Never mind Saint Sepp, the system is to blame
For those of you slightly confused or even overwhelmed by the stories emerging from FIFA headquarters in Zurich this week, we understand your pain. Fasten your seatbelts and let us try to tell you what is at stake.
On Wednesday the body which runs world football, FIFA, will vote for its new president. The incumbent Sepp Blatter is favorite to land the job, largely because he’s the only candidate in the race.
But this is the most senior job in world football, so why has an election to a post of such importance attracted fewer candidates than the campaign to become student union treasurer at my local college?
Was Blatter right to be defiant?
Given the context and timing to FIFA's press conference on Monday, you would have been forgiven for thinking an important annoucement was due to be made.
President Sepp Blatter - who will be subject to a presidential election vote on Wedneday - has seen his Zurich-based organization beset by a multitude of serious allegations regarding corruption in recent times. FULL POST
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Posted by Filed under: Football |
Monaco: Where exhaust fumes and foie gras mix
Ever since they started racing cars around the city streets in 1929, the Monaco Grand Prix has been one of the most glamorous sporting events of the year.
Within just a few days in May, roughly 70 million euros are poured into the economy of the tiny principality as movie stars and models, the rich and the famous, flock to the trackside.
For the drivers it’s the race to win. For everyone else, it’s the race to be seen at. FULL POST
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Posted by Filed under: Motorsport |
Pinto's picks: The European season in hindsight
Every time you make a prediction, you run the risk of looking like a genius or an idiot.
Back in August of last year, I looked into my crystal ball and tried to forecast what would happen in Europe’s major leagues this season. So now it's time to recap the action, see what were the big stories and what I got right and wrong. FULL POST
French talent drain no reason for black and white approach
French football was recently rocked by a racial quota row which saw a football federation official suspended and national team coach Laurent Blanc interrogated by the country’s sports ministry.
Both men were at a meeting where introducing a limit on the number of black and Arab players at the nation’s training academies was discussed. A recording of the meeting was leaked to a website and the rest, as they say, is history. FULL POST
Djokovic's dream year shows no sign of slowing
When Pete Sampras won major title number 14, I thought nobody would ever break the record. Then along came Roger Federer.
When I thought the Swiss maestro was the undisputed greatest of all time, along came Rafael Nadal. FULL POST
Lennon intimidation has no place in soccer
The alleged assault on Celtic manager Neil Lennon, during a 3-0 victory over Scottish Premier League rivals Heart of Midlothian on Wednesday, has led to calls for change in a nation so proud of its football heritage.
European champions in 1967 and one of the two giant clubs of the Glasgow "Old Firm" alongside Rangers, Celtic are just one point from the top of the league with one game left to play. But the climax of what will surely be a dramatic end to the season, as Celtic chase their arch-rivals, has been overshadowed by unsavoury scenes. FULL POST
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Posted by Filed under: Football |
Barca to better Man Utd in battle of the Champions
This weekend, Manchester United and Barcelona moved within a point of clinching the English Premier League and Spanish Primera Division titles, respectively.
These two teams are clearly the best on the planet right now and should guarantee a fantastic Champions League final later this month. As far as who will come out on top, there is no doubt in my mind that it will be the Spanish giants lifting the trophy at Wembley. FULL POST
Spain's golfing maestro remembered
We all have our heroes, men or women who have inspired or entertained us. Very few of us are able to meet these people, even fewer can say they have experienced first hand their genius and charisma.
So I consider myself incredibly fortunate not just to have met Seve Ballesteros, but to have played golf with him; to have walked a fairway beside him, bantered with and taken tips from a man that transcended his sport and made an indelible mark upon it. FULL POST
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Posted by Filed under: Golf |
Would F1 be better off with different owners?
It doesn’t seem to matter who is running Formula One, the sport is practically a license to print money. But would the team owners, mechanics, drivers and fans be better off if someone else was in charge? One group of investors seems to think so.
Last year, the Formula One Administration reported that its annual sales had risen to over $1 billion and its popularity only seems to be increasing.
The action so far this season has been gripping, there are five world champions now competing for the title and new tracks are being built in India, Russia and the U.S. FULL POST
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Posted by Filed under: Motorsport |
