All 32 countries have submitted their final FIFA Soccer World Cup team’s lists of 23 players on July 1st 2010. FIFA allows that provisions are made where players with serious injuries can be replaced up to 24 hours before their team’s first game.
Several countries have already had the misfortune of having players not playing due to injury and been replaced, like Rio Ferdinand of England replaced by Michael Dawson and Nani of Portugal, replaced by Ruben Amorim.
Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League final on Saturday when Diego Milito struck in each half, to end a 45-year wait for its third title. Their last European Cup wins were back in 1964 and 1965.
After scoring in the defining matches of the Italian Championship and Italian Cup, Diego Milito has once again been instrumental for his club, when this Saturday at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, the Argentine striker scored both goals in Inter Milan’s 2-0 victory against Bayern Munich, which secured an unprecedented historic Triple for the Italian club.
The fourth final of the Champions League played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, began promptly at 19:45 (GMT). With the possibility of a Triple, both teams adopted a cautious start on a balmy Madrid evening. Bayern Munich had more ball possession, but Inter went into the lead before half time after a nice counter-attack.
José Mourinho and his former head coach at FC Barcelona, Louis van Gaal, will seek an historic “triple” in tomorrow’s final of the Champions League, for either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich.
Both the 47 year old Portuguese manager, who was in Barcelona between 1997 and 2000, even after his English mentor Bobby Robson left his post to the Dutchman, as well as Van Gaal, 58, have conquered the championship title and cup, for Italy and Germany. Tomorrow either coach could celebrate the supreme European glory of winning the “triple”, something that no Italian or German team has ever succeeded in doing.
Only FC Barcelona (2009), Manchester United (1999), Celtic Glasgow (1967) and PSV Eindhoven (1988) reached such a feat.
After adding another trophy to his curriculum, by winning the Italian Cup on Wednesday when his team Inter Milan beat AS Roma1-0, José Mourinho, “The Special One” just got more special. He was voted the best coach in the world by journalists participating in the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), held in the city of Antalya, Turkey.
For 36 percent of the 200 journalists from 96 countries, the Portuguese coach is currently the best in the world, followed by Alex Ferguson of Manchester United, with 20 percent.
A distant third goes to coach Guus Hiddink (13.3 percent), followed by Fabio Capello (9.3%), Marcelo Lippi (8%), Dunga (6.7%), Marcelo Bielsa (4%) and Van Gaal (2.7%). Surprisingly, Pep Guardiola who had a great season for Barcelona did not appear on the “Top eight” list.
It’s a practice that’s become increasingly common, with many national soccer teams using naturalized players. If in some cases they have an emotional connection to the country for which they became naturalized, in other cases that no longer happens.
At a time when it is quite normal for football clubs to field foreign football players, clubs like Athletic Bilbao from Spain and Hrvatski Dragovoljac in Croatia, go against the grain in their insistence on fielding only local players.
However, when it comes to most national teams, the acceptance of foreign players is viewed differently, when they include players that can only be described as nationals in a very loose sense.
Yet this is not a recent trend and in fact the practice had been going on prior to World War II as is the case of the German team that absorbed the best Austrian players and even forced Ernst Wilimowski of Poland into its squad during the occupation of Poland.
José Mourinho and Inter Milan are into the Champions League final after losing 1-0 to Barcelona, but winning with an aggregate of 3-2, in their favor. The Portuguese coach gave another lesson in fantastic tactics to the world of football, with only ten men from minute 28 of the first half.
Over 90,000 fans responded to the call of the Barcelona players and coach Pep Guardiola during the week, completely filling the seats of Camp Nou. However, the night was frustrating for the Catalans. Barca did not go beyond 1-0 in a match where both sides may well be complaining about refereeing errors that distorted the conduct of the game.
Barcelona did not make any changes in their squad, while the Italian team, led by Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, put Sneijder on the field after he recovered in time.
While recognizing the importance of Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco, the Portugal international and Chelsea midfielder has denied that the Portuguese team is dependent on the Real Madrid striker. Deco said that the Portuguese have other good players, but did not think the team is considered a favorite in the race for the world title. In an interview with FIFA’s official website, he also talked about his plans for the future.
”We won some games without Cristiano, and won with him on the field. The story that a team is dependant on just one player is false. Even Manchester United continues to do well after the departure of Ronaldo, while Real Madrid have also won games without him, as did Portugal”, he said.
Deco stressed the importance of the Real Madrid striker, but reiterated that the Portuguese do not depend on him. “Of course, any great player is always missed, that’s indisputable, but Portugal are not dependent on Cristiano. All the teams want the best players and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best in the world makes a difference, but it does not seem right to talk about CR9 dependence”, added Deco.
The South African President Jacob Zuma said today that his country is ready for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and urged people to “embrace the whole world”.
In a speech marking the 50 days left until the “kick-off of the biggest sporting event on the planet” Zuma told thousands of South Africans that completely filled the Galeshwe stadium in Kimberley, Northern Cape, that the World Cup was “a unique opportunity to show the world the diversity and potential of South Africa”.
Wearing a sweater with the colors of the South African national team (the Bafana-Bafana), the President appealed to national pride, saying it was high time that South Africans call to themselves the responsibility for the success of a tournament that “should tell the story of a continent that is alive and full of possibilities”.
