Match fixing and undies

Day -591. #WorldCup2018

It's going to be a long week waiting for Toronto FC's return match in New York next Sunday. I'm sure life will give me enough distractions.

In the meantime, I spent most of my writing energy and time this evening writing my response to a Facebook exchange of ideas, not an argument, about the latest case of possible match fixing connected to the Maltese national team. Fifa is investigating Malta's 2-0 loss to Lithuania earlier this month. It was alleged at the time that the match may have been the victim of criminal gambling. An unusual amount of bets were placed on Malta losing by two goals or more.

There may be a lot more about this story to come. It was reported in the Sun newspaper, in England, yesterday. The angle of their story was that this could affect results in England's World Cup qualifying group. The Sun managed to live up to it's tabloid reputation and amuse me at the same time. Or, it amused me because it did such a good job of living up to it's trashy newspaper reputation. And it's not because of the allegations.

The report mentioned that England midfielder Dele Alli had scored the first goal against Malta, a few days before the Lithuania match. It further reported, as an aside, that Dele Alli's girlfriend is an "undies model." Further down the story we are presented with a picture of the aforementioned girlfriend in her "undies", of course.

I wish the possible future Mrs Alli all the best in her career of choice. As for the possible future disgraced ex-footballers, guilty of taking bribes to throw a match where they are representing their country, I  would hope they get what they deserve. I guess money is king in both careers.

TFC and Pirates.

Day -592. #WorldCup2018

I chuckle at the flexible kick-off times. I am bemused by the number of fans (spectators?) walking around while the match is going on. I won't understand the need for an opening ceremony before each playoff match. But today, October 30th 2016, it was all about Toronto FC's exhilarating win against New York City. The football was intense and the home support was immense. There was passion and energy, obvious even on TV, which was lacking when I watched Birmingham v Aston Villa this morning.

To quickly carry on with my mention of the big derby this morning, there is very little to say. Or, better still, very little I feel like saying. Villa took the lead through a goal scored by a local Birmingham lad. A big moment for him, no doubt. Birmingham equalised in the second half as a result of Villa's multiple invitations to their opponents to attack them. And Birmingham's goal was scored by another local boy. Whether he is from Aston, I don't know. The overall fare on offer was pretty much second division stuff. Villa may be doing a bit better under Steve Bruce, but they have a long way to go. Bruce did try his best to be Mr. Entertaining by sending on two extra attacking players in the second half. Villa ended up with four forwards, and an nonexistent midfield, but they couldn't be accused of playing for a draw.

And so with that, back to TFC. The star trio, Bradley, Altidore and Giovinco, were outstanding. Bradley, especially, played like he wanted nothing more than to win. He chased, harassed and tackled every opponent around him who was in possession of the ball. And he passed the ball impeccably, and moved to make himself available constantly. Giovinco proved again, not that he needs to anymore, that he wants to be here and wants to win with this team. And Altidore was the big, strong man up front, a nightmare, I'm sure, for the defenders.

The fans had to wait a while for the goals. Altidore scored in the 84th and Ricketts in the 91st. Jozy Altidore was, a couple of seasons ago, another player in a long list of players who couldn't do anything right for Sunderland. Now he's got energy, scores goals and generally seems to be enjoying himself. I wonder if Jermaine Defoe wishes he could undo his wish to get out of Toronto as quickly as possible. Life as the saviour of Sunderland, with a recall to the England team as a possible side, doesn't seem to be working out to well for him right now.

New York were without the injured Andrea Pirlo, and Frank Lampard came on midway through the second half. His entrance on to the pitch was about the only time we saw him. David Villa still looks like a very good player, and a emotional nuisance. Lucky not to be sent off for kicking out a TFC player, he tried to make something happen for New York but seemed to be the only player on the team capable of creating any attacking opportunities.

They play the second leg in New York next Sunday. All of Toronto will now be paying attention and hoping that they can behind an Eastern Conference finalist team after Sunday.

Not only because the TFC fans have adopted the Icelandic slow clap, but also because all things Icelandic are still so hip after Euro 2016, I have to mention the Pirate Party in Iceland and their impressive showing in the parliamentary elections. I mentioned Azerbaijan and corruption a few days ago. The anti-establishment Pirate Party came about because of the country's financial crisis in 2008 and they gained more support after the Icelandic politicians were named in the Panama Papers this year. They tripled their amount of seats in today's election and will now be looking to negotiate a possible coalition to form a government.

Nobody can see anything like this happening in Azerbaijan anytime soon. That country will continue to be run by an oppressive dictator. Their football team will keep getting better but will anybody wish for them to qualify for Russia 2018, with the political background. Iceland, on the other hand, will now be even more popular. Who wouldn't want to support a team who's government is run by the Pirate Party? They would have the worldwide under 10 support, for sure.

With the TFC excitement I thought about saving the Pirates for another day. But why not enjoy the Pirates the same day as the best ever TFC win.

The day before....

Day -593. WorldCup2018

It should be a good day of football tomorrow: Birmingham v Aston Villa to start the day in my time zone and New York City v Toronto FC in the evening.

For Aston Villa it's the big derby they didn't want to look forward to last year because it would have meant relegation to the Championship. That was a more likely certainty in the last 3 or 4 seasons than Birmingham winning promotion to the Premier League. Apart from the considerable hostility between the fans, and Steve Bruce returning to his former club as their rival's manager, it is also significant for league positions. Birmingham started the season decently and were in a playoff position until today. Villa are going through a mini revival and a win would get them within 4 points of a playoff spot. There's a long, long way to go yet but it's not a cliche to say that a win for either team would be a huge psychological boost.

At some time around 7pm Toronto FC players will look to get a good first leg advantage over NY City in the Eastern Conference semifinal. TFC's three marquee players, Altidore, Giovinco and Bradley are in their prime and hopefully this will give them an edge over the experience of NY City's three stars. Lampard, Pirlo and Villa are 38, 37 and 34 respectively. Their careers may have been over in Europe but they a huge reason for City's first appearance in the playoffs in only their second year in existence. Their manager, Patrick Viera, will be hoping that his team will go all the way and have Pep, at the mother club, Manchester City, nervously looking over his shoulder.

TFC'S management have urged their supporters to be in their seats early tomorrow so as not to miss the "opening ceremonies." Do they really not get how ridiculous this looks? When I met with a senior TFC executive a few years ago he told me how they wanted to keep a European feel to the whole experience. Thus the "FC" in the name, they call it "football" around the club and they don't have gimmicky commercials going on throughout a match. This individual is not with the club anymore. I wonder what he thinks now as he watches fireworks, smoke bombs and girls waving flags on the pitch before each playoff match. More L.A. and New York then Manchester or Birmingham, or Madrid or Milan.

I'll probably miss the pre-game entertainment as I'm well educated now in the workings of MLS kick-off times. I see 7pm but will probably not miss much if tune in around 7.15.

I may have a lot to report tomorrow night.

World Champions! Say what?

Day -594. WorldCup2018

I'm watching the World Series of baseball, played between two American teams, and remembering the first NBA championship I watched and the winners were called the World Champions.

I wonder, when Americans first turned up to play in the World Cup of football did the players look around and ask their coaches, "What, you mean we have to play teams from other countries?"

Azerbaijan

Day -595. WorldCup2018

How often, I wonder, does an ardent football fan ignore, or deny, the presence of any conditions that may cast doubt on the integrity of the sport we love, blinded by that same love?

I give you as a subject for that question one very simple example: Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan are in Fifa's happy news because of their encouraging start to World Cup qualifying. The recent minnows, rank outsiders have beaten San Marino and Norway and drawn with the Czech Republic in their first 3 matches to sit second behind Germany in their group. Everybody loves the underdog, right?

But how does the football world, not UEFA or Fifa, but the fans, feel about Azerbaijan? The country is run by, indisputably, a dictator. Transparency International listed Azerbaijan as one of the most corrupt countries in the world (119th out of 168) and the most corrupt in Europe. The dictator leader, Ilham Aliyev, was named by the investigative journalism NGO, The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, as corruption's Person of the Year in 2012.
Aliyev's government has also been accused by human rights groups of suppressing any criticism from within the country, jailing journalists and rigging elections. Aliyev and his family have also been amassing immense personal wealth through the country's oil and gas reserves.

And Azerbiajan has been buying it's way into the football community through it 's state owned energy firm Socar, now a major UEFA sponsor. This is from a Reuters report into Socar's sponsoring of Euro 2016:

"UEFA said it asked suppliers for Euro 2016 to pledge to respect U.N. principles in areas such as human rights, the environment and corruption.
Asked whether that also applied to sponsors and whether UEFA vets the companies it partners with, a UEFA spokesperson declined to comment, saying details of contracts were covered by confidentiality agreements." Conveniently.

Despite my original question I wonder, further to my original thought, if football fans would be as enthused by Azerbaijan doing an Iceland as they were by Iceland doing a Leicester. If we are so very ignorant to all the corruption that goes on in the football world why can't the Azerbaijan football story be as romantic as that of Iceland?

TFC!

Day -596. #WorldCup2018

Why not write about football as I'm watching football, I thought.

Toronto FC v Philadelphia Union, MLS play-offs, first round. Temperature at kick-off: 5 degrees Celsius, feels like 3. For players: cold. For TFC supporter clubs' fans in south end, jumping and singing: pretty cold. For rest of crowd sitting in their seats: absolutely freezing.

I'm watching online, hooked up to TV. I refuse to add to my cable bill by adding one more channel that will come in useful for an hour or two each week. (had to take a break to fix stream). I found it on Sky Sports and I never knew that Sky Sports showed MLS. There's something endearing about watching North American football on British TV, almost as though it's a gentle acknowledgement and thank you for all the English football on TV over here.

Toronto are winning 2-0 in the 69th minute. Giovinco is running the show. The little Italian is so out of place in this league. It's not because of his outrageous skill (in comparison to who's around him, some may argue) but also because he came from a major European league in his prime, unlike the other Europeans-Beckham, Gerrard, Pirlo etc.

I missed the start of the match. To satisfy my curiosity, and to see if I was correct in my prediction from a couple of days ago, one of my first things to do was to check the time on the match clock. By counting back I figured out it did indeed start at 7.42 or 7.43 despite it being advertised for 7.30. My prediction was 7.43.

Philadelphia have scored. 2-1. 72 minutes

At least I hope the pre-game opening ceremony was glitzy and worth the extra time spent freezing in their seats for the fans.

I've stopped writing now. This is getting a little nerve wracking for Toronto. They were looking good and comfortable until Philadelphia scored. Sky Sports commentator was very upset by the terrible TFC defending. "One header, two headers, three...you're going to get punished if you can't clear the ball." He was equally shocked by Philadelphia's terrible defending at a corner for TFC'S second goal.

85 minutes. 3-1!!!! Jozy Altidore! Sunderland supporters, remember him? The centre forward who couldn't score. Counter attack goal, set up by Giovinco. Sky Sports commentator: terrible defending. "What was he doing? You can't do that in your own penalty area." I agree. TFC fans in full voice. They don't care. New York City, here we come.

Almost over. Last minute and....there it is. TFC play New York City (David Villa, Pirlo, Lampard, Viera) in the Eastern Conference semifinal. I bet nobody's feeling cold now.

Carlos Alberto

Day -597 #WorldCup2018

Sadly, it's an easy subject for me today as I mark the passing of one of the great names in football, Carlos Alberto.

I have very often repeated my admiration of the the Brazil team of 1982. They are my personal benchmark of viewed greatness in football. Brazil, World Cup winners 1970 have been universally acclaimed as the greatest team ever. I have seen the highlights and read the books but as they were before my time I was never influenced by watching them live on TV as I was by the 1982 team.

However. it is hard to argue with the widely held belief that watching Brazil win the 1970 World Cup was a uniquely wonderful experience for anybody who had the pleasure to watch them play. I can equate the emotions generated by that team to what I felt when I watched the magic of 1982. The big important difference, of course, was that Team 1970 won the World Cup and were amazing to watch. Team 1982 were exhilarating but didn't even make it to the final.

Carlos Alberto was one of the many stars on that star-studded team. Pele may have been the greatest but the names of Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelino and Gerson were an integral part of my football history education.

Carlos Alberto is remembered for beautifully scoring one of the finest examples of a goal that came out of a combination of incredible team movement, individual skill and seemingly telepathic understanding.

I have often wondered if Brazil would have been able to play this way if they weren't winning 3-1 in the 86th minute against a very tired Italian team who had maybe also run out of the mental energy to keep up with the Brazilians. Nevertheless it is fantastic to watch, a wonderful reminder of a way Brazil could play football like no other team did then or does in this generation.

Carlos Alberto was football royalty, just a name to me but the bringer of beautiful memories for many.

(Read this for a great description of the goal. Scroll down all the way to see the goal.)