Win for Blatter, loss for football

By Brian Glanville, World Soccer

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IF YOU wanted an image, however repellent, there it was -- Joao Havelange's basilisk, ravaged, expressionless face looking over a triumphant Sepp Blatter's shoulder, immediately after the Swiss had retained the FIFA presidency.

This re-election has been swiftly and inevitably followed by the sacking of Michael Zen-Ruffinen, the FIFA Secretary who at least had the guts to blow the whistle on Blatter. And the craven executive committee promptly withdrew the criminal charges, which they had been ready to pursue through the Swiss courts.

On what grounds, may you ask? What possible time have they had to re investigate what has deplorably happened, not least the colossal losses of FIFA, and to decide they had been wrong?

At the Congress on the day of the election Zen-Ruffinen observed: "The presentations do not correspond to reality."

The FA chief executive Adam Crozier made a scathing speech, as did Scotland's George Will after Blatter had stopped him speaking the previous day on the grounds that he was not representing a national association. But much good it did.

When the likes of Italy, Germany, Spain and France were prepared to vote for Blatter, when for their own differing reasons both Franz Beckenbauer and Michel Platini -- who had been given his own plush office in Paris -- were on Blatter's side, how could he be toppled?

Havelange all over again and he of course stayed unassailed in office for 24 years.

It's fair to condemn UEFA -- who could themselves now be in Blatter sights -- for abjectly failing to come out with a candidate of their own. So it was left to the pretty anonymous Issou Hayatou whose one real advantage seemed to be that at least it wasn't Blatter.

Hayatou so far as I know is an honest, decent man, but the Cameroon association like Nigeria's are notorious for endless confusion, even corruption, endless revolts by their outraged players who claim they have not been paid what they should.

It's all happened again before this World Cup and indeed there was mutiny in the ranks of Cameroon in the previous two. Crozier may well be right when he sees vast financial trouble ahead for FIFA; but will Blatter survive that, too? Don't now bet against it with such a castrated executive committee; already criticized by the Swiss prosecutors on the grounds of paying insufficient attention to FIFA's financial affairs.

"Let's work together and forget what happened in the last month," Blatter pleaded. Some of us can't and won't.

AND FRANCE? Not for the first time you do wonder about managerial whims and choices. Before a ball had been kicked in the competition I was wondering aloud about the wisdom of playing Frank Lebouef at center back. Why even Laurent Blanc, a far more elegant, resourceful and gifted defender in his prime, had retired from international soccer. And of course it was he who, after being controversially sent off in that semi final against Croatia, had to stand down in favor if Lebouef who thus picked up a gold World Cup medal.

But against the lively Senegalese and above all is Diouf, he was roasted and ridiculed time and again. Twice it almost led to a goal, once, of course it did, and it was the only one of the match.

Met at a Japanese airport on the way to Germany's embarrassingly easy success against Saudi Arabia, Frank Beckenbauer opined that the French looked tired, not least those players who had been engaged in the long and grueling British season. And there is no doubt that just as the French inevitably and badly missed Zinedine Zidane in that game, so they have missed the unhappily injured Robert Pires.

Did Senegal deserve to win? Well it was very refreshing to see them do so, and they also hit the bar with the enormously energetic and ubiquitous Fadiga; whether or not he took a gold necklace.

But by the same token. France hit the woodwork twice and in the end it was only superb goalkeeping by a hitherto nervy and erratic Senegalese keeper which kept their victory safe.

Apropos of Beckenbauer, he said with a smile that the last minute goal with which England so dubiously managed a draw with Finland thus pipped Germany for automatic qualification when he and others thought Germany had won was a blessing in disguise. It meant they had to play off against Ukraine, twice won easily, and that thought Franz was the making of the team.

Well yes and no: it certainly didn't look the part when one saw them in Cardiff. Watching them on Saturday in Sapporo, you felt that at least the 8-0 win against pitiful Saudi Arabia would build their confidence.

And there was Sepp Blatter before his selection ominously declaring it was time to think of those teams which have never played in a World Cup!

Brian Glanville is Britain's most celebrated football writer. He also writes a monthly column in World Soccer magazine.

His latest book, a fully updated edition of THE STORY OF THE WORLD CUP is available in all good bookshops. Readers of worldsoccer.com can buy this highly-acclaimed history of the World Cup and enjoy a 10% discount by clicking here.