the other football

Subcommandante Maradona

 

Paraguay have qualified.  Chile can choke.  Ecuador too.  Argentina are at home to Peru next.  Uruguay have superior goal difference.  Venezuela are lurking.  Colombia cannot be ruled out just yet.

There are so many permutations, yet it is difficult to discuss without getting drawn into the Argentine drama.

Argentina are in no more precarious a place than France or Germany.  While the Fatherland could find themselves facing the Czech Republic in November, all Argentina may have to contend with is a collapsing Costa Rica.

Subcommandante Maradona said it best after the recent defeat in Paraguay, "We've qualified via the playoffs in the past and nobody died."  And if I remember rightly, it was Maradona himself who made sure a looping Australian deflection crossed the line in Buenos Aires in 1993.  The leader knows every inch of the terrain.

Yet, it would be remiss not to admit my affection for Argentina and Maradona could be clouding my judgment.  I like to dream.  In my dreams, there is always a blue sky, a few bright white clouds and Argentina stringing passes together and stinging shots towards goal.

The reality is different after Paraguay.  Argentina is limping along the River Plate and is surrounded and being pursued by the Achilles, Ajax, Exeter and Cumberland of the South American battle group.  It's a long way to Costa Rica.  Coming Soon....The Battle of the River Plate?

Hecha en Venezuela

Jose Granados.  Hecha en Venezuela.

Golazo de Rey

Who'll miss Ronaldo in South Africa. Not me.

High and Tight in Venezuela

Brazil have qualified, despite their early drama.  Argentina can end their drama tonight in Ascunion.  Chile and Paraguay are expected to qualify, though a close look at their remaining fixtures suggests their drama may be about to begin.  The other usual suspects, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay are drifting, clinging to the hope the current with take them to Costa Rica.  Bolivia and Peru have time to plot their way to Brazil in 2014.  And Venezuela?

As we approach October, it is usual for Venezuelans to be considering which baseball franchise from El Norte to support in the World Series.  This year Venezuelans have other balls to juggle.

Venezuela showed they got game in Santiago on Saturday night.  Here's the highlights.  Watch Jose Manuel Rey continue to give "High and Tight" a whole new meaning in Venezuela.

Venezuela entertain Peru tonight.  A win is likely.  When it comes, Venezuelan football may begin to be taken seriously outside South America.  Other South American nations are already wise to the Vino Tintos.  With the exception of two thumpings by Argentina and Brazil, Venezuela have been competitive in every fixture.

The Vino Tintos are a team sourced from home grown and home based players.  They like to polish each other's boots.  They are tight.

 

When the Boot Was on the Other Foot

Argentina losing at home to Brazil was not so extraordinary.  It had happened before.  It was actually more noteworthy when several months earlier Uruguay lost a World Cup qualifier at home to Brazil.  That had never happened before. 

South American World Cup qualifiers are ultimately predictable affairs, the current Argentine drama notwithstanding.  Earlier in the qualifiers, bigger questions hung over Brazil. 

After 8 qualifiers more than a few Brazilians feared this would be the year Brazil failed to qualify.  Four draws, three of them 0-0, including an embarrassing night in Rio de Janeiro, when Bolivia secured their first ever World Cup point in Brazil.  It was more humbling than Brazil's earlier defeat in Asunción

Somehow Dunga survived. 

If Brazil had not beaten Venezuela in San Cristóbal last October, I doubt Dunga would have found himself shaking Maradona's hand in Rosario last Sunday night.

It's Venezuela, Brazil's opposition that night, that now promises to be the story of the South American qualifiers.

It's a Stick Up

Pele was held up at gunpoint by a gang of youths near Santos, it was reported in the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper today.  The stick-up which occurred on June 13th as Pele was driving to his coastal beach house, relieved Pele of a gold necklace, a mobile phone and a watch.  There were as many as ten bandits armed with pistols and knives.  Apparently Pele rolled down the window to tell the attackers who he was - but they robbed him anyway.

The writ of the Brazilian state does not run in some parts of the country, where armed gangs from poor neighbourhoods often set up makeshift road blocks, halting traffic and robbing motorists before disappearing back into the 'hood.

The 2014 World Cup will take place in Brazil.

Where to Next for Arthur Antunes Coimbra?

Fenerbahce announced today that Zico is leaving the club following a breakdown in talks over a new contract. "The contract of Arthur Antunes Coimbra (Zico) has now come to an end. We would like to thank him for the successful work he has done with the club, and wish him all the best for the future," a club statement said according to the Anatolia press agency.

Zico joined Fenerbahce in July 2006 on a two year contract. He led them to a league and Turkish SuperCup double in 2007, the club's centenary year. Zico led Fenerbahce to the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup where they were defeated by Chelsea.

Zico steered Japan to victory in the 2004 Asian Cup and to qualification for the 2006 World Cup.  He remains the all-time top scorer at the Maracanã, with 333 goals in 435 games.

Brazil remain in 5th place in the Conmebol South American World Cup qualifying group.

I will Sing to the Sun to Stand Up

orfeu negro

Ik zal zingen
om de zon
te laten opkomen,
wanneer de sterren weggewassen zijn
uit de lucht.
Ik zal zingen
in wolken van oranje,
bespikkelde lendendoeken van roodblauw,
zwart, dat zich niet langer kan staande houden
wanneer mijn zon aankomt;
een gele boodschap
voor allen die nog in hun kampen liggen,
voor allen die blind zijn van slaap...
Ik zal zingen
om de zon
te laten opkomen,
vanuit het water
dat zo eindeloos breed is,
totdat jullie naar buiten komen
om te luisteren
naar het bericht dat vanuit mijn hart
naar buiten breekt:
enkele druppels van morgenzon.

Michaël A. Slory, b. 1935, Corony District, Suriname

Slory published the first of more than 20 poetry collections in Dutch and Sranan Tongo in 1961.  The social and political reality, both in Suriname and elsewhere, are the essential sources of inspiration for much of his writing.  Thematically, his poetry is anti colonial and politically leftist, while linguistically it shows a great command of the various registers of the Sranan Tongo.  In 1991 a large selection of his poetry was published in Dutch translation (Em andere weg), demonstrating his preoccupation with the beauty of Surinamese nature and black women.

Paraguayan Priest with Thirst for Petroleum

Paraguay's 2-0 defeat of Brazil last week may have laid the groundwork for a seismic shift in the South American football map.  (How long before Zico is drafted in to replace Dunga?)

Paraguay has recently also contributed to a significant re jigging of the political map of South America.  The election of Fernando Lugo in April leaves only one "red state" on the continent. 

Nelson Mandela is now certain to have a convivial contingent of South American Presidents to entertain in 2010. 

The former Paraguayan priest who will inaugurated in August ended a three-nation tour this week that included Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

"Many ask me if I'm going to be like Evo, Correa or Chavez," Lugo said in Ecuador.  "But I say that Paraguay is going to build its own democratic process," he added. "We won't allow any nation, small or large, to dictate what we have to do with our own country." 

Later in Venezuela, Lugo said, "We've said that we want to have relations with everyone, whenever they are respectful, balanced and fair relations, and that the time of U.S. imperialism in Latin America has ended," Lugo told the Caracas-based Telesur TV network.

President Hugo Chavez was agreeable adding that Venezuela "guarantees" it will satisfy demand for oil in Paraguay. 

Son of Suriname

El Diamante

Peru returned to jeers in Lima yesterday after enduring a humiliating 6-0 defeat in Montevideo on Tuesday.  Leading the chant was President Alan Garcia who labeled the team a disgrace to the nation.

It was only a year ago that an accomplished Peruvian team beat Uruguay 3-0 in the opening game of the Copa America.    Peru were dismantled by Argentina 4-0 in the quarter finals.  No shame in that.  But it signaled the end of the road Peruvian manager, Julio Cesar Uribe.  Uribe had only been in charge for a matter of months. In that short period Peru showed great promise, playing arguably the most exciting football Peru had seen in decades.

Uribe was one of Peru’s all time great footballers. He played for Sporting Cristal where he won the Peruvian championship four times (1979, 1980, 1988 and 1991). He also played in Italy for Cagliari and in Mexico and Colombia. Uribe was a member of the Peruvian squad that qualified for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, the last time a team from Peru qualified.   Uribe won 52 caps for Peru.

President Alan Garcia should save his bile for the Peruvian Football Federation.  So what if Uribe had lied about his engagement with suds in a nightclub in Yokohoma?

For Peru to be as successful in football as it is in the Cocaine business, it needs Julio “El Diamante” Uribe.

*Peru remains the world No.2 supplier of Cocaine, with plots of coca bushes increasing by about one-third since 1999 to about 127,000 acres according to United Nations estimates. About 65,000 Peruvian families make a living off the coca leaf and trafficking, according to a U.S. State Department report released last month.

The Tussle Continues

Colombia and Ecuador agreed to renew low-level diplomatic relations under a deal brokered by former US president Jimmy Carter earlier this month.

Ecuador had severed ties with Colombia following a cross-border raid by Colombia's army against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas in March.

The truce came just in time for the Ecuador v Colombia World Cup qualifier at the Atahualpa stadium in Quito last night.

Here's Colombian forward Dayro Moreno tussling for the ball with Ecuadorean defender Giovanny Espinoza.  The match finished nil nil.  Advantage Vino Tintos.

Suriname v Guyana

I have been busy with other politics. 

So Suriname v Guyana. 

The first leg took place a few days ago at the Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Paramaribo.  Suriname prevailed 1-0, thanks a 53rd minute goal by midfielder Clifton Sandvliet.

Here's the Suriname team.  These lads look like they could go down to Buenos Aires and bang a few in.  (I will post Conmebol-Concacaf reorganization proposal shortly.)

La Chilena

Here's Pele getting his Chilena on.

According to Uruguayan historian Eduardo Galeano, the bicycle kick was invented by Ramon Unzaga in the Chilean port city of Talcahuana. 

It became known as the "chilena" some years later when Chilean side Colo-Colo were touring Spain in 1927.  Colo-Colo forward David Arellano was a purveyor of the art.  His technique inspired Spanish journalists who named the scissor kick,  "La Chilena' because like strawberries and the cuera, it had come from Chile.

There are some great "Las Chilenas" on You Tube these days.  I prefer Las Montevideanas myself.

Victor Jara Guitarra Trabajadora

Chilean folk singer Victor Jara was murdered at the Estadio Chile in 1973, not the Estadio Nacional.  Jara's hands were chopped off.  The price of copper went down.  The Estadio Chile which was renamed in Victor Jara's honour in 2003.

Yo no canto por cantar
ni por tener buena voz
canto porque la guitarra
tiene sentido y razon,
tiene corazon de tierra
y alas de palomita,
es como el agua bendita
santigua glorias y penas,
aqui se encajo mi canto
como dijera Violeta
guitarra trabajadora
con olor a primavera.

Que no es guitarra de ricos
ni cosa que se parezca
mi canto es de los andamios
para alcanzar las estrellas,
que el canto tiene sentido
cuando palpita en las venas
del que morira cantando
las verdades verdaderas,
no las lisonjas fugaces
ni las famas extranjeras
sino el canto de una alondra
hasta el fondo de la tierra.

Ahi donde llega todo
y donde todo comienza
canto que ha sido valiente
siempre sera cancion nueva.

The Battle of Santiago

The crimes committed in Santiago's Estadio Nacional may have had an a major influence Reverand Wright's 'chicken's coming home to roost' sermon, but back in 1962, the effervescent English football commentator David Coleman was spitting feathers about some other crimes. 

 

Chile v USSR

The possibility that the USA could end up playing in Santiago reminded me of when that other superpower once had a fixture in Santiago.  It was a walk over. 

It was a World Cup playoff between UEFA and CONMEBOL.  The first leg was in Moscow 26th September, two weeks after the other 9-11. It was a 0-0 draw.  For those with short memories, this was when covert US operatives and significant US funds contributed to the overthrow of the democratically elected Chilean President, Salvador Allende.  Tens of thousands were tortured and killed, with as many as 40,000 people interned in the bowels of the Chile's Estadio Nacional.

The USSR refused to play the return leg scheduled for November at the scene of these crimes, but then FIFA President, Sir Stanley Rous, was not a working class hero type and ordered the game to take the place with or without the Soviets.  (This was before the soon to be late Margaret Thatcher and General Augusto Pinochet were friends.)

Here's the kick off and the opening and decisive goal.

The Brazilian Experience

My reference yesterday to the contribution of black Honduran and Uruguayan footballers in the context of professionalism has reminded me of how nasty the black football experience was for Brazilians back in the day.  I am thankful to Eduardo Galeano for introducing me to this history.

Brazil was not always in the business of winning football titles, winning only two of the first 12 Copa Americas.  Uruguay whose star players were often black had won 6 titles in this period. If Uruguayan black stars of this era such as Isabelino Gradin had been Brazilian, no one would have ever heard of them.  Indeed in the 1920s, the Brazilian President Epitacio Pessoa went so far as to issue executive orders to keep black players out of the Brazilian team.  (Isabelino Gradin with his family, pictured above, in Montevideo in 1932.)

About the same time as Lancashire clubs were enticing Scots, the best teams in Montevideo were offering big money to black Brazilians to play in the Uruguayan league.  The signing of Leonidas da Silva by Penarol and Nacional's capture of Domingos da Guia's signature in the early 1930s did much to provoke the Brazilian authorities into a cost benefit analysis of the racism in their prestigious and white amateur football and cricket clubs and national association.

Hope Beats Experience in Ecuador

The surprise success of Ecuador's U18s  (against older teams from Conmebol and Concacaf) in the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro on the back of an horrendous start to the World Cup qualifying campaign by Ecuador has led to the elevation of U18s coach Sixto Vizuete to the full time position of national coach.

The news was met by the early retirement announcement of Ecuador's top player, Edison Mendez.  Apparently Edison thinks Vizuete has Hillary like experience, telling the Ecuadoran FA that they "should think about a coach that you can see on the touchline and feel some respect, a coach with experience."

I think the brother needs some HOPE. 

(FIFA, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF need to think about the lessons Pan American Games experience.  I will blog on this later.)

A Scottish Hero Speaks

Maradona ain't feeling Argentina right now. 

After securing their second 2-0 win in their World Cup qualifier in Maracaibo, Maradona told Argentine television, "I'm tired and bored of watching them pass the ball backwards. They gave it to Riquelme, he played it backwards; they gave it to (Javier) Mascherano, he played it backwards, it's no good at all.

You tell 'em, Diego.

Another Uruguayan First

La República Oriental del Uruguay was the first nation to officially recognize the 1915 Armenian genocide.  Uruguay has had many firsts.  The first national health system in South America.  The first national football association to select blacks players to represent.  Much respect to the Celeste!

April 20, 1965

Law No. 13.326

Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Martyrs

Legislative Power.

The Senate and House of Representatives of Uruguay meeting in the General Assembly, Decree

Article 1.
Declares the following 24th of April "Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Martyrs", in honor of the members of that nationality slain in 1915.
Article 2.
The stations of the Official Radio Service must on that date conduct part of their broadcast in honor of the mentioned nation.
Article 3.
Armenian descendants who are public servants are authorized to miss work on the mentioned date.
Article 4.
Designate with the name of "Armenia", the 2nd Grade School, No. 156, in the Department of Montevideo.
Article 5.
Communicate, etc.

Senate chambers, in Montevideo, the 20th of April, 1965
Martin R. Echegoyen
President
Jose Pastor Salvanach
Secretary

¿Por qué no la Pantera?

Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez has just announced plans to play three up front against Bolivia on Saturday. 

The 4-3-3 is a Uruguay signature and Uruguay expects.  I expect too. 

But I would be more comfortable if La Pantera was prowling along the Bolivian backline.  They don't like it up 'em, those Bolivians. 

 

Meanwhile in Montevideo

The Uruguayan Football Association (yes, those same characters who run cheap coach flights to Australia) have doubled the entrance prices to the Centenario for the 2010 campaign.  Clearly they've never heard of the Bangabandhu experiment.

Uruguay's players have joined the match going public in the criticism.  "The ticket prices are robbery", Pablo Garcia told El Pais, "The public cannot afford them.  There are a lot of people with no job or who earn low salaries and they can't afford a luxury such as this."  Diego Forlan echoed the sentiments, "We all want a full stadium."

Prices to watch the match against Bolivia at the Centenario stadium will vary from 100 pesos (US$4) to 625 (US$27).  (What is the daytrippers pay to go watch Liverpool these days?)

Don't forget to sing, Ceci.

     

What are they Putting in the Water in Paysandú?

Walter Gargano Guevara has been named in Uruguay’s squad for their opening two World Cup qualifiers that take place later this month in Montevideo and Asuncion. 

Gargano follows in a long tradition of tough tackling, creative brothers from Paysandú.  The Other Football will have a little something to say about El Negro Jefe later.

My 'brother' Oscar used to cut Nancy Gargano's hair in Paysandú.  "The Mothers of Paysandú."  Now that sounds like the chapter of a best selling football book. 

(I know there are well over three million opinions on this, but what has Washington Tabarez got against the other Uruguayan from Napoli?)

Carlos Gardel canta para las muchachas

Pocos futbolistas conocieron la noche porteña como José Manuel “Charro” Moreno y pocos como él supieron moverse al compás del dos por cuatro.