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Throw-Ins
Soccer revelations due on Sunday
Posted: Thursday March 29, 2001 6:46 PM
Updated: Thursday March 29, 2001 6:52 PM
SAN PEDRO SULAS, Honduras -- It's been a very, very busy week for yours truly
with the World Cup qualifier here and Major League Soccer previews, so let's
get on with this information-packed column.
An incredible story has surfaced in the World Football Bulletin, which is
available only to exclusive subscribers of this internationally renowned
newsletter. FIFA wants to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams for the
2006 tournament in Germany, according to well-placed sources.
Probably the most interesting part of the plan by FIFA president Sepp Blatter
is to add to give Europe 20 slots in the quadrennial tournament, while Africa
and Asia would get seven berths apiece. South America and CONCACAF would be
increased to six teams apiece and Oceania would be awarded two spots, the
Bulletin reported.
Reliable sources close to the FIFA executive committee have confirmed world
soccer's governing body is ready to announce the plan as early as this
Sunday at the organization's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
Incredible as it may sound, the European part of the proposal would allow the
minnows of the continent -- a group that includes the Faroe Islands, Andorra and
Luxembourg, among others -- to qualify for the World Cup via a special group.
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Long-time soccer fans will be shocked to learn that these countries would
have to pay millions of dollars for the right to participate in their own
unique group. But an opportunity to play at the world's greatest sporting
spectacle might be too strong of a lure for any country to say no.
Finding the right balance between the traditional soccer powers -- Europe and
South America -- and the new kids on the block -- Africa and some countries
from other confederations -- has not been easy, but a compromise finally was
reached earlier this week, sources said.
Of course, nothing will be official until the executive committee approves
such an unexpected plan. Critics of the ever-expanding World Cup will
undoubtedly claim that the tournament will be watered down once again.
Only a surprise motion from the floor will defeat such an enterprising plan,
sources said.
"Look," said one prominent official close to negotiations, "it always comes down to money -- more games mean more greenbacks in the
pockets of FIFA, ISL and the various World Cup teams. It's a win-win
situation for everyone."
So, get ready for an expanded World Cup. Now I didn't hear someone say 64
teams, did I?
Rollercoaster ride through English football
Found this interesting item at OyVey!ItsEnglishFootball.com:
It's been 16 cycles around the sun since that fateful year in 1985 when
English soccer went through what many observers feel was the start of its
most tumultuous period of history. Many pessimists (some might call them
realists) have hailed that as the beginning of the end of English football.
The double-barreled attack of the Bradford fire and the Heysel disaster
started the downfall.
So, in commemoration of those events, the Web site is holding a special
competition of some of the most forgettable moments in recent English
football history. Soccer fans from all over the globe can vote for the biggest
fiasco. Among the Sour 16 moments that have been nominated:
The Bradford fire (1985)
The Heysel disaster (1985)
The Hillsborough disaster (1989)
Fans riot in Sardinia (1990)
Five managers since 1990 (1990 to present)
Failure to reach the 1994 World Cup (1993)
The Graham Taylor fiasco (1993)
The Terry Venables fiasco (1996)
Eliminated at home via penalties at Euro '96 (1996)
Fans riot in Marseille and Toulouse (1998)
Beckham's red card vs. Argentina (1998)
The Glenn Hoddle headache (1999)
Fans riot at Euro 2000
Kevin Keegan quits (2000)
A foreigner is hired to coach the national team (2000)
The latest Wembley snafu (2001)
Or you could do a write-in vote.
Winners will be notified by e-mail and all results will be on the Web site on April 1.
New rule changes are in the cards
According to the WorldsGreatestFootballWebsite.com, the International
Football Association Board, the organization that makes all those rule
changes, is already looking into a number of them at its
2002 meeting. The proposed rule changes could radically change the
game as we look at it.
Probably the most controversial proposal involves the use of cards. Some
board members actually want referees to award yellow cards to players who
miss penalty kicks, the Web site reported. Yet others would like to red card a
player if he is having a terrible game, so the fans won't have to put up
with a shoddy performance. The loophole in this rule is that the carded team
would be allowed to replace the player.
And there is a radical plan afoot to have coaches' licenses taken
away after making highly
questionable tactical decisions or substitutions.
MLS wants to take the card issue a step further. If a foreign player is
performing extremely well, referees would be instructed to hold a green card
over their heads. That would give them the option of becoming permanent
residents of the United States. I think they're giving a little too much
power to game officials. What do you think?
Incredible but true chip shots
I burned a hole in my phone bill, but I came up with these tasty tidbits:
Transition game. A prominent member of the U.S. men's national team is
thinking of a gender change operation so he/she can become a dominant player in
the Women's United Soccer Association, according to well-placed sources.
Honest. I couldn't believe when I heard it myself.
Looking into the future. In yet another pow-wow at the ranch of soccer
dynasty owner Philip Anschutz near Denver, the MLS board of directors
recently discussed a number of intriguing subjects. The topics included the
possibility of a third MLS team in the New York area (Suffolk County on
eastern Long Island), the advantages and disadvantages of playing an entire
season on FIFA 2001, renaming the draft the SuperDuperDraft, loaning former
Galaxy player and current MetroStars forward Clint Mathis to Los Angeles for
the FIFA Club World Championship this summer, mandating that each team must
use a lumbering player at central defense to increase goal-scoring and making
phony phone calls to Jeff Bradley, Grahame Jones, Grant Wahl and yours truly.
Walsh Cup runneth over. Speaking of expansion, the Walsh Cup is negotiating
with MLS about expanding to all 12 cities this fall. According to well-placed
sources, the other 11 sites would be essentially qualifying tournaments that
would feed into the big final tournament the week before Christmas. The
league also wants to find a way to give Walsh back some of the huge pay cut
he took. When asked about this new plan and whether it would damage the
grass-roots appeal of the this original tournament, Billy Walsh replied, "Who
cares? It's all about money."
Xtreme soccer. Yeah, we've heard that rumor, too, that the World Wrestling
Federation is thinking of establishing a soccer league -- the XSL. According
to our mole, Vince McMahon wants to bring back "old time attacking soccer"
from the good, old days of Pele, Cruyff and Maradona. Yeah, well, good luck,
because that's what soccer in general would love to see.
Water under the bridge. After seeing Estadio Nacional here, U.S. Soccer
officials are considering proposing to MLS that all new soccer specific
stadiums include a moat to keep over-enthusiastic fans from running onto the
field.
Yet another competition. An angry MetroStars general manager Nick
Sakiewicz, not very happy about his club not being invited into the Giants
Cup, is expected to unveil another international cup -- the Giants Stadium
Cup. "It's for teams that have been slighted by their leagues and national
associations," he said. The winner gets two free season tickets to all Giants
Stadium events.
Paul's ready. L.A. defender Paul Caligiuri, who did in Trinidad & Tobago
and boosted the U.S. into its first World Cup in 40 years in 1989, has told
U.S. coach Bruce Arena that he would be ready to play for the red, white and
blue again if needed in the qualifying match in that Caribbean country on
Nov. 10-11.
Rumor denied. There is no truth to the rumor that Chinese and former U.S.
national coach Bora Milutinovic is contemplating changing his first name to
Boring.
New nicknames. The new English Premiership Women's League has a number of
interesting names. Charlton Athletic's side, which plays at The Valley, will
be known as the Valley Girls, while the team that plays at Old Trafford will
be called Womanchester United.
Oy gut feelings. Sigh, here we go again, with preseason predictions. The
Chicago Fire will defeat the MetroStars in MLS Cup 3-2. Are you satisfied?
If you're not, I will predict all of the final scores of the April 7 opening
weekend. Here goes: MetroStars 5, New England Revolution 3; Columbus Crew 7,
Chicago Fire 0; Kansas City Wizards 0, D.C. United 0; San Jose Earthquakes 6,
Los Angeles Galaxy 3; Colorado Rapids 5, Miami Fusion 5; Tampa Bay Mutiny 1,
Dallas Burn 0. I'm really getting sick of having to do these predictions, but
I guess someone has to do them.
The last word. Today I have a special treat for all my loyal readers. It's
time to take out your Offside Remarks decoder rings and decipher an
important, secret message from yours truly. Go to the second paragraph of
this story and take the first letter from each of the 10 opening paragraphs
for a secret message. Let's call it
a special gift for everyone who has taken time to read my column
week in and week out.
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News. He also has written
three books about soccer.
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