that Chapecoense be named the competition winners. All the teams in the Brazilian first division have offered to lend players to Chapecoense for them to carry on playing this season. They have also asked the league to not allow Chapecoense to be relegated for the next three years.

On a sad day it is maybe scant consolation to remember how this team from almost nowhere made it to this, now fateful, moment. In the semifinal they upset a traditional South American powerhouse, San Lorenzo of Argentina. You cannot but feel sadness watching their joy at their victory. They were within a stretch of a goalkeeper's foot in the 94th minute of the second leg of the semifinal of not being in this final. That hero, that goalkeeper, Danilo, was reportedly rescued from the wreckage but died later in hospital. I can't think what else to say....one last great save, Danilo, one more.

TFC....it's coming....

Day -563. WorldCup2018

When the day job gets in the way of the fun not-job.

Anyway, two days to go to the big match in Toronto. Things are looking good for the 30,000+ fans who are going to be at the stadium. The weather will be kind, a high of 11 degrees but rainy. It may make somebody from the Mediterranean shiver at the thought of sitting outside to watch a football match, but it could have been -11.

To help build a bit of excitement two of Toronto FC's players were on Toronto's most popular breakfast TV show this morning. Poor guys. Either 7am was too early for them or they were the reluctant two who drew the short straws. They didn't do too much for the reputation of footballers and their stereotypical lack of personality. Not that I really care, just as long as they score a couple of goals on Wednesday

Toronto FC after the Grey Cup

Day -564. WorldCup2018

It's late and I was about to go into another mini-rant about the lack of Toronto FC coverage in Toronto, but I'll spare you. There was a pretty big story about Wednesday's second leg against Montreal in today's Star newspaper. It didn't talk much, or at all, about the football. It focused on getting the pitch ready after today's Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League final, or the Canadian Superbowl, kind of. (Apparently the NFL got the idea for the Superbowl from the Grey Cup, but made it a lot bigger). The grounds keepers will have to get all those funny yard lines off the pitch. I really think that to honour their fellow Montreal Olympic Stadium grounds crew (the ones who had to do some last minute line painting last week) the Toronto crew should leave some of those gridiron lines on the pitch and paint over them as part of the opening ceremony on Wednesday.

I got distracted, said I wasn't going to be negative. There may not be much coverage but that hasn't stopped me looking forward to Wednesday, like I haven't looked forward to a football match for a long time. Maybe not hard to figure out why. Malta keep losing and can't score. And my other team, Aston Villa, may be on a bit of a good run but they are celebrating wins against the likes of Cardiff, Rotherham and Reading.

The day Castro died

Day -565. WorldCup2018

Come on Toronto. Let's get excited. A few days to go until the biggest match ever, by far the hugest, the event anticipated like never before in Toronto FC'S history and barely a whimper of interest in today's Toronto Star newspaper. Barely a whimper fit nicely in my sentence but the truth is that is an exaggeration. There was no whimper, no whisper, no mention at all in the pretty substantial Sports Section. The editing team must have put all their effort into putting the pages of "Holiday Entertaining" together.

I sound like a broken record, I know, but I thought the hype in the media this week would be much bigger after the titanic battle in the first leg last Tuesday. Again, just when it seemed like football made in North America (as opposed to that watched on TV) has made it into the realm of major sports in Toronto, this lack of attention shows that it hasn't.

But I'll move on and look forward to Wednesday's second leg, and will enjoy it as will the over 30,000 fans in the sold out stadium and the many thousands watching on TV like me.

Today I should be marking one of those significant world events which I can look back on in. 565 days and know that today was the day. A former dictator who drove his people to extreme poverty in his quest to give the country "back to the people" died today. Fidel Castro was celebrated on the day of his death as a great revolutionary and derided as an oppressive leader who silenced all of his opponents. As I always tie everything back to football, or any sport, the most I ever heard about Cuban football in the news was when a player or two or three defected to whatever country the national U20 or U23 team was playing a tournament in. It happened repeatedly, and not only with footballers, and that says a lot about what kind of country they lived in.

Sexual abuse and young footballers

Day -566. WorldCup2018

The sad case of sexually abused young footballers.

I can't even imagine the psychological pain and so will not even try offering an opinion, My only contribution? Sadly, I'm not surprised. I'm amazed it took this long to come out, but then again since I cannot understand it, how can I be surprised that it took them so long to have the courage?

I will say no more other than listen to these ex-footballers explain the horror they went through and their ruined lives.

Referees in CAF's bad books

Day -567 WorldCup2018

This is going back a few days but even though I was caught up in the Toronto FC excitement I couldn't forget about it.

CAF’s (Confederation of African Football) Referees Committee announced its’ decisions regarding the performance of four of the referees officiating matches in the latest round of World Cup qualifiers. It is unusual for any confederation to issues such public rebukes of its’ referees. UEFA would never do it even if a referee has committed an obvious mistake. The individual in question usually just disappears from any football matches for a few months. There may be a question that UEFA do this so that they cannot accept any blame for a decision that had a significant effect on the result of the match. This argument goes out the window when you consider that despite CAF’s suspensions and admission of refereeing errors there is nothing that can be done about the results of the matches in question. The teams that lost and are crying foul can keep doing so until Russia 2018 starts and they are not part of it. Nothing will change.

CAF has suspended two referees and one assistant (a linesman to many of us) and warned another assistant. The committee published a list of its’ decisions, together with a description of the offences which I cannot not help but find amusing even though I have to keep in mind that it’s not funny for the teams who were on the wrong end of these offences.

Joseph Lamptey has been suspended for three months for incorrectly awarding a penalty to South Africa in their 2-1 win against Senegal. He “awarded a wrong penalty for handball despite the fact that the ball never touched the hand of the player”. The assistant signalled a corner and, apparently, even the South African players were ready to take the corner. He was also cited for “poor performance”.

Davies Omweno was also suspended for three months for another “poor performance.” His crime was “wrong positioning and movement, incorrect identification of fouls and failure to administer some disciplinary sanctions”, in the Libya-Tunisia match. Tunisia won 1-0 and Libya were denied a perfectly valid goal. The assistant in that match, Berhe O’Michael, was guilty of “offside decisions including one denying a valid goal by Libya.” He, of course, also had a “poor performance.” And the other assistant, Theogene Ndagijimana got off with a warning as he “missed multiple basic offside decisions which denied teams’ promising attacks.” And, yes, he too had a “poor performance.”

These public shamings make you think that CAF are trying to send a message that they will not stand for any mistakes by their officials and that they, the referees, are actually bring shame on African football. These four individuals may be the sacrificial lambs, used as examples of what may happen if any referee or assistant is so unfortunate as to be unsighted and make a wrong decision. Even though I am one who believes that terrible refereeing has influenced the outcome of many a match, this sets a bit of an uneasy precedence for referees. Their performances are analysed constantly during a match, after a match in super slow motion and in newspapers, social media and all over the internet. Now their own confederation is showing them up for moments of incompetence. What a great way to instill confidence in your officials.

This disciplining by CAF may not be working very well anyway. Lamptey was suspended for 6 months in 2010 for wrongly awarding a goal in a CAF Champions League semi-final.

And here is....who?

Day -568 WorldCup2018.

I'm moving away from Toronto FC news and excitement for today. There will be a lot more to come and hopefully beyond next Wednesday.

What caught my attention today is a story I saw about the 2017 Confederations Cup. The tournament is held a year before every World Cup as a warm-up for the host country. All the continental champions compete plus the current World Champions. The draw for next year's edition is being held in Russia on November 28th. All good and normal so far.

The special guest at the draw, as announced happily by TASS, the Russian news agency, is Julio Baptista. Reactions to reading this, I imagine, probably lie somewhere between who and why. Baptista played 45 times for Brazil with whom he won the Confederations Cup twice, he scored a few goals, and played for Arsenal, Roma and Real Madrid. There's the "who" which blends nicely into the "why". He was good but not great. Kaka and Robinho were part of the the team that won the 2005 and 2009 Confederations Cup with Baptista. I would think they are both much more recognisable names. Draws of major international tournaments always have a big name picking the coloured balls out of the pots; somebody of the stardom calibre of Pele, Maradona or Zidane. But Julio Baptista?

The answer to the "why" may lie in availability, a good agent and an appearance fee. And that is just a wild guess

TFC-Montreal: Leg 1 lines and goals

Day -569. WorldCup2018

We're ready to go. TV set up in the basement, hooked up to the laptop, for the biggest match in Toronto FC'S history. We have a problem. What? They are removing the lines around the penalty areas. The boxes are too narrow! Time to find the line painting machine. They only had 2 weeks to prepare this pitch. And only now did somebody notice. Apparently it was one of the linesmen. Didn't the referee and his team come onto the pitch earlier today? And now we are told kickoff is at 8.38pm, "so that will be a 38 minute delay." Really, 38 minutes. It was never going to start at 8pm. Not in the MLS.

Teams are out. Crowd (61,000) is loud. And indoor, so even louder. Will the National Anthem be sung twice, once in French, once in English? Ah, a bit of both. Both teams are sponsored by Bank of Montreal and Adidas so their warm up jackets are exactly the same. It's funny.

And here we go (once the corner flag is fixed).

Oh dear. A scrappy, high energy start and Montreal have scored two quick goals. Two devastatingly fast counter attacks, just the way we were told Montreal would be dangerous. 2-0 after twelve minutes. A cliche, I know, but there really is a long way to go. An away goal could make this very different. TFC are smart enough, hopefully not to panic. Otherwise this could be over after the first leg.

Montreal really do love playing on the counter attack. They sit back, let TFC come at them through the middle, usually with Giovinco, and then play a coup of quick passes out to their wide players. And they're off. Again and again. It's all probably all too quick for Drogba, who's on the bench.

Half-time. Still 2-0. It's been one of those matches watching TFC where every time they attack you have very little confidence that anything will happen. They try to get the ball to Giovinco as quickly as possible and he either goes alone or tries to use Altidore. It's not working so far. They just run into the very well organised Montreal defence who then break out quickly.

Can the second half be different, better for TFC? Not so far. The first five minutes have just been like the first 45. TFC huffing and puffing but are nowhere near to blowing that Montreal house down.

Oh dear. Oh. Dear. 3-0. 52 minutes. TFC on the attack. It's broken down easily by Oyongo who strides forward, Yaya Toure style, and has all the time in the world to stop, steady himself and hit a bouncing shot into the corner from the edge of the penalty area. This is terrible for Toronto. But it's not over.

3-1. Altidore. They needed a few shots at it. Literally. Now what happens? Will Montreal go for more goals or concentrate on not conceding more? Well here comes Drogba. Maybe that's the answer. Twenty minutes to go.

3-2! Bradley. All of a sudden TFC are getting right through the centre of the Montreal defence. Oh the cliches which I try to avoid....this is a different match now. 18 minutes to go. TFC going for the win?

For both TFC goals they were playing little passes inside the Montreal penalty area. It's unbelievable that they could do that after how well Montreal have been defending. Credit to Toronto for carrying with what they are good at when many, like me, probably thought they needed to do something different.

Giovinco just hit a Geoff Thomas free kick. He almost got the corner flag.
I was just going to mention that Drogba has been ominously quiet. He should have scored right now. Three minutes to go. Fear seems to be the word now. Neither team want to concede another. Or maybe it's just my perception, and my own concern that Montreal will score again.

At 3-0 I was thinking about how many people would be looking to get rid off tickets for the return leg next week. Tickets bought for friends or in the hope that they could be sold for a good profit. The friends may come out of the woodwork now and the touts may be out in force. It's going to be a cracker. It's over, 3-2. TFC only need to win 1-0, but it is not going to be straightforward.

We're quickly off to Seattle-Colorado in the Western final now. That was some good TV synchronisation. From final whistle in Montreal to kickoff in Seattle in seconds. But I'm done for the night. On the day that US soccer gave up on the German and went back to the trusted American, MLS gave us excitement and drama, albeit preceded by a moment of comedy that will be replayed many times over.

The day before: MLS Eastern Final

Day -570. WorldCup2018

Leg 1 MLS Eastern Conference Final, Montreal-Toronto tomorrow, Tuesday. I would say kick-off is at 8pm, but this is the MLS so I'll expect it to start around 8.12pm.

A 60,000 crowd is expected in the Big O, Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Thankfully the roof will keep the snow and cold off the fans. However, the weather can still be a factor. The soft roof is considered unsafe if there is more than 3cm of snow accumulation on it. There was 5cm last night into this morning and another 2-4cm forecast. There have been a number of structural incidents at the stadium, one of which was snow and ice crashing through the roof on people preparing for a car show in 1999.

Thankfully, the heating system that melts the snow has done it's job and the game has been given the safety go-ahead. Next week they play in Toronto, outside. And it will be cold. Regardless of the weather this is going to be good.

Pep, with some pep

Day -571. WorldCup2018

After my long appeal yesterday for more recognition of Toronto's football team by its own city, today I have very little. Mentally exhausted, maybe. I will just look forward to the first leg of Montreal-Toronto. Two days to go.

English football was pretty boring this weekend. The most entertaining moment was Pep Guardiola's pre-match interview where he looked like he'd had a drink with his breakfast. "Are you happy Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany are back?" "(Laughing)I'm happy the players get to play. (Laughing even more). We all say this is an important weekend and next weekend is important. Every weekend is important." Or something like that. More than his words, his giddiness was more memorable. Maybe he had broken his (alleged) no sex after midnight rule. Ah. Terrible.

TFC are here!

Day -572. WorldCup2018

There's a lot of excitement in Toronto for Tuesday's MLS Eastern Conference final first leg against Montreal. Or so you would think. They told me this was a sports-mad city when I moved here. And it is true. Everybody talks about the Maple Leafs (hockey), Blue Jays (baseball) and the Raptors (basketball). Even the Argonauts of the Canadian Football League have a dedicated following. I admit it would be a tough sell for someone to get me seriously interested in the Argos and the CFL. They play this game I don’t quite understand all summer and then pretty much all the teams seem to be in the play-offs.

There is also a lot of excitement when one of Toronto’s sports teams is on a good run. The Blue Jays had everybody and their uncle and sister unashamedly jumping on their bandwagon for the last two play-off runs. And why not? It was fun and intense and there’s something positively uplifting about having a winning team to follow. The Raptors are growing into serious NBA contenders and they have appealed to a young and very diverse demographic. No complaints there. The Maple Leafs? Well, it didn’t take me long to realise that they are the team that fans in this city have the most complex relationship with. It’s hockey, right. It’s Canada’s game and the Leafs play in Canada’s biggest city. They are one of the best supported, if not the best, teams in the NHL. But the fans have been teased with a few moments of near-greatness only to be tortured with many years of utter despair at the mediocrity of the team. There are many die-hard fans who love the team and take all the pain that comes with that love. There are other part-time fans who want to have more love for the team but are tired of being let down so many times. And pretty much the rest of the City, apart from those who are completely disinterested, will either only acknowledge the existence of the Leafs as the subject of many a bad joke, or deny that there is a hockey team until there is word that of a potential run to the end of season play-offs.

So into all this enter Toronto FC and their stellar season which we hope will get even better. They are definitely the new kids on the block. And as they still search for validation and acceptance in the Toronto sports scene, there is limited draw for a wider audience. There is irony and a bit of bafflement, as I see it. There are many here who love football. They inherited the support of teams that their fathers or grandfathers were fans of back in the country they emigrated from. The World Cup is followed and supported here like nowhere else. All 32 countries have a passionate following. But TFC, for many is not Juventus or River Plate, not the real deal.

Beyond the football crowd, amongst the broader Toronto sports fan base, I would think that the whole city would be behind TFC, being two matches away from reaching the MLS final. Baseball is over, hockey and basketball are at the beginning of their seasons, the Argos were terrible this year and so here’s an opportunity to get caught up in the excitement of a winning team. The TFC fans make noise like nobody else and even that is reason enough to watch. The team is also pretty good. Their 7-0 aggregate win against New York City was the biggest ever MLS play-off win. And, yet, I am baffled by the struggle to find any real media momentum in the build-up to Tuesday’s match.

I may be old fashioned in that I look forward to my home-delivered weekend newspaper. This morning in the 28 sections (I lose count) of the Toronto Star I expected to have lots to read about TFC. Santa Claus and his parade had his own section. Surely the Star would jump on this possible history making TFC achievement: the team, who’s injured; the coach, what does he think; the fans, how are they preparing for it; how about the weather and how cold it might be next week in Toronto? I glanced at the standard Leafs’ analysis on the front page of the sports section, the report on the Crossfit Games (yes, really), the inside page dedicated to more Leafs, then baseball, basketball and NFL football and looked forward to the big TFC report on the back page. And there it was. Nestled amongst all the sporting briefs, were a few lines about the biggest match in Toronto’s football history. Yet it wasn’t even about TFC. Didier Drogba, Montreal’s 38 year old superstar player, is going to make himself available to play in Montreal, even though it is being played on an artificial pitch. In his time here, to prevent injury and because he has the clout to do this, he has refused to play if it’s not on real grass. And that was that.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. But I won’t hold my breath. There will be lots of hockey to write about. The Leafs lost again so there has to be some serious analysing. They only play about 900 games all season, so game number 18 has to written about in great detail.

I do enjoy watching the Leafs occasionally. I had the game on the whole time I was writing this. I enjoy, as a sports fan, the pre- and post-game discussions on TV, maybe even more than the actual hockey. I like listening to people in the know talk about what the sport they love. I also enjoy reading the Toronto Star. I just am a little astounded by the lack of support for TFC. I imagine the players sitting around after training, picking a newspaper in the clubhouse and seeing nothing written about them and wondering, “what more do we have to do to get some recognition?”

A little side note. Right at the end of TFC’s first leg win against New York, the Toronto Star reporter covering the match tweeted something to the effect of, “and just as the whistle blows there’s the obligatory fight at a football match”. A couple of players got a little emotional and that’s what got her attention. I thought, it’s true, football still won’t be taken seriously because that’s what the un-knowledgeable expect from it, fights. And that’s what was reported on first. And the irony is so painfully obvious here. All this talk of the Leafs and hockey, where fighting is celebrated and recorded in statistics.

That was long and in the end, to whoever in Toronto reads this and the newspapers, I appeal: get behind your TFC. You may not be able to buy a ticket anymore but you can still support them. Watch on TV, find out about the team. Write about them. Sebastian Giovinco could play for any team in the world. He is that good. Michael Bradley is not far behind. AFC Roma thought he was good enough. The Leafs will be huffing and puffing, exciting and disappointing, for what seems like every day of the week until next April. TFC is now. And now is exciting.

Toronto, where the real fans are?

Day -573. WorldCup2018

After the relative non-excitement of the break from domestic leagues for the latest round of World Cup qualifiers it's back to the increasing flatness of the English Premier League. Yes, there is a lot more football happening in the world but since I can't be anywhere else I enjoy, to a certain point, the convenience of a number of Premier league matches on TV on a Saturday morning.

I posted an excellent article in The Guardian a couple of days ago about the decreasing atmosphere inside English stadiums, at least in the Premier League. And it comes across on TV. As I watch, and marvel at the silence, I have often wondered how many of those fans in the stadium can afford to be there week after week. And that was one of the reasons mentioned in this story- the changing clientele at football matches, who aren’t there to sing but to be entertained by the millionaires that they are watching. And most of them are on their phones anyway, posting live updates on social media. So how can they be doing two things at once? Actually that would be three: tweeting about the personal hygiene of the person next to them, singing a song about the not-so wonderful attributes of the city/town/village that the other team represents, and watching the match.

On Tuesday, Toronto FC play the first leg of the MLS Eastern Conference final in Montreal. This, and the return leg, in Toronto the following week will probably be the most passionate atmosphere I have watched on TV this season. At least since the Northern Irish fans sang non-stop about a player who never played a minute of football for his country at Euro 2016.

Montreal chose to host the first leg in the city's Olympic Stadium, built for the 1976 Olympics. Not only have they sold the capacity 60,000 seats they will also be playing indoor. The outcome will be a cracking atmosphere and happily warm supporters. The return match will be outdoors, (brrrr!) and has been a 30.000 sell-out for a while. The demand is so great that TFC are putting an additional 6,000 seats on sale. These are in an additional, temporary stand at one end of the stadium built for the hosting of the Canadian Football League final. For the non-Canadians reading this the CFL is the NFL of Canada, kind of- American football as we Europeans know it but the Canadian way, with a few different rules (don't ask, google knows more than me) and a bunch of players who couldn’t quite make it in the NFL.

The atmosphere in these two matches, and I like to believe especially in the Toronto match, will put the Etihad and Emirates to shame. I used to be a football-in-North America snob. When TFC started I admit I was amused by what I perceived as try hard fans wanting to be like the supporters they saw on TV. And they did borrow a lot of chants from Europe and South America. But they did develop a strong culture of their own and there is one very noticeable about all the supporter groups behind the one goal: they never stop, for the whole match.

While the TFC fans were commended for their incredible support in the last home match against New York, there was a more amusing start to their notoriety as a passionate group of supporters. Their first ever goal in their first ever home match was scored by Danny Dichio in the 24th minute. To this day Dichio is still serenaded in the 24th minute of every TFC match. The fans celebrated the historic moment on that day nine years ago not by invading the pitch or setting off fireworks. No, they threw their plastic cushions, handed out at the start, onto the pitch. Excuse the shaky video but see how it was not one or two cushions but a right old deluge of them. The league were not happy about the upstart Canadian team's supporters having some fun. But it did set the standard for how much their fans would get behind their team.

Ronaldo, original flavour

Day -574 WorldCup2018

When it's 426 days into your countdown and you're looking for inspiration and need to go to a football happy place......

World Cup final 2002 was Ronaldo's final, the original Ronaldo. He had recovered from two serious knee injuries and his career was believed to be as good as over. However, eight goals in that World Cup proved that he was still a wonderful player. The ones I remember most clearly were the two he scored in the final in Brazil's 2-0 win aagainst Germany.

Ronaldo was one of those players I had always wanted to do well. Maybe it had to do with all his misfortune- the injuries and the episode before the 1998 World Cup Final. I watched the 2002 Final at 7am in a hotel room in Ottawa. I'd had, probably, about 3 hours sleep after a wedding the night before. Seeing Ronaldo score those two goals was an uplifting, happy moment. And just imagine how he felt. What a comeback from the footballing and personal abyss.