Opinion: Will the Brazil 2014 World Cup be a Sochi or a South Africa?

The derisory comments made about the infrastructure in Sochi at the Winter Olympic Games have been round the world twice over but will have served as a deafening alarm bell for officials in Rio de Janeiro. 

 As one of the last high profile global sporting events before this summer's football World Cup, FIFA and Brazilian authorities will be watching the fan and media reaction to Sochi's shortcomings closely. Many of the comments, largely coming via Twitter from journalists, complaining about the accommodation and organisation in Sochi have been either deliberately humorous pictures of minor hotel faults or attempts to add insults to injury. 

It's clearly become rapidly cool to undermine the Olympic organisers - not least as Russia's authoritarian image means looking disorganised in public will hurt more - and the hashtag #Sochiproblems hosts an avalanche of quips.

But underneath the jokes, a serious warning lies. In Sochi, the stadia and slopes are in fine fettle but if everything else falls apart then the media and fans quickly make their voice heard.

FIFA's deliberate change in strategy over the last decade to use the World Cup as an opportunity to allow countries to develop their infrastructure at huge costs has proved a controversial one. The motives of FIFA - who notably takes large revenues from the World Cup's host nation - should always be questioned given its dubious record but the idea it may help the development of infrastructure and create jobs is admirable. 

As when South Africa was preparing for the last World Cup in 2010, much of the build up to this summer's tournament and 2016's Olympics has been dominated by questions over whether Brazil will be able to handle fans descending en masse, the likely political demonstrations and fan safety. While safety concerns - aside from a few stray live wires in showers - have not been foremost in the build up to Sochi, political debates over corruption and homosexuality in Russia have been. Last year's Confederations Cup was overshadowed by clashes between protestors over Brazilian state spending and police and it appears likely this will happen again.

Brazilian authorities can ill afford for the World Cup to go wrong with the Olympics coming so rapidly down the track afterwards. They will take heart from the fact South Africa coped admirably with the fans and crime stats were low. The tournament ran smoothly and the Vuvuzela, perhaps unfortunately, became a global hit.

However, it should be noted South Africa's stadiums predictably sit like so many before it (Athens anyone?) as rarely used white elephants. Even sports-mad and built up London has struggled to find an ideal solution for its Olympic stadia so Brazil will need to make sure plans are in place for new build stadiums. 

With fears over the safety of the builders at the Brazilian stadiums already hitting headlines, the pressure on Brazil to get it right is ratcheting up. The whole world wants a spectacular and colourful World Cup in arguably football's spiritual home. Let's hope #BrazilProblems remains confined to jokes noting the national team's embarrassment of riches in midfield. 

Beating Gary Lineker on penalties

As a little end of year treat, thought I'd post a few videos which show my supremacy at penalties over former England striker Gary Lineker. 

After an interview with the former Spurs and Barcelona star last month we took a few penalties, mine was scored first time and Gary's on the third attempt. 

Better get my ticket to Brazil 2014 booked!

The evolution of live blogging on football

Live blogging on football matches has become an established medium over the last decade as fans’ desire to access the latest updates on games and improvements in technology across platforms has driven an increase in its use. But competition is hotting up as new providers with innovative features square up; Alex Lawson takes a look at the tactic.

“1635: This match is petering out for a nil-nil, looks like the players, too, indulged in the half time steak and kidney pies. There’s not a hint of invention as both teams look content to take a point home.

“1637: GOAL! Fantastic strike from the left winger after a jinking run skinning four defenders and arrowing it into the top right hand corner. Astonishing.”

Such is the life of a live blogger, one minute attempting to make a quip about a paint-drying type scenario, the next describing incredible scenes at lightning pace. The discipline is a difficult one but represents one of the true innovations in modern journalism. While live blogging is now used to cover everything from court cases to elections, it was in sport that it found a mainstream audience as its structure suited the technique well.

BBC Sport online was among the first to offer the service as users logged on to keep abreast of the action at the cricket over-by-over. The broadcaster harnessed Radio 4′s Test Match Special’s colloquial, informal commentary style and passion for talking about unrelated oddities alongside the match in its text coverage. This tone continues to be the prevailing style employed by live bloggers.

Some of its journalists, including tennis coverage’s Caroline Cheese and live football boss Andy McKenzie, have gone on to form LiveWire Sport – a live blogging specialist set up in August 2011 which has covered major events including the Olympics, Euro 2012 and the Ryder Cup.

McKenzie tells FootyMatters.com the discipline has evolved significantly. “Live blogging has come a long way in the past decade when there weren’t too many media organisations covering the major events other than the likes of the BBC, the Guardian and Cricinfo,” he said. “If you look back to when England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 the clockwatch, as they were called at the Beeb, was very different to what they are now: no pictures, no video, no interaction, no live stats, no pre-match build-up or post-match reaction or analysis. No personality, just a pretty dry description of the action. Looking back now they seem about as exciting as watching a clock.”

McKenzie adds that faster connections, increasing use of mobile and the growth of social media have spurred on the development of live coverage of sporting events. But if the market was dominated by several players initially, businesses like LiveWire are rolling up their sleeves for a fight now as new services launch. Cover It Live offers users several distinctive features including question and answer sessions and photo slideshows while US firm Scribble Live works with global giants including ESPN and CNN to deliver a similar service. Sports Mole, too, offers a rudimentary version of the service while Deltatre’s Diva service, aimed at TV rights holders, has introduced multiscreen video highlights. 

And then there’s Liveplayer. Introduced at the start of this season, Liveplayer is a product developed by digital marketing agency Aqueduct in partnership with LiveWire Sport to allow clubs to embed a live match centre feature on their websites. Aqueduct, which already had a strong relationship with Manchester City, launched the service with the Premier League title contenders this season.

In essence it offers the kind of live blogging service the BBC and national press sites currently offer – esoteric commentary complemented by quotes and tweets. However, Liveplayer’s offer adds a number of new features including player heat maps, manager’s programme notes and integration of local radio coverage.

The service is also designed for different missions – with one tab offering the basic facts of the match for those scanning on the move and another offering detailed commentary and highlights from social media. “The social media side of the match is of course important, and our research indicates this is especially so for younger fans,” says Aqueduct strategist Robert Quantrell. “Manchester City have used this research to increase the level of social media activation within the Liveplayer commentary stream, using image tweets, fan tweets and Instagram and Vine videos to provide alternative content sources for their fans.”

Quantrell says that adding a live match centre to their site can also help clubs connect with fans, creating a ‘digital stadium’ for those following the game remotely across the globe. “Innovation in social is key, of course, but being better than your competitors in the live matchday experience you offer to fans who can’t be at the game is, we think, an invaluable string to any football club’s bow,” he says.

The next steps taken in live blogging on football are likely to be significant ones. Quantrell believes multi-screening is likely to be key while online TV rights to matches could also shape its future. “The question is how we can fit in with a club or federation’s plans to use these rights, whether they choose to screen them behind a subscription paywall, registration wall, or by keeping the content free and exploiting sponsorship and advertising opportunities.”

BT Sport’s power play in inking its £897m deal to show the Champions League from 2015 may also drive this forward as the telecoms giant has experience in live blogging and screening matches online. McKenzie believes live sports blogging is on the cusp of a new era. “I think you’ll see things developing now that most broadcasters, clubs, governing bodies and even sponsors and brands are seeing the benefits of covering events live in terms of the huge audiences it can drive, the increased dwell times and engagement,” he says.

“Some of the things we’re working on are better integration with not just video, stats and social but also the possibilities with gaming and betting and how to maximise revenue from those audiences.”

The coverage of live matches online has developed rapidly from bland minute- by-minute descriptions of the action to interactive hubs for entertaining information often not even related to the game and shaping online communities in the last decade. As users habits continue to change rapidly, it appears likely the demand to feel like you’re at the match with the rest of the globe quipping in your ear will ratchet up significantly.

Article originally appeared on FootyMatters.com

Opinion: Zlatan Ibrahimović triumphs due to his background

Mercurial striking talent Zlatan Ibrahimović as largely been billed as a man who defied his background on the re-release of his autobiography. However, Alex Lawson argues it is his background which made him the player he is.

If there has been one player who has divided opinion across the global game in the last decade, it's Zlatan Ibrahimović. From being dubbed the next van Basten to a 'big game bottler', the tall Swede who has led the line for Europe's premier clubs never fails to attract attention. 

'Welcome to Planet Zlatan', the blurb on the back of Zlatan Ibrahimović's autobiography reads. The strapline is an apt one as the reader is rapidly sent up in a rocket powered by the Swedish legend's ego into a world unlike any other. 

As unreliable narrators go, Ibrahimović was always going to rank highly. His version of events in his life and the frequent glossing over of details with a thick brush leads to a thrilling, if sceptical read. 

Much of the focus around 'I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic's release has been on his upbringing in the council estates of Rosengård, a district of Malmo. And it is these passages which provide arguably the most interest, so closely documented has his career been since. 

There are details of alcohol and drug abuse in his family; both of his parents' tempers and the struggle over custody. Zlatan himself, it appears, has always had a short fuse ("I was rowdy. I was mental," he admits) as well as the cocksure self-confidence he is known for which led to several bust ups with junior coaches. 

Ibrahimovic's is not a straightforward tale of humble triumph over adversity, the book reveals he kept his cantankerous heart from his teenage years through to his career as an international superstar. Perhaps most revealing is his latent surprise at his rapid rise from a substitute at  Malmö FF into Sweden's most expensive player when he landed a £6m move to Ajax.

It is this unique combination of a player who did not have a parent at the sidelines willing him on (until his Yugoslavian dad finally shows up when he's almost a pro) and an attitude which blew hot and cold which made Ibrahimovic the no.9 we know. If his signature arrogance is his most talked about trait, it is only a by product of having almost no one else - apart from Malmö FF sporting director Hasse Borg - who believed in him. 

And so the Ibrahimovic we know was born. Astonishing Taekwondo kick goals combined with lunacy off the field racing cars, deliberately hanging with unsavoury individuals and talking himself up to the media. That last relationship is interestingly explored in the book. At first, Zlatan courted the media and makes bold statements at every turn but quickly he was stung and pinpoints several personal vendettas not least with Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet.

Ibrahimovic's decision to open the book with his year-long dispute with former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola is an intriguing one. Perhaps the biggest conflict of his argumentative career, the difference in the dispute with the Spanish boss and other stand-offs in his life is the cold, quietness of the controversy. Ibrahimovic talks of being sidelined outside an exclusive Tiki-taka club including Messi, who he admits he even promised Guardiola he would be subservient too and be part of a team built around the Argentine. 

Ibrahimović's has been a career marked by conflict and success. The former, perhaps wisely, is given the most air time. However, it's worth standing back and peaking into his trophy cabinet of league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France. Ibrahimovic is one of the most talented and controversial players of his generation, he is also a unique example of triumph because of adversity. 

Article originally appeared on FootyMatters.com

London Sports Writing Festival considers how El Clásico gained its bite

A heated panel discussion on the highest profile match in world football - Barcelona v Real Madrid - was a highlight of the London Sports Writing Festival at Lords this week. The four-day event featured a plethora of interesting speakers from British rower Katherine Grainger to BBC Sports website supremo Ben Dirs. As a fan of excellent sports writing, collecting the great and good in one event at the home of cricket was mouthwatering. 

Guardian Spanish football correspondent Sid Lowe and Sky Sports' man in Spain, Graham Hunter, squared up on each side of the debate over El Classico, chaired by The Times writer Matt Dickinson. A packed audience listened attentively as the two took apart the rivalry in what has realistically become a two-team league.

Hunter claimed Johan Cruyff shaped the modern rivalry. He argued the Dutchman, who demolished Real in a 5-0 for the Catalans in February 1974, paved the way for future matches to be considered the peak of Spanish football. He believes that Cryuff's desire as both player and coach to overcome Barca's greatest rivals added spice to their encounters.

Lowe, who has just published Fear and Loathing in La Liga, an excellent look at the fixture, argued that Real legend Alfredo Di Stefano played a bigger part in shaping the modern dynamic. While he agreed that the 5-0 game was a crucial point, Lowe articulately outlined the circumstances around Di Stefano's complex transfer, in which both teams laid claim to the talented Argentine and even briefly countenanced sharing him in alternate seasons.

While Real Madrid's nine European Cup and Champions League victories have long been held as the most significant element in arguing which is the more successful team, it is the club's relationship with Spanish dictator Franco which gets more air time even than to the merits of Barca and Spain's Tiki-taka re-invention of the game. The perception of Real Madrid as Franco's club is one which Lowe points out the club have done little to dispel, and the image of Los Blancos as the monied class is only further exemplified by the Galactico era and Gareth Bale's humungous transfer fee.

An intellectual debate is only undermined by several self-serving questions from the audience. Hunter's repeated attempts to second guess why the audience have attended rather than simply debate the subject is a little tiresome. But largely, this was an interesting and informed discussion on the merits of each club and their relationship.

In reality, both teams need each other and while Barca are streaking away at the top of the league this season, both are incredibly successful. A key question asked is whether the seeming lack of competition in the league may have damaged their performance in Europe - after being hammered by Germans in last season's Champions League semi-finals. 

Moreover, the number of Classicos, perpetuated by showpiece friendlies and domestic cup success, may also have diminished its standing. But El Classico looks set to remain the most intense fixture in world football for some time as the two giants fight over the world's pre-eminent players.

How Liverpool Ladies broke Arsenal's title monopoly

Liverpool Ladies’ title win shattered Arsenal’s decade-long grip on the FA Women’s Super League (FAWSL) title. Alex Lawson looks at how they achieved it. 

Liverpool Ladies midfielder Louise Fors could have been forgiven for feeling a little nervous as she stepped up to take a first half penalty for the Reds against Bristol on Sunday. The spot kick was a crucial moment in a title decider few would have predicted at the start of the season.

Liverpool top scorer Natasha Dowie

As the new season opened, Liverpool had notched just two wins in the previous two seasons as they finished rock bottom in each. However, the Anfield club’s US owners ploughed money into its women’s team and brought in new manager Matt Beard to lead the side.

Moreover, a handful of classy foreign signings from the US, Sweden and Germany – who were given English lessons funded by the men’s team – were brought in to gel with the core home grown talent in the side.

Under Beard, Liverpool became the first team in the FAWSL to train full-time and a winning mentality was bred. Beard’s publicly stated aim of a mid-table finish has been blown out of the water by a team which scored 44 goals on the way to Sunday’s title decider, spurred on by former Crystal Palace and Coventry manager Iain Dowie’s niece Natasha.

Dowie, the league’s top scorer with 19 goals, was snubbed by former England manager Hope Powell for the squad for the summer’s Euro 2013 finals but took the rejection in her stride.

She has also spoken of the incentive that hunting down Arsenal Ladies – a team which bore comparison to the relentless winning machine of Manchester United’s men’s side in the 1990s – gave the side. With foreign players on board, the stigma of beating the dominant Gunners has been quelled and both Liverpool and Bristol have outclassed them during this 14-game this season.

So when Fors stepped up, there was a deal of pressure to see through what has been a significant journey for Liverpool. But she cooly dispatched the penalty and when Icelandic midfielder Katrin Omarsdottir struck home from Dowie’s pass Liverpool had secured a momentous victory at the Halton Stadium.

So what does Liverpool Ladies victory mean for the game? Firstly, there’s a new sense of vitality and competition to the league as Liverpool became the first league victors who weren’t Arsenal since Fulham in 2003. Moreover, it provides some healthy coverage for the women’s game after the poor showing by England at Euro 2013 damaged perceptions of domestic women’s football.

However, the pattern of Powell’s sacking after a lacklustre tournament and a team with significant financial backing surging up the league to take the title via a raft of foreign players is a familiar one. While the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have clinched the Premier League title with a handful of English players, neither can seriously claim to be aiding the blooding of homegrown talent.

The British spine of Liverpool’s team – namely Dowie, midfielder Fara Williams and captain Gemma Bonner – may take experience from this victory but there remains work to be done if the national side is to remain undamaged by the lack of opportunities for young home grown talent.

For Arsenal, who were deducted three points for fielding an unregistered player but would still have lost out to Liverpool, this may provide the shot in the arm to kickstart a fightback.

Article originally appeared on Footymatters.com

Opinion: Spurs fans must ditch the Y-word

David Cameron's entrance into the debate over the use of the word 'yid' by Tottenham Hotspur supporters has only served to push those with extreme views either way but Spurs should leave the Y-word behind them, argues Alex Lawson 

Picture the scene. You’re a Spurs supporter with your eight-year-old taking them to White Hart Lane for the first time. During the match the home supporters begin chanting ‘Yid Army’ or another use of the Y-word. Your child, who knows nothing of World War Two, asks you what that means.

You then explain it’s a derogatory term for Jewish people, the traditional foundation of the team’s support, used ironically in response to abuse from rival supporters hissing to emulate the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Hardly the pleasant induction to live football anyone would want.

At Cardiff City Stadium yesterday many of the Spurs fans made their opinions clear with renditions of “we’re Tottenham Hotspur, we’ll sing what we want”, and repeated chants of “Yid Army” throughout the game.

The debate over the use of the Y-word in the last week has split opinion. The Football Association warned Spurs fans that those found chanting the word could be prosecuted; Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that Spurs fans have the right to describe themselves as Yids arguing that “you have to be motivated by hate to be prosecuted”, while Jewish comedian and The Y-Word filmmaker David Baddiel – a production released by Kick It Out in 2011 – argued the use of the word has clouded the simple fact it is a racist term.

Cameron’s argument is an odd one. If he acknowledges that Yid is a hate word then asking the FA and police to decide the nuance in which the word has been used makes little sense. The simple fact is, if a racist term is being used in a ground, it is not acceptable.

The obvious comparison is the use of the N-word. The censorship of the most controversial word in the English language has been a long running debate, notably exacerbated by its frequent use by black musicians with the defence that it can’t be racist if used by a black person.

However, the proliferation of a racist term, whether it refers to a black, Asian or Jewish person, can never be a good thing.

Spurs traditionally began using the term to defend themselves against the use of the word against them. Other London clubs also receive anti-semitic chants, as do Dutch giants Ajax.

Respected Society of Black Lawyers member David Neita argues that Spurs fans suggestion they are reclaiming a word originally used to taunt them is “an insult to anybody’s intelligence”. He argues that, as anti-semitism is highlighted and prosecuted in the modern age, the continued use of the word is not acceptable.

Moreover, Baddiel highlights the fact that less than five per cent of Tottenham fans are estimated to be Jewish. As such, the siege mentality defence of a persecuted minority does not stand up.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust are to poll members on whether they should continue to use the word. A negative result would represent a victory for common sense and a severance of ties to an unsavoury past.

Article originally appeared on Footymatters.com