Friendly could give vital clues to future for Italy and Brazil

Claudio Marchisio

If tonight’s friendly between Italy and Brazil in Geneva is technically a non-competitive international, no one told the players.

Headlines this week have screamed of the Azzurri’s deeply felt desire to get one over their South American foe while, for the Brazil, the match may be crucial for the team’s development.

Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio has described the fixture, which comes ahead of a World Cup qualifier against Malta next Tuesday as “a check of the highest levels”, while teammate Andrea Prilo added: “There are no such things as friendly matches in football, especially when Italy are involved and especially when the opponents are Brazil.”

But while the talk may be in the right place, the fixture’s history does not favour the Mediterranean country. Italy haven’t beaten Brazil since the 1982 World Cup and have lost three and drawn two of their last five games including 2-0 and 3-0 defeats in 2009. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says: “We’ve faced Brazil on a few occasions in the last few years and we’ve done pretty poorly against them. Thursday’s match will be important, it will give us some important answers about the future, about our convictions.”

But if Buffon is looking for clues to the future, Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has nabbed a crystal ball from Mystic Meg as he attempts to discern his best squad ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Scolari’s first match since returning as national team coach last month, more than a decade after triumphing in the competition in Japan and South Korea in 2002, ended in disappointment. A 2-1 loss to England at Wembley showed both the increasing importance of Jack Wilshere in the Three Lions’ team and the work there is still to be done to turn Brazil into contenders.

Thursday’s match will prove crucial in laying down a marker just months before they meet in the group stages of the Confederations Cup in the Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador. June’s competition should see both progress in a group alongside Japan and Mexico, but for Brazil winning a marquee match with a team ranked fifth in the Fifa rankings could be crucial.

With no competitive matches between now and the kick-off of South America’s first World Cup since 1986, Scolari will be looking to blend old heads with youth.

Thursday’s clash in the Stade De Geneve may provide Scolari with clues. There appears to be several key clashes. Barcelona’s full-back Dani Alves and Milan attacker Stephan El Shaarawy could provide one of the most fascinating tussles on the pitch as the forward looks to get past Alves as he did in the first of their clubs’ two Champions League clashes this month.

Similarly Marchisio and Chelsea’s Ramires – likely to deputise for the injured Paulinho – could provide a fascinating battle after facing off in Europe earlier this season. Ramires’ unerring ability to quickly accelerate when running from box-to-box will complement Marchisio’s deft skills in the centre of the park. However, it is the Brazilian who will have to prove his worth to his coach with Marchisio a regular in the Italian team.

In reality, the game could prove cagey with the Italians keen to nick a draw and shut out the slick passing of a Brazilian side with a point to prove to its 197 million population 5,000 miles away.

Moreover, the context of the game between two giants of world football who have clashed twice in World Cup competition, Brazil winning 4-1 in the 1970 final and Italy triumphing 3-2 thanks to an epic hat trick from Paolo Rossi in 1982. The pressure may be firmly on Brazil but when the match kicks off, both teams will be instilled with the flair of their forefathers.

Article originally appeared on Thefootballweek.net

Is sanctioned standing about to return to the English top flight?

As more clubs back the Football Supporters' Federation's Safe Standing Campaign, Alex Lawson studies the history of the debate in the wake of recent revelations regarding the Hillsborough disaster and asks how likely sanctioned standing is to return to top flight British football. 

"People affected by Hillsborough will always react emotionally to issues surrounding its legacy, of course they will, and it will be a brave Sports Minister to introduce safe standing because of that," explains Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) campaign co-ordinator Peter Daykin. "Nevertheless, we believe that an unthinking opposition to standing is itself more dangerous."

The campaign for safe standing at British football stadia, spearheaded by the FSF, has a long and complex history. Extricating the events of April 15, 1989 at Hillsborough, which ultimately led to all-seater stadiums as a requirement in the top two divisions of English football, from the debate over whether standing at matches is intrinsically unsafe has been difficult. The Hillsborough Independent Panel report published in September placed the blame on negligent policing, fences and "a culture in which fans were treated like animals and demonised", Daykin claims. Events in the Leppings Lane End have become an icon of the argument against standing at matches albeit a catalyst for investment in policing, stewarding and safety management in grounds. 

The plus points, from a fan's perspective, of safe standing areas are straightforward. In both England and abroad, ticket prices for standing areas are typically lower than in seated areas making the increasingly expensive pastime more affordable. Moreover, the FSF claims, congregations stand up to sing in church and standing areas inject much-need atmosphere into grounds which have undoubtably become more sterile over the past two decades. Importantly, allowing fans the choice over whether to sit or stand would allow those who want to sit not to have to worry about their view of the pitch being blocked and those standing, of which there are thousands who realistically stand throughout matches across the country each week, from worrying about blocking other people's view. Stewards will also be relieved to reduce the amount of time spent asking supporters to sit down.

Those opposing the campaign claim standing is unsafe, incites hooliganism as people are harder to manage and track; it blocks others' view and new areas would require significant investment from clubs, a point the FSF argues should be for clubs to decide where they spend their money. 

The campaigns' objectives are simple - for a club to trial a new style of standing terraces developed in Germany, Sweden and Austria to provide a case study on which to change existing legislation. The campaign highlights three different options for removable seating, an essential as clubs competing in Europe cannot have standing areas in UEFA competitions. 

The first option is clip-on seats which fix on to every second row when they are needed and the second is foldaway seats which fit under a metal step when in standing mode, however the Football Licensing Authority, following a trip to Hamburg's AOL Arena, has deemed it impractical for these to be introduced into existing UK stadia. 

The option the FSF is throwing its weight behind is for a model used in Austria where there is a safety barrier and a seat on every row, the seats are locked upright for a standing fixture and come down for European games. The FSF, in partnership with Safe Standing Roadshow, has been touring clubs across the UK displaying the technology. 

Daykin claims those who have seen the seating have been extremely positive and a plethora of clubs including Aston Villa, Swansea City and Watford, as well as the Scottish Premier League have publicly supported the campaign. Villa have expressed an interest in safe standing as a way to reinvigorate unpopular areas of Villa Park where seating is uncomfortable and would allow them to move fans standing in steep sections of the Holte End where it's unsafe to stand. Meanwhile, Peterborough United, in their second year of the three year stretch during which standing areas need to be converted while in the Championship, face an imminent heavy investment in seats for an area in which fans have already said they will continue to stand. 

The FSF argues that the stipulation for clubs in the top two divisions to have all-seater stadiums, in section 11 of the Football Spectators Act 1989, would not require an Act of Parliament, merely an extension of rules which apply to lower league clubs. "Our argument is that legislation should only be in place if the safety risk of standing at football is demonstrably serious enough to warrant legislating against," Daykin says. The federation believes political willpower for the campaign - which has been in Parliament in a number of guises namely Early Day Motions (EDM) tabled by numerous MPs, a Private Member's Bill instigated by Don Foster MP most recently Labour MP Roger Godsiff EDM - is improving but a number of broken promises from opposition over the years have left the organisation sceptical. 

If the findings of the Hillsborough report can defuse some of the stigma around standing at matches, this long-running debate may finally take a huge step towards resolution. 

Article originally appeared in issue four of the English Football Magazine

How social media has ratcheted up the pressure on modern football managers

From recruiting players on Twitter to suing fans for vicious comments made online, Alex Lawson looks at how social media has changed the interaction between managers and fans

Brian Laws distanced himself from a feud between fans
and the club

"Laws-y - give us a wave! Laws-y, Laws-y give us a wave!…Aaaay!" The former Sheffield Wednesday boss Brian Laws would raise a cheery hand to the onlooking fans. At one point this, and perhaps more negative shouts from the stands, was the only interaction had with the Owls faithful with the former Nottingham Forest fullback and longest serving manager since Trevor Francis. 
However, Laws came close to being drawn into a bitter battle with fans over vicious calls to sack him  in an online forum in 2009. Laws says in his laughably titled new book, Laws of the Jungle, that he had always respected supporters' right to an opinion and that he was "furious" at being drawn into an attempt by chairman Kaven Walker to sue fans expressing their opinion on an online forum. 

"They didn’t like it, but my reputation was at stake. You can’t have a manager suing his club’s fans. It just doesn’t work," says Laws. “That said, I do believe the internet and fans’ forums have got out of hand. It’s a licence to publish anything whether it’s right or wrong. And yes, often it is libellous. Opinions are put out by people who remain anonymous and it seems they can say anything they like.”

Laws' revelations are disappointingly unsurprising in a period when violent and emotive language is commonplace in expressing opinions on football as passion boils over. The internet has provided a wonderful forum for fans to interact and gee each other up - check any club's Twitter hashtag at 2.50pm on a Saturday - but also a tumultuous melting pot of over the top vile hatred from the idiotic few who have now been given a voice when things go wrong.

Former Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish said, after making the controversial switch from Birmingham to Aston Villa and receiving abuse from fans, that the problem will quickly escalate. “It has grown into a monster with social networks like Twitter," he said. "I respect people’s right to free speech but if any managers and coaches wanted to read that stuff it would send them barmy. The next thing that will emerge in football is somebody will get sued for something said [on Twitter]. Whether that’s a knee-jerk reaction because the jails will be full. People are already getting arrested," he said.

Moreover, social networks like Twitter and Facebook disproportionately represents the opinions of the few. For example, when there are calls for longstanding, settled managers like Arsene Wenger to be sacked it is often reported despite the fact the vast majority of Arsenal's fans have no desire for this to happen. 

However, the development of online interaction between managers and fans is not entirely negative. Managers can address the fans in their own voice - rather than through the spin of newspaper editors or the editing of TV broadcasts - and can put across their opinions far more clearly than the staid forum of a programme note. 

Former Yeovil manager Terry Skiverton took the debate to the next level last season when he used Twitter to aid him in his work. Short of cash to scout players, Skiverton appealed to his 1,700 followers to suggest players to bring to Huish Park and said the experience had been fruitful. He said at the time: "It's not a bit of fun for me - it's serious business. I can't afford a scouting system. "I think it gives the supporters a bit of fun as well as I've had supporters go through non-league annuals, going out and watching games saying 'what about this player?"

Of course, there are still the traditionalists, none more so than media-unfriendly Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson who last year issued his fans an old fashioned letter on the turnstile to appeal for respect to Liverpool fans mourning the Hillsborough disaster. 

Whether Skiverton's idea catches on and soon managers are also appealing for advice on which players to substitute via a hashtag remains to be seen. For now managers avoiding a slanging match with fans and supporters shying away from derogatory language about their beloved team's boss online must remain the goal. 

Voodoo, graveyards and impotency: Is witchcraft rife in African football?

Voodoo, graveyards and impotency. Alex Lawson delves into the strange world of witchcraft in football

Ghanaian goalkeeper Richard Kingson's wife
claimed to have used 'evil powers'

When Ghanaian goalkeeper Richard Kingson was released by Blackpool last year he probably believed he had reached the nadir of his patchy career in English football. However, claims by his wife earlier this year that she had used witchcraft to affect his loss of form towards the end of his time at the Tangerines, as well as his alleged loss of form in the bedroom, which left the veteran of two World Cups more embarrassed than a secret cross-dresser outed at a team building away day. 

Kingson's wife Adelaide Tawiah, who had originally claimed on Nigerian TV to have used "evil powers" to affect his form, has since retracted the statement, claiming she was possessed in the broadcast from the Synagogue Church of All Nations at the time. The incident has raised an oft occurring question - how rife is witchcraft in African football?

In several African nations, most notably Ghana and Kenya, witchdoctors are not an uncommon sight at a football match while teams have been known to spend the night before a big match in a graveyard to channel what is termed 'Juju magic'. 

Former Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic blasted his players for using black magic in a leaked document following the African Cup of Nations earlier this year. The Serbian said that some players had used "black power to destroy themselves" which had created deep divisions in the squad and caused the Black Stars to be sent crashing out of the competition in a shock defeat to Zambia at the semi-final stage. 

Ghanian Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi claimed the team was deeply fractured. "During the competition we observed that some players played to achieve personal fame, prominence and excellence to the detriment of the team," he said.  

Former Ghana midfielder Laryea Kingston, who had been accused of using black magic by fans, claimed that his teammates often "put sin in their shoes" to appease Juju forces but he was not involved in the practice. Mohammed Abu, who won the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil with Ghana said he had seen players deliberately miss penalties for fear that if they scores their family will die. "Everyone is asking for help but this evil, this devil is deceiving you," he said, adding that a witchdoctor once made him drink a 'lucky' drink which was in fact Schnapps and he was forced to play drunk.

But the phenomenon is not just confined to Ghana. Earlier this year, Kenyan side Shikaadabu blamed their 6-0 drubbing by the fantastically-named Hippo Youngsters on their archrivals Vimwanga who they claimed had bewitched their goalkeeper. Moreover, Kingstone FC threatened to abandon a match with Mombasa region side Super Eagles after claiming they found their opponents "smearing themselves in ndumba (voodoo) before the match", according to manager Said Mwinyi. The claims were not entertained by league officials and the debate continues to rage in the coastal region of the East African country. 

The issue of witchcraft in football will ultimately only escalate if it becomes increasingly evident players are altering the outcome of matches deliberately to satisfy evil spirits they believe will do them harm. Those who do express these beliefs are likely to incur the wrath of their managers, league officials and fans and are likely to suppress their activities. 

In a game that has the fine margins of luck, pressure and scrutiny that football has, players are striving to influence the game through whatever means possible. Richard Kingson, meanwhile, may have to set up a meeting with Pelé about a shipment of those little blue pills he recommended.

English clubs need to downsize stadiums for the sake of fans

Alex Lawson suggests that some English clubs could follow Italian clubs' lead and reduce the capacity of their stadium.

Market forces are against football clubs looking to increase their fan base. Sure, Manchester City and Chelsea are increasingly finding a bigger and bigger global fan base but the likes of Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton in the North West where competition for support is rife as well as clubs like Coventry and Middlesborough suffer from swathes of empty seats on a weekly basis.

The Old Lady's new home, The Juventus Stadium

Greed in the English game forcing up ticket prices, combined with competition from other sports and activities for kids, have combined to drive fans away from British grounds. Even some of the most ardent supporters have said no to choosing between buying a season ticket and having a holiday at an equivalent cost. As such a number of clubs have found themselves in large, newly-built modern grounds missing missing the crucial final piece: fans.

But over in Italy several clubs are taking action. The Old Lady Juventus last season moved into their new surroundings - the imaginatively named Juventus Stadium - after years of empty seats at the much disliked Stadio delle Alpi which was built for the 1990 World Cup. The reasons behind the stadium’s average attendance being a pitiful third of its 67,000 capacity are plentiful but centre upon bad sight lines due to the running track, a poor atmosphere and a dearth of transport links. But fundamentally Juventus were a team ill-matched to their ground. While claiming to be Italy’s ‘best supported’ club with around 11 million fans, the residents of Turin chose to watch Torino while Juventus sold out grounds in Milan, Parma, Palermo and Bologna when they played a number of ‘home’ matches elsewhere in 1994-95 to try to the alleviate the problem. The new ground, built on the same site, is relatively compact - seating 41,000 fans - and has a tight rectangular shape beneath an oval roof in a more British style. In short, it suits The Old Lady like a pile of knitting on a winter’s afternoon.

But it is not just Juventus that have come to terms with the failings of their long-term home. The San Siro, one of Europe’s most majestic and iconic grounds, will no longer house the blue side of Milan’s famous duelling rivals. Inter Milan last month revealed China Railway Construction Corp will invest in its new stadium, moving out of the 80,065 capacity San Siro after ground sharing with Milan since 1946. The new Internazionale stadium will have a capacity of 60,000 and construction would start next year, due for completion in 2017, although a location has not been confirmed. Meanwhile, arch rivals AC Milan will be hoping the team can improve gates and atmosphere after recording their lowest ever season ticket sales of 23,000, some of which were returned after the sale of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Similarly, Udinese are also planning to redevelop and modernise their Stadio Friuli, revising its capacity down from 42,000 to 25,000.

For British clubs keen on expansion, these Italian decisions could sound a note of caution. A number of traditionally big clubs including Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday have proposed expansions on top of older but atmospheric grounds. West Ham, too, could think twice before trading up to the larger Olympic Stadium in favour of the cauldron of Upton Park, if a deal is ever done. The East Londoners are also known to heavily discount ticket prices at midweek matches suggesting the better fortunes of other London clubs is beginning to hurt attendances.

Ultimately, clubs need to ensure that their stadiums reflect both the size of their fanbase at present and allow a proportion of extra capacity if the team hits good times. A winning combination of an impassioned fanbase and modern facilities remains both an achievable and common aspiration.

Article originally appeared on TheFootballRamble.com

Could St Pauli become the next Ebbsfleet United?

St Pauli are an altogether very unique club. Founded on left wing principles, resurrected from obscurity by an openly gay former chairman and fiercely feminist despite being situated in a district where objectifying women is commonplace. 

The Millerntor stadium

Hamburg's second team and drifting in mid-table in Germany's second division, many could be forgiven for being surprised at St Pauli's position as one of the most ardently followed clubs in world football. However, the team's transformation in the 1980s from lower league also-rans to a punkish, anti-facist movement fronted by the Totenkopf - the skull and crossbones flag - has perked interest worldwide. 

Approaching the Millerntor stadium on Saturday during an annual trip to Germany to reap the delights of the Christmas markets, the difference from the average trip to the Ricoh Arena are obvious. Fans can openly drink outside the ground, stopping only to recycle their empty bottles, there are as many mohawks, piercings and band hoodies as there are oversized guts and Alan Partridge jackets. 

The game itself is a Sting-like tantric affair, always threatening to kickstart into life as opponent Kaiserslautern boss the early exchanges before St Pauli play through the middle to get the battle their way back into the game. The much-lauded atmosphere itself doesn't disappoint, Pauli's bouncing and flag waving is matched by their rivals loud support, orchestrated amusingly by a bloke sat atop a fence not watching the game in a Bez-like role. Kaiserslautern hit the post no less than three times in the first half but it's St Pauli who edge it in a game with plenty of quality and not befitting its division. Daniel Ginczcek, on load from Borussia Dortmund, knocks in a scrappy finish, almost fluffing an open goal before the ball bounces back off the post and into his shins. The goal is followed, as ever, by Blur's Song 2 booming out over the PA and the bloke next to me - an Eintracht Braunschwieg fan - is pleased his side's rivals have been denied and he rolls off towards the dubious Reeperbahm red light district. 

I meet one of St Pauli's most ardent fans

The experience has been a unique one from the busker screaming hardcore tunes in a rasping husk outside to the carefully crafted graffiti in the ground's underbelly, this is a match day like no other. 

But a key concern has been hanging over St Pauli in recent years. Since the club dug itself out of €1.95m of debt through initiatives like a 'drink for St Pauli' day where local landlords donated 50 cents a beer, their fortunes on and off the pitch have been largely positive. Flamboyant ex-chairman Corny Littmann left the club after its promotion to the Bundesleiga in their centenary year in 2010 but not before building a global brand centred on the Totenkopf. 

The Kaiserslautern faithful and a pretzel seller

The club's shop generates £7m a year and a quick whip round it revels why. Official shirts sold at €70 are snapped up, as are St Pauli mugs, stickers and even a sandwich toaster. For a club so leftie it played in Cuba to support president Fidel Castro and hosted the FIFA Wild Cup in 2006 to support smaller unrecognised nations like Tibet and Zanzibar, this ruthless capitalism does not sit comfortably. Moreover, while I snaffle up admittedly one of the very last seats in the ground, the €42 price tag (doubtless not representative of the entire ground) does not fit with German football's cheap tickets/large crowd principles. 

The brand that has been built - club shop staff are even given 'crew' hoodies to look like punk roadies - has not gone unnoticed. St Pauli's values have attracted a global following (supporters groups meet in Edinburgh and London to watch matches every Saturday) however it is this popularity which is undermining their unassuming, localised principles. 

A St Pauli sandwich toaster

So what can the club do? If they shut down the shop and discourage fans in spreading the word it will undermine the camaraderie built up. Modern football is big business and financial stability is vital If they continue to exploit the brand further, it may turn off some key fan groups. Fan pressure group Social Romantiker is already fighting excessive advertising and corporate seating in the stadium. It may be interesting, therefore, to see whether St Pauli could exploit their fan-owned spirit to allow supporters to take on an Ebbsfleet Untied or Venezia model where fans vote on transfers or elsewhere where it's been taken further and supporters go online to vote on substitutions. 

St Pauli fans already own 51% of the club under German football association rules so it may not be a huge step. Fan power has proved a controversial topic, those on the terraces always believe they know best but often harbour idiotic thoughts. However, if St Pauli are to drag their ethics into the 21st century then it has to be considered. 

Alex Lawson

The Tumultuous Life of a Caretaker Manager

From Attilio Lombardo and Tomas Brolin at Crystal Palace to the man who guided Aston Villa to European Cup glory, caretaker management throws up some interesting oddities. 

Perennial caretaker manager Howard Wilkinson

As gruelling probation periods in jobs go, caretaker management in football is among the most arduous. From thankless tasks filling others’ shoes before someone more famous and erudite takes the position to being a genuine contender for a permanent position, having the pressure of hoards of fans watching your every move is a baptism of fire.

Two caretakers who have rolled up their sleeves and taken up the challenge are ex-AFC Wimbledon boss Simon Bassey and Tommy Wright, who was Chesterfield caretaker until the appointment of former Accrington Stanley boss Paul Cook this week. The pair shored up their sides after difficult starts to the season. Bassey took over from previous manager Terry Brown last month after a poor run of form from a club which had threatened back-to-back promotions the previous season. Bassey took AFC Wimbledon clear of the relegation zone before handing over the reins to Neil Ardley last month.

Wright recorded just one defeat in his 11 games but this was not enough to see him given the job permanently. For chairmen, a manager who knows the club and the players well can often prove both the simplest but the most effective option and Bassey looks likely to get the nod. Caretakers are often assistant manners, coaches and in the case of Southampton boss Nigel Adkins, the physio when he was in temporary charge of Scunthorpe (fans used to sing ‘Who needs Mourinho? We’ve got our physio!” during his tenure). However, being a caretaker can be a lonely game. Ignored by the press as names are thrown in the ring for your job and often overlooked in the annals of history despite the position being the proudest of many managers’ careers.

For example, four caretakers have stewarded the England national side through difficult days - Joe Mercer, who managed seven games in 1974, Howard Wilkinson is the only man to have managed them twice a year apart and Peter Taylor and Stuart Pearce who have a solitary appearance in the dugout against their names. In charge for a brief period and then cast away when the man with the cigar and the ego appear, it’s far from an easy gig.

The players, too, are unlikely to enjoy the situation. Former Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy said recently: “Players love certainty, they hate reading speculation in the media and they thrive on continuity. There’s nothing wrong with a club showing a bit of patience when looking for a new manager but there’s also a danger of leaving it too late as well.”

But there remains plenty of glory in temporary management and, for some, there’s little pressure if they’re not in the frame for a permanent job. Among the most notable names in caretaker management is former Arsenal assistant manager Stewart Houston who guided the Gunners to the 1995 European Cup Winners Cup Final after George Graham was abruptly sacked. In recent years, Chelsea have provided an interesting caretaker narrative as Roman Ambrovich wends his way through the managerial merry-go-round. First Guus Hiddink led them to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League in 2009 before Roberto Di Matteo brought home the jug-eared trophy this summer. Having proven himself on the biggest club stage at all, Di Matteo was deemed to have earned his stripes and got the permanent gig.

Not every stint is so brief or unique. There are several notable serial caretakers including Blackburn’s Tony Parkes and Spurs’ David Pleat. Parkes actually had six periods as caretaker manager at Ewood Park between 1986 and 2004, with the longest coming during the 1996-97 season when he was in charge for seven months after Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed then pulled out and then Roy Hodgson worked out his contract at Inter Milan.

However, Parkes fell short of the record British caretaker spell held by Pleat. The last of his four stints as Spurs boss in the 2003-04 season lasted eight months and two weeks as the beige-suited bouncer warmed the White Hart Lane hot seat for Jacques Santini after the departure of Glenn Hoddle.

Ultimately caretakers do not get the respect that many permanent bosses are afforded despite steadying the ship in many cases. However, for a few men in football, these short stints can be their proudest achievements bringing silverware and fan adoration. Not bad for a temp job.

Article originally appeared on TheFootballRamble.com