FOOTY FAIR

Throwback Thursdays: India Wins Football Gold at the First Asian Games

2016-03-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

As a sporting nation, India are widely known for their excellence in cricket but football is a distant second love in the country's affections.

But sixty-five years ago this week, as host of the first Asian Games, India stormed to the gold medal in football.

In a straight knockout tournament, India brushed aside Indonesia 3-0 in the Quarter-Final with two goals from Mewalal and a marker from Venkatesh.

They then saw off Afghanistan by the same score in the Semi-Final with goals from Mewalal, Venkatesh and Nandy to earn themselves a place in the Final against an Iranian side who had upset Japan in the other Semi-Final.

In the Final at the National Stadium, Indian goalscoring legend Sahu Mewalal found the net again to lead his country to a 1-0 victory, handing the hosts their first ever winner's medal in an international tournament.

Led by coach Syed Abdul Rahim, who is considered the architect of Indian football, the national side enjoyed a fine period during the 1950's and early 1960's.

After finishing an impressive fourth at the 1956 Olympic Games, India would win gold at the Asian Games again in 1962, seeing off South Korea by a 2-1 score in the final, and two years later the Indian national side would finish second to Israel at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup.

Since that period, India has failed to return to these heights in either continental or global tournaments.

However, strong showings at the regional South Asian Football Federation Cup, which has seen the country capture four of the last six bi-annual tournaments, and an increased interest in football across India could perhaps see this nation of 1.2 billion people one day soon become an emerging force in Asian football.

Throwback Thursdays: Australia Moves Over to the AFC

2016-02-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago this week Australia played their first match as a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), having officially left behind the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) on January 1, 2006.

The largest and most successful nation in Oceania, Australia had come to view the conference which is largely made up of small island nations as providing a poor level of competition, which in turn hurt their chances in major tournaments.

Their resounding wins of 11–0, 22–0 and a world record 31–0 pummeling of American Samoa over the course of their 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign did little to change the minds of Australia's Football Association that a move to the AFC was necessary.

Granted no direct qualifying spot for the World Cup, the winners of OFC, invariably Australia, would have to play a two legged qualifier against a side from another region to make through to the finals.

After defeats in 1994 to Argentina, 1998 to Iran and 2002 to Uruguay, the Socceroos finally made it the World Cup in 2006 for the first time since 1974 when they got past Uruguary over two legs.

Determined not to have to go through this arduous qualifying process again, and also seeking to benefit from playing higher quality opposition in meaningful matches more frequently, Australia pressed the matter of switching confederations.

In 2005 the Asian Football Confederation issued a formal invitation them to join their ranks and the OFC gave their blessing.

On 22 February 2006, Australia defeated Bahrain 3-1 in an AFC Asian Cup qualifier. They would make it through to the finals of that tournament with relative ease.

After finishing a disappointing 7th in their AFC tournament in 2007, the Socceroos were runners-up to Japan in 2011 after falling 1-0 in extra time in the final, and then came back to defeat South Korea 2-1 in extra time to claim their first AFC crown a year ago.

As for the World Cup, after making the move to the AFC, Australia have qualified directly for both the 2010 and 2014 editions of the tournament.

Legends of Arsenal Posters by Marija Markovic (Gallery)

2015-04-13T16:00:00.000-04:00

This is an incredible graphic design project by Marija Marlkovic, outlining the biggest Arsenal players of all time. I am glad to say that I have had the pleasure to watch most of them play.

Enjoy her work.

Throwback Thursdays: Arsenal vs Dynamo in The Fog of London

2015-02-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

In 1945, Arsenal played one of the strangest games in their history. It was a friendly match with no real impact in standings or a cup, but it is a match that has gone down in Arsenal history as one of the foggiest affairs.

Arsenal hosted Dynamo Moscow at White Hart Lane in 1945 for a friendly match. Players on the field wanted the game to be suspended due to heavy fog, but the referee decided to allow the game to go forward.

The fog was so thick that turned this game into an absolute farce, on all sorts of levels. Rules were thrown out of the window, and each team did whatever they felt was necessary to play the game and seeing it come to an end.

Dynamo Moscow had a substitution take place without ever removing the substitute player from the field of play. Fans that were at the game believe that the Russian team at one point fielded over 15 players at the same time.

Arsenal wasn’t too far behind when it came to this sort of antics. Arsenal had a player sent off, he would return to the game later on, playing the remainder of the game without the referee noticing that the red carded player was back on the field.

The fog was so dense that their goalkeeper knocks himself out after running into the goalpost, which he couldn’t see due to the heavy fog. Reports claim that a spectator took his place in net for the rest of the match.

The final score was a 4-3 loss for Arsenal in a game in which the result didn’t matter but the story and developments of the game will forever be a part of Arsenal’s folklore.

Gulf Nations Don't Like Australia Competing in the AFC

2015-01-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

Remember when Australia made the move from the Oceania Football Confederation to the Asian Football Confederation? Well, now it seems that the "Western" countries in the AFC are being somewhat of sour losers and are looking to have the Soceroos basically go back where they came from.

According to AFC president Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa there is a "momentum" among the Gulf nations to remove the Aussies from their confederation. According to some, Australia's participation in the Asian tournaments (especially in the World Cup Qualifying) is the major reason for the Arab nations wanting the side out of their way. Australia has qualified to the World Cup twice since their switch to the AFC in 2006 and thus is viewed as having taken a place of another country.

FFA chief executive David Gallop spoke about the matter saying, "We were extremely surprised to hear of these press reports from west Asia. We are newcomers to AFC but our commitment to participate in competitions, membership of important AFC committees and general sharing of ideas and programs increases every year,". "We celebrate the diversity of the Asian region and this tournament has shown our contribution can go beyond football to create and foster social and political bridges between key trading partners in the region."

FFA chief executive David Gallop

So to sum things up, Australia applied to switch out of the OFC because basically it was too easy for them in a region with teams like Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu. Showing a real strive for the betterment of their soccer program and fair competition standards. On the other hand, nations such as Yemen, Bahrain and Jordan are certain that without the Aussies they would somehow miraculously make it to every World Cup.

The "issue" will likely be brought up at this year's general assembly it seems. Whatever the case, the qualifying stages for Australia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will start on Aprill 11, 2015 when they are supposed to be drawn into one of the eight groups of AFC's 2nd round. Hopefully for everyone's sake a clear decision will be made by then.

5 Must Watch Tournaments in 2015

2015-01-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 2015 everyone. As football fans, the new year is an exciting one when it comes to major tournaments around the world. Here are the 5 competitions that should make us look forward to the year ahead even more than we would usually.

2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Host(s): USA & Canada
Dates: 7-26 July
Defending Champions: USA

A tournament to crown the champions of the Caribbean, North and Central America, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is a competition that runs every two years. With the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica doing well in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, this tournament promises to be one of, if not the most entertaining edition thus far. The tournament will be hosted in 12 US cities, with Canada's Toronto accommodating 2 group matches. The host cities of the knockout stage will be announced in early 2015.

2015 African Cup of Nations

Host(s): Equatorial Guinea (Originally Morocco)
Dates: 17 January - 8 February
Defending Champions: Nigeria

The African Cup of Nations is a colorful exciting tournament that crowns the champions of the African continent. After speculations of whether the tournament will be played at all amid fears of the Ebola virus spread. Originally awarded to host nation Morocco, the tournament hosts were changed to Equatorial Guinea as the initial host nation did not want to take the risk of the virus' spread within its borders. The matches will be hosted in 4 cities, with the final to be played at the Estadio de Bata. With all time title leader Egypt unable to qualify for this year's tournament, this year will be a great opportunity for the likes of Ghana and Cameroon to catch up, sitting 3 titles behind the North African nation.

2015 AFC Asian Cup

Host(s): Australia
Dates: 9-31 January
Defending Champions: Japan

The most successful nation in this tournament's history and defending champions Japan will look to "rain" on host nation Australia's parade as they look to win their 5th AFC Asian Cup. For the Socceroos this will be a very special occasions as this will be their first time hosting the tournament since leaving the Oceania conference to join the AFC. This edition of the tournament will be spread across 5 cities in the south-east of the country, with the final match to be played at the 80,000+ capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

Host(s): Canada
Dates: 6 June - 5 July
Defending Champions: Japan

The Women's World Cup has come a long way since its first edition in 1991. Women's football as a whole has advanced to very high standards and the World Cup is a great tournament to introduce new fans to the female edition of the sport. Hosted in 6 cities all across Canada, the tournament's final match will be played at BC Place in Vancouver. Germany and USA who had won this tournament on two previous occasions will be looking to become the first nation to capture the Women's World Cup for a third time, while defending champions Japan will look to repeat their efforts of 2011 when they won their first title.

2015 Copa América

Host(s): Chile
Dates: 11 June - 4 July
Defending Champions: Uruguay

The oldest international continental competition in the world of football is set to take place in Chile this summer as the footballing nations of South America and two invited countries (Mexico & Jamaica) are set to take on one another to be crowned the champions of South America. Defending champions and all-time title leaders Uruguay are always a threat when it comes to the Copa América, but in recent years many nations on the continent showed that they are capable to compete at the high level. Brazil and Argentina are of course the "big draw", but host nation Chile who performed very respectably during last summer's World Cup in Brazil, along with Colombia who also did well will both look to surprise the big teams. Unlike all of the aforementioned countries however, the hosts Chile had never captured the South American title in previous years and will surely look to do so for the first time while having a great roster and playing on home soil. The tournament will be hosted in 9 stadiums over 8 cities across Chile. The final match will be played at the National Staium of Chile in Santiago.

Football Club Relocation

2014-08-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

Many fans in North America have seen teams move from one town to another. The National Football League’s Buffalo Bills are currently for sale and one of the bidders for the club consist of a consortium from Toronto, whose future intentions may include the possible move of the Bills from Buffalo to Toronto.

It can be a gut wrenching process for fans who have invested a lot of time, money, and emotion into a sports club. Players may be used to being traded from one team to another so perhaps the process might be a tad bit easier to digest, but they still need to find a new place to live. Club administrators and various personnel may have to pick up and move as well if they want to continue to hold onto their jobs. It’s a cruel fate bestowed unluckily and it seems to happen with some frequency. Across the pond, however, it doesn't seem as common of an occurrence.

Most of the football clubs that are scattered across Europe are actually not privately owned, but rather owned by club supporters. Members pay an annual fee to become a club shareholder, and the team hierarchy consists of a board, and perhaps a club president who act on the behalf of the club shareholders. This in effect prevents a club from moving unless some sort of a motion is passed by the majority of its fans to move; it cannot be unilaterally made into effect by the board or a club president without the consent if its club members. Some clubs, in particular those in Portugal and Spain, have separated the football enterprise from the other sports that the club may participate in and have floated a portion of the football enterprise onto various stock markets in order to raise some capital.

Barcelona Club Membership Card

Perhaps the biggest reason why a European football club is unlikely to move is its club history and deep roots within the community that it is in. Furthermore, clubs in Europe participate in leagues where promotion and relegation processes exist. The better that a club performs, the more probable that the league in which they continue to operate in will be of the highest standards, with better completion that attract fans to their stadiums and of course attract bigger television dollars. The funds are used to purchase new players and ultimately pay higher salaries to the better performing athletes, and the funds are reinvested into the club. North American sports are franchises are privately owned and operated by a sole owner or a consortium where a majority ownership stake exists. The main goal of the owner is really to maximize profits, and at times they can proverbially hold a city hostage by attempting to squeeze out various concessions such as a rebate on stadium rent, parking fees, and other amenities. While winning is always mentioned as the main purpose that a franchise is created, the main purpose is the gain of the almighty dollar.

That isn’t to say that relocation has not occurred in Europe, in particular the United Kingdom. Manchester United plays their home matches in Old Trafford, which is located in the Stretford borough of Greater Manchester. They had originally started as a club within Manchester, in the section called Newton Heath. Arsenal as we know it now is in North London, in a section called Halloway however they began their roots in South London, in an area known as Woolwich. Perhaps the most famous relocation process was that of Wimbledon FC. The clubs Norwegian owners moved from South London to a new town called Milton Keynes, which is roughly 100 kms from their former ground Selhurst Park. Fans created a new club called AFC Wimbledon to replace their former club, and the two teams have met once in the past – a 2012/13 2nd Round FA Cup match. The two clubs are also scheduled to meet in the 1st Round of the League Cup in 2014/15 edition.

Can relocation as it occurs in North American happen with more frequency in Europe? More than likely not. The deep roots that have been embedded within the communities that the clubs are located more often than not will prevent the movement to other locales. If European leagues become more like franchises, though, then all bets are off.

MUFC fan with a Newton Heath scarf

Who is Yaya Sanogo?

2014-08-03T06:00:00.001-04:00

The question on almost everyone’s mind after yesterday’s dismantling of Benfica during the first game of the Emirates Cup is who is Yaya Sanogo? I am sure for one, the Benfica coaches are wondering who this kid is.

Yaya Sanogo was signed by Arsenal on July 2013; all he had in his curriculum was 10 goals in 13 games for Auxerre in the 2nd French Division. Many people are quick to criticize Arsene Wenger, but if there is one thing he does better than anybody else is finding young talent and bring them to Arsenal.

When he first arrived at Arsenal, Sanogo was looked at as a wonder kid, an almost sure thing when it came to his talent and pure raw ability, but the months passed and the doubts about him started to creep in. Besides the lack of goals, zero in 14 match appearances, Sanogo suffered a serious injury last September and was forced to stop playing for several months.

Besides the injury or the lack of productivity, Wenger never gave up on him and continued to give him minutes during important matches. He wanted to rebuild his confidence and perhaps get him to the level Wenger knows he can achieve.

Sanogo played 90 minutes against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, 90 minutes in the semi-finals of the FA Cup against Wigan and 60 minutes in the FA Cup final against Hull. In all those opportunities he failed to score a single goal.

The Benfica defense was as soft as hot butter, considering that Sidnei and Cesar will most likely be nowhere near the starting 11 once the season gets underway. That alone does not take away any merit from Sanogo, who put together an incredible performance. Nobody believes that he could possibly go another year without a goal, not after these four goals against Benfica.

If he continues to show all his potential he will not only be given more opportunities by Wenger, but perhaps the French national side. He has played for the youth teams, but never for the senior squad. I am sure Sanogo is only concentrated in earning minutes at Arsenal and proving that yesterday was no fluke.