Soccer Capsules: FIFA hails Spain, overlooks referee errors at WCup
ZURICH (AP) — FIFA offered high praise for World Cup winner Spain in its official analysis of the event Thursday, and indicated African countries harmed their chances on home soil by employing foreign coaches.
The report also criticized goalkeepers for making "inexplicable errors" — possibly because of the Jabulani ball — but glossed over the refereeing errors that helped eliminate some teams.
It also questioned whether many players were too tired after long seasons to peak in South Africa.
Spain's 1-0 extra-time victory over a Netherlands team widely criticized for violent tactics in the final. The report described it as "littered with fouls, mainly by the Dutch."
The soccer governing body assembled a team of experienced coaches and former players to analyze the 64 matches for tactics, trends and observations before publishing a 289-page document.
It concluded that Spain produced "fantastic, highly attractive football," said Jean-Paul Brigger, director of FIFA's technical study group.
"They're a complete team, arguably contenders for team of the century," Brigger said in an interview published on FIFA's website. "Xavi, Iniesta and Xabi Alonso in midfield cover huge amounts of ground but play fabulous football too — it looks pretty and even playful, but it's actually very hard work indeed."
FIFA's advisers made a general point that many teams, including hosts South Africa, suffered under the weight of expectations.
They speculated about why Africa's six teams — five with foreign coaches — faltered. Only quarterfinalist Ghana advanced from the groups.
"The coaches' chances of success were limited by the fact that they often did not fully identify with the African culture, mentality and lifestyle or knew too little about these factors," the report said.
Teams such as Cameroon, Nigeria and Algeria also struggled with the "extreme mental burden" of playing the World Cup just five months after the African Cup of Nations in Angola.
"The difficulty resides in keeping players motivated and fit for two such major competitions," the report said.
Goalkeepers came under fire as "not very consistent," struggling with penalty-area command, communication and stopping shots.
The "incredible speed" of the light, swerving ball was cited as a factor, but the report says some keepers were simply out of position.
In its match summaries, the report skates over the most high-profile referee errors.
After Frank Lampard's shot hit the underside of Germany's crossbar and went over the line, England "thought they had equalized but the goal was not given."
Meanwhile, "the Mexicans were somewhat unfortunate to fall behind after half an hour" when Argentina's Carlos Tevez scored from an offside position.
FIFA — which is reviewing match officials' training — defended referees in a separate section of the report that stated 142 of 145 goals awarded were correct.
"It is clear that errors — some of them serious — did occur. These errors are neither covered up nor justified but are meticulously analyzed to learn from them and improve future training plans."
FIFA's technical advisers highlight young and skillful players as crucial to teams' success, while others were hurt for failing to change their tactics during games.
The report praised Spain and others for defending in all parts of the field as soon as they lost possession of the ball. Argentina was singled out for failing to defend aggressively in its quarterfinal loss to Germany.
FIFA says Iberian stadiums are ideal WCup venues
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A FIFA delegation says the main stadiums proposed by Spain and Portugal in their joint bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup are "ideal" venues for big games.
FIFA inspectors visited Barcelona's Camp Nou, Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Benfica's Stadium of Light and FC Porto's Stadium of the Dragon during a four-day tour to assess the bid.
"The Iberian bid has a good chance of being selected," delegation leader Harold Mayne-Nicholls said. "Our report is going to be very positive because we have observed that they have a great sport, hotel and transport infrastructure, as well as a strong support from their political and sports authorities."
Mayne-Nicholls added that the delegation was confident the peninsula's hotels and airports can cope with the influx of visitors.
FIFA has visited all the European bidders, leaving only the United States and Qatar.
League News
World Cup failures to launch Euro 2012 campaigns
LONDON (AP) — France, Italy and England begin the rebuilding process after disappointing World Cup campaigns when they play their first European Championship qualifying matches on Friday.
France, under new coach Laurent Blanc, plays in front of its fans for the first time since the squad's World Cup training strike shocked the nation when it takes on Belarus at the Stade de France in Group D.
Italy, also starting a new chapter two months after finishing last in its World Cup group, is at Estonia in Group C. The Azzurri are looking for their first win in 2010.
England, which struggled to qualify from its group in South Africa before being humiliated by Germany in the second round, has a host of injury problems to contend with heading into its opening Group G qualifier, against Bulgaria at Wembley.
Aside from a win, winning back the belief of French fans, who have been particularly hard to please in recent years, is Blanc's priority in his first competitive game as France coach.
"I hope that we can get the crowd behind us during the game. I don't know if we'll succeed, but I hope so," the former France center back said.
Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery and Chelsea forward Nicolas Anelka are all missing after being suspended by the French Football Federation for their part in France's World Cup fiasco. Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is also a doubt after hurting an ankle in training.
Blanc is yet to decide on his new captain, but Chelsea winger Florent Malouda or Alou Diarra are favorites to take the armband.
Italy followed up its dismal World Cup by losing 1-0 to Ivory Coast in a friendly in England last month. It was Cesare Prandelli's first match in charge and the former Fiorentina coach is not expecting anything easy against Estonia, which opened its group campaign last month with a 2-1 win over the Faeroe Islands.
"It's not going to be a walk in the park against Estonia," Prandelli said. "They're a decent squad and we've got to be attentive. The idea of not having won in a year could weigh down the squad."
Holding midfielder Andrea Pirlo is back after missing most of the World Cup with a left calf injury and will wear the captain's armband while goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon continues his recovery from back surgery. Strikers Amauri and Mario Balotelli are also out injured.
Unlike France and Italy, England at least got out of its group in the World Cup but that did not spare manager Fabio Capello being heavily criticized for his tactics and squad selection.
Capello was not helped either by the poor form of some of his key players in South Africa, notably Wayne Rooney. But the Manchester United striker, who scored his first goal since March in his team's Premier League victory over West Ham last weekend, has looked sharp in England training and should spearhead Capello's lineup.
"He has improved a lot. It is a good moment for him and I think he will be OK for the game against Bulgaria," Capello said of Rooney.
With Rio Ferdinand still out injured, England will again be captained by midfielder Steven Gerrard, who rescued Capello's team with two second-half goals in the 2-1 friendly win over Hungary in August.
England is without experienced Chelsea players John Terry and Frank Lampard through injury, while striker Peter Crouch has been ruled out with a back injury and West Bromwich goalkeeper Scott Carson has been released from the squad because of a family bereavement.
While the three fallen European giants look to get back to their best, Spain and the Netherlands will aim to maintain the form that took them to the World Cup final.
World champion Spain begins the defense of its European crown with a trip to Group I minnows Liechtenstein. Center back Carles Puyol is absent because of a left leg injury.
The Dutch, who will be captained by new skipper Mark van Bommel, also start off with what should be an easy away match, against San Marino in Group E.
World Cup semifinalist Germany plays Belgium away in Group A while Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz will be absent when his side hosts Cyprus in Group H.
Queiroz has been suspended for six months after he was ruled to have disrupted an anti-doping test ahead of the World Cup, and will be replaced temporarily in the dugout by assistant coach Agostinho Oliveira.
-- Steve Douglas
Top coaches back 5 refs for Champions League games
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Europe's top club coaches have backed UEFA's decision to use five match officials in the Champions League.
They gave their support Thursday, two weeks before teams such as defending champion Inter Milan, Manchester United and Barcelona play matches for the first time under the experimental system that adds an extra assistant behind each goal to help referees make decisions.
"It's better to have three pairs of eyes (in each penalty area) than one pair of eyes," United coach Alex Ferguson said after a two-day gathering at UEFA headquarters.
UEFA president Michel Platini used the coaches' meeting to promote the five-official system he devised to help keep video technology out of the game. The system gives referees extra help to rule on goal-line judgments, diving, shirt-pulling at set-pieces, and is meant to deter players from cheating.
The former France playing great's persuasive powers appeared to win over his audience.
"We have a very, very good president in Michel Platini," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said. "Because he was a huge player he knows the rules, he feels what the players and coaches need."
The trials were introduced in the Europa League last season and will continue in the second-tier competition, and the Champions League, through 2012.
"I thought Michel Platini spoke brilliantly on that subject," said Roy Hodgson, the new Liverpool coach who guided Fulham to the Europa League final last season. "He made it clear to everyone that there's a human element involved, there's commercial interests involved."
The Europa League trials did not get worldwide approval, and FIFA's rules-making panel — known as IFAB — in May called for two more years of trials.
Europe and Mexico were the most enthusiastic supporters of the system when IFAB approved the next phase of trials in July — just a few weeks after Mexico was eliminated from the World Cup by Argentina, whose opening goal in a 3-1 second-round win was scored from a clear offside position.
UEFA stepped up its trials when the Champions League playoff round was played last month.
It saw another high-profile officials' mistake when Tottenham's Jermain Defoe admitted to a handball before scoring in a 4-0 victory over Switzerland's Young Boys.
Last week, Platini said the five officials would be correct at least 99 percent of the time.
UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh, who organized the annual coaches' forum, said the new refereeing system will take time to evolve.
"It is human and, of course, with human beings there can be the odd problem," Roxburgh said. "It is very new and has to be nurtured and developed."
-- Graham Dunbar
Elsewhere
Capello says critics turned him into a monster
LONDON (AP) — England coach Fabio Capello is confused by his sudden transformation from a "god" to a "monster" since his team faltered at the World Cup.
Preparing for European Championship qualifying, a combative Capello fought back against claims by pundits and columnists in England that he is a clueless coach lacking the tactical ability to turn the team into title winners.
Ahead of the World Cup, when the Italian presided over nine out of ten victories in qualifying, comparisons were being drawn with Alf Ramsey, who led England to its only world title in 1966.
But the team was inert throughout the tournament in South Africa and went home after being outclassed by Germany in a 4-1 second-round loss.
Capello may have clung onto his lucrative England contract, which runs through to Euro 2012, but the hostile headlines have persisted as the team prepares for its first competitive match since the World Cup against Bulgaria on Friday night.
The former AC Milan and Real Madrid coach accepts he is unable to control public perceptions of him, preferring instead to remember the past achievements before the media turned on him.
"You create the God, and you create the monster," Capello quipped in broken English at a briefing on Thursday. "We lost one game in the World Cup against Germany after one big mistake for the referee (disallowing a goal). You don't remember this. I think so.
"But after this, your opinion about me changed completely. You wrote a lot of things different, but I live with this situation. It's no problem for me. I remember what you wrote about me a short time before this period. I live the same moment when you write well of me as when you write badly of me. It's my job. You have to live with the pressure."
Many critics have denounced the 64-year-old Capello for being a tactical dinosaur for rigidly retaining a 4-4-2 formation.
And FIFA's tactical study of the tournament, which was released Thursday, concluded that "the most successful teams were flexible and able to adapt their style of play to the match situation."
Capello's critics maintain that such flexibility is lacking in his game plan, but the coach hit back when a reporter started to ask whether the FIFA comments applied to England.
"You are a lot of managers, a lot of managers. I've read that," Capello said. "Where is the different style? 9-1? Teams play 9-1. Where is the different style? Is there a difference between 4-4-2, 4-5-1 or 9-1? You are happy to write different numbers. One forward, nine defenders. Five attacking? Five defending? That's the modern style.
"You can see Barcelona, other teams. All the players have to defend, all the players have to go forward. That's the modern style, and we played this style, always. When you win you play the perfect style. When you lose you question positions on the pitch. Why, why, why? That's good. It's your job. It's my job to find the best solution."
Capello pledged to usher in a new era with young players after the World Cup, but the first Euro 2012 qualifier will have a familiar feel about it.
There will only be three changes from the Germany lineup against Bulgaria, with Joe Hart replacing the 40-year-old David James in goal, while Frank Lampard and John Terry are only missing through injury. Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe will spearhead a 4-4-2 formation.
But captain Steven Gerrard has urged the critics to lay off Capello, despite the Football Association already starting to plan for his successor, who will be an Englishman.
"It's important that Fabio is still given a chance. For me, he's a fantastic manager," Gerrard said. "Who out there that is an English manager has the CV that Fabio Capello has got?
"Will his future decided by these two games (against Bulgaria and Switzerland)? I don't know. I hope not ... it would be a knee-jerk reaction to sack a manager after one bad tournament, then think everything will be rosy when you start with a new guy and we'll go on and win Euro 2012. That's crazy."
Gerrard insists the players should shoulder the responsibility for the woeful World Cup campaign.
"It seems as if there's a lot of blame going towards the manager, but it was the players who underperformed out there," Gerrard said. "People talk about tactics and stuff, but there's only so much that a manager can do. The players have to deliver, and the players never delivered."
-- Rob Harris
Mourinho says titles no longer 'obsess' him
MILAN (AP) — Jose Mourinho claims he's no longer "obsessed" with winning titles, which might be a good thing since his Real Madrid side could be hard-pressed to challenge Barcelona in Spain.
Madrid opened with a scoreless draw at Mallorca in Mourinho's Spanish league debut last weekend, while title favorite Barcelona started with a 3-0 win at Racing Santander.
"Barca is a finished product. They could add a name or an idea but that's just perfecting things. At Real there's a feeling of uncertainty and doubts about continuity. In just a few years there have been (Fabio) Capello, (Bernd) Schuster, (Juande) Ramos, (Manuel) Pellegrini and me. You need stability," Mourinho said in an interview with Thursday's Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Luckily I'm not obsessed by titles now," the Portuguese coach added. "If I did, I would have stayed at Inter with six competitions available. I would have won three and my career would have been gratified. In Spain I have three competitions and in two of them — the Spanish league and the Copa del Rey — Barca is the team to beat."
Mourinho added that he still speaks with Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti weekly, despite bidding the Italian club a teary goodbye after leading it to a treble last season, capped by Inter's first European Cup in 45 years.
"We're friends," Mourinho said. "I'm part of his history and he's part of mine."
As for this season's Champions League, Mourinho said only seven clubs can win: Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United and last season's runner-up Bayern Munich.
"One of these will win," the Portuguese coach said. "There could be a surprise like Lyon in the semifinals last season — maybe AS Roma, Arsenal, Tottenham or Benfica — but it's difficult."
Zanetti won't rule out playing at next World Cup
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Veteran defender Javier Zanetti says he might try to win a spot in Argentina's squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after having been left out of this year's tournament by then coach Diego Maradona.
The Inter Milan defender, who will turn 41 in August 2014, said in an interview aired late Wednesday that anything is possible. He said he had no hard feelings over being excluded by Maradona.
Zanetti has been called up by interim coach Sergio Batista for Tuesday's friendly against World Cup winner Spain.
"I don't rule out anything," Zanetti said. "I'll enjoy the Tuesday game. We'll see what the future brings."
Zanetti has played 136 times for his country, more than any Argentine player. He was also left out of the 2006 squad by coach Jose Pekerman.
"When Diego made up his player list, he decided on someone besides me," Zanetti said. "Yes it hurt, but I accepted the decision."
Batista has also included Inter Milan midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, another player overlooked by Maradona.
Portugal coach Queiroz suspended for 6 months
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz was suspended for six months Thursday after the country's Sports Institute ruled that he disrupted an anti-doping test ahead of the World Cup.
The institute, which governs the National Anti-Doping Agency, said an inquiry found that Queiroz insulted an anti-doping team sent to test the Portugal squad before the tournament in South Africa and his aggressive behavior disrupted their work.
The institute said it has sent the ruling to the Portuguese Football Federation, which employs Queiroz.
This month, the federation had suspended Queiroz for one month on a charge of misconduct related to the same incident in May. However, it said he had used foul language with the inspectors but had not disrupted the test itself.
None of the players tested positive.
Queiroz has said he was angry that the unannounced early morning tests had disturbed the players and admitted he used inappropriate language.
French federation president hoping to keep his job
PARIS (AP) — Caretaker French football federation president Fernand Duchaussoy wants to stay in his post on a permanent basis.
Duchaussoy was appointed in July after Jean-Pierre Escalettes handed his resignation following France's World Cup fiasco.
The 67-year-old Duchaussoy told L'Equipe newspaper on Thursday "it would be good if I am confirmed until 2012."
Duchaussoy, who says he "wants a more active, more modern federation and re-establish a certain authority," will run for the presidency in the Dec. 18 elections.
At the World Cup, where France lost in the first round, the players refused to train to protest Nicolas Anelka's exclusion from the team, prompting harsh criticism from the public, President Nicolas Sarkozy and others.
GK Carson leaves England squad after family death
LONDON (AP) — Goalkeeper Scott Carson has been released from the England squad for the start of qualifying for the 2012 European Championship following a family death.
Carson's place will be taken by Watford's Scott Loach, who has been called up from England's under-21 squad.
The English Football Association did not disclose details about the death.
Joe Hart has emerged as coach Fabio Capello's first-choice goalkeeper, with Birmingham's Ben Foster as backup.
England's qualification campaign begins on Friday against Bulgaria at Wembley Stadium, followed by an away match against Switzerland on Tuesday.
Swiss club Neuchatel appoints coach Olle-Nicolle
NEUCHATEL, Switzerland (AP) — French coach Didier Olle-Nicolle has been appointed by struggling Swiss club Neuchatel Xamax.
Neuchatel says on its website that Olle-Nicolle has signed a contract through June 2011 with the club, which is ninth in the 10-team Swiss league.
Olle-Nicolle formerly coached French first division team Nice but was fired in March.
He replaces Jean-Michel Aeby who was fired after just four months in charge when Neuchatel lost four of its first six matches.
