Here are the 11 wealthiest soccer team owners on the planet.
1. Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico) Net worth: $73 Billion, up $4billion from last year. Clubs: Club Pachuca, Club Leon (Mexico) and Real Oviedo (Spain)
Carlos Slim is the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row. He made his fortune in telecom but didn't stop there. His omnipresent empire is also involved in soccer. In September 2012, his America Movil bought stakes in two Mexican clubs, Club Pachuca and Club Leon. In November 2012, Slim purchased part of struggling Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo.
2. Amancio Ortega (Spain) Net worth: $57 Billion, up $19.5 billion from last year. Club: Deportivo La Coruna (Spain)
Spain's Amancio Ortega, the fashion kingpin who founded Spanish retail giant Inditex, has moved into the top three among the world's richest for the first time. Ortega can often be seemed in the tribunes of stadium Riazor, home of Deportivo La Coruna. Last year his daughter's million dollar wedding was forced to start 90 minutes late because of a match between his adored team and Barcelona B. Ortega is the year's biggest gainer, up $19.5 billion. However, his beloved soccer team, known as“El Turco,” has been the biggest loser in the Spanish League so far, currently in the last position.
3. George Soros (United States) Net Worth: $19.2 Billion, down $800 million from last year. Club: Manchester United (England)
Billionaire investor George Soros is known for having broken the bank of England. Now, he’s betting on the UK’s largest soccer team, Manchester United. In August 2012, Soros revealed a 7.85% stake in the football club, through his investment firm, Soros Fund Management. Billionaire Malcolm Glazer is the club’s official owner. He took the team public the last year, retaining 98% of voting shares and netting $100 million in cash. The stock surged more than 33% in the following 6 months. Manchester United became the first sports team to be valued at more than $3 billion in January 2013.
4. Lakshmi Mittal (India) Net Worth: $16.5 Billion, up $500 million from last year. Club: Queens Park Rangers Football Club (England) Indian-born steel baron Lakshmi Mittal is a longtime London resident; he and his son Aditya were among the torch bearers for the 2012 Olympics Torch Relay. Laskshmi and his family own 33% of Queens Park Rangers, which broke their own transfer record twice in January, spending over $30 million to buy striker Loic Remy and central defender Chris Samba. Currently, the west London club is in the last position of the English Premier League. Tony Fernandes, who runs Asia’s largest budget airline, also owns stake in QPR, which was once owned by billionaire Bernard Ecclestone. 5. Alisher Usmanov (Russia) Net Worth: $17.6 Billion, down $500 million from last year. Club: Arsenal Football Club (England)
The richest man in Russia, Alisher Usmanov, has his fingers in many pots: he got rich in metals (iron and steel), but now has interests in everything from Silicon Valley start-ups to Russia's largest business daily, Kommersant. He sold part of his stake in Facebook at the time of the 2012 IPO, pocketing $1.3 billion. Usmanov and billionaire partner Farhad Moshiri, who has a fortune of $2.8 billion, also own stakes in FC Arsenal. American billionaire Stanley Kroenke, with an estimated net worth of $5 billion, is the controlling shareholder of FC Arsenal. British press claims that a Middle East consortium is preparing a bid to buy out Arsenal for around $30,000 a share, totaling over $2 billion.
6. Rinat Akhmetov (Ukraine) Net worth: $15.4 billion, down $600 million from last year. Club: FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) Ukraine's wealthiest and son of a coal miner, Akhmetov has been riding high after UEFA Euro 2012 games were played in his $400 million Donbass Arena. Akhmetov is the owner and president of FC Shakhtar Donetsk, which won the national championship seven times in the past 13 years. Soccer is the most popular sport in Ukraine, especially among billionaires. Akhmetov's business partner, Vadim Novinsky, with a fortune of $1.9 billion, is the owner of Ukranian club PFC Sevastopol.
7. François Pinault (France) Net worth: $15 billion, up $2 billion from last year Club: Rennes (France)
French luxury goods mogul Francois Pinault’s group owns high-end fashion houses including Gucci, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. Pinault is 100% owner of Christie's, which sold $5.3 billion of art at auction in 2012. His son Francois-Henri, married to actress Salma Hayek, is a soccer aficionado. Since 1998, the family Pinault owns Stade Rennais, also known as Rennes, a professional soccer club in their native Brittany.
8. Paul Allen (United States) Net worth: $15 billion, up $800 million from last year Club: Seattle Sounders FC (United States)
The co-founder of Microsoft has gone from state-school dropout to one of the world's richest men. Allen is the kind of billionaire who combines his passions for sports and science. He is a part-owner of Seattle Sounders FC, which plays in the American Major League Soccer and was founded in 2007. Allen also owns other sports teams like the Seattle Seahawks (football) and the Portland Trailblazers (basketball). The cancer survivor has a keen interest in neuroscience, having recently lost his mother to Alzheimer's disease.
9. John Fredriksen (Cyprus) Net worth: $11.5 billion, up $200 million from last year. Team: Valerenga (Norway)
This much is certain about John Fredriksen: the oil tanker and shipping tycoon loves soccer almost as much as he hates paying taxes. Fredriksen became a citizen of Cyprus in 2006 to avoid Norway's hefty taxes and now follows his Olso team mostly from afar. Fredriksen reportedly turned down a $200 million offer by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich for his London mansion in 2006. A fan of English soccer, Fredriksen's name has long been floated as a potential buyer of a Premier League club.
No team copes with as much day-to-day drama as Barcelona. Think of the Yankees during owner George Steinbrenner’s salad days in New York, then multiply all that tabloid attention worldwide.
No matter how many games Barcelona wins, or titles it holds, each loss requires a full autopsy. Every run of bad play is turned upside-down and shaken until, like a snow globe, it looks as if the sky is falling.
No star shoulders a bigger burden, either, than Lionel Messi, the incomparable Argentine at the heart of what just might be the greatest soccer club ever. Three losses in Barcelona’s last five games, including two at the hands of hated rival Real Madrid, had Barca fans wondering whether he and the team were in a funk or whether this indeed was the end of an era (again).
Barca’s coach, Tito Vilanova, is undergoing treatment for a saliva gland tumor in New York, and Messi conceded the mood at the club was subdued. At a promotional appearance the night before Barcelona faced AC Milan in the Champions League, he told ESPN-com’s Spanish correspondent, "I am not sad, although I am hurting. I do not like to lose out on important things, and neither does the team."
Messi is a sensitive sort, and when reminded about his so-so record against Italian teams in general, and how Milan closed down the space he had to operate in during the first leg of the home-and-home series, he responded, "Italian teams are very well-trained.
"I hope," he said, "Tuesday will be the day I can score my first goal against an Italian team from open play."
He did. Twice.
The first, a rocket into the top-left corner, came barely five minutes in; the second, a grass-cutter just inside the right post, came five minutes before halftime. Barcelona went on to win, 4-0, and 4-2 on aggregate, advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals.
"For anyone who doubted Messi, today Messi gave a lesson on how to play football," said Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura, in charge during Vilanova’s absence. "He is extraordinary."
In the meantime, with the next World Cup still a year off, Messi mesmerizes like no other athlete on the planet. There even was a rumor making the rounds Tuesday afternoon that the cardinals in Rome trying to elect a pope conveniently called it a day a half-hour before the Barcelona-Milan game so they could catch the broadcast.
The dissection of Barcelona soccer - NorthJersey-com
The final whistle has been blown and players from the Blue and Yellow teams are beginning to mingle on the sideline after the season-opening game of the Charlotte Women’s Soccer League spring season.
After waiting the entire game to speak with her, a patient young woman approaches Julia Barringer, the league’s 59-year-old manager and a member of the Blue team, about joining the league.
“You’re 18?” says Barringer, repeating the woman’s answer to her question. “How about if we split the difference in age?”
That quick exchange represents the inclusiveness of the CWSL, the city’s only 11-on-11 all-women’s soccer league.
Whether you’re 18 or 59 years old, you can play.
The CWSL has increased its number of teams to eight in 2012-13 and added a venue so all of its games could be played on Thursday nights. Matches are played at Davie and Elon parks in Charlotte.
Amber Hardesty, 28, lives off of Independence Boulevard in East Charlotte and has been playing in the CWSL for four years. She is a Blue team co-captain and plays in two other co-ed soccer leagues but enjoys the nuances of this league.
“It’s a little bit different game when you have all women,” Hardesty said. “You’ve got a lot of different experience levels. We have two mother-daughter combos on our team. That’s just not something you see in a co-ed league. It’s a different competitive league. Co-ed leagues are typically more competitive because they have guys in them.”
Janis Young, a 59-year-old resident of Foxcroft, helped found a four-team league in 1978 by taking members of her recreational volleyball team and turning them into soccer players. The league established a partnership with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation in the mid-1980s and adopted by-laws.
Young and her 29-year old daughter, Allie Utz, form one of the mother-daughter combos on the Blue team. Allie’s younger sister, Abby Young, also has played in the league.
The other mother-daughter combination is Synthia Kearney and her daughter Lauren Santana. Kearney, who lives in Gastonia, is playing in the CWSL for the first time since the ’80s when she was a teammate of Janis Young’s.
“Lauren couldn’t decide whether she wanted to be on my team or play against me,” said Kearney. “We’re both forwards. When she found out we were on the same team she said ‘Get me the ball, I’ll score.’ ”
Each of the eight teams keeps a core of four players from year to year, including two co-captains. Other players may be directed to switch teams through a blind draft. Last fall, only two of the eight teams had losing records.
League directors say they try to keep parity by distributing skilled players among the teams. Rosters are selected prior to the fall season and they remain the same through the spring season.
“It’s a landing spot for women who have played soccer,” Barringer said. “And for women who have moved in from out of town. It’s one of the first things they look for.”
Kathy Flanagan, a 41-year-old Waxhaw resident, joined the CWSL the day after she moved from Philadelphia a year and a half ago.
“We all mesh because we like soccer,” Flanagan said. “We come from different levels of play. There are some people who played in college and some who haven’t played since eighth grade. We all come out because we love soccer.”
Read more here: Female soccer players have their own league | CharlotteObserver-com
The election of Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio as the new pope on Wednesday sparked immediate — and quite serious — analysis about the future of the Roman Catholic Church, and about what it would mean for the church’s profile in the Americas. But in other corners of the Internet, there were also some less serious discussions, too.
Like whether whether the new pope, who took the name Francis, would be able to use his new higher profile to overtake Lionel Messi and become to the second-most popular Argentine on earth.
Or whether Pope Francis was a bigger soccer fan than his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a noted Bayern Munich supporter. Or whether the Vatican would suddenly shift its support to South America, to the Buenos Aires club San Lorenzo, which quickly claimed Francis as one of their own. Bergoglio grew up in Buenos Aires’ Flores neighborhood, not far from the San Lorenzo stadium, and like his father, he formed a bond with the team. That continued as he rose up the Roman Catholic hierarchy to become archbishop of Argentina’s capital.
He’s even a member of the association that owns the club, and was presented with a team jersey after saying Mass in the team chapel — it’s the kind of club that has a chapel — in May 2011. San Lorenzo is known to fans as the Cyclone, the Saints or the Crows, the latter an allusion to the black vestments worn by its founder.
News that Bergoglio had been elected pope elated the team.
“It’s a pride for the institution to know that the first South American pope is a member of San Lorenzo,” the club said in a news release.
“In truth, I can’t believe it. My veins are running with a sensation very hard to describe, but very beautiful at the same time,” said midfielder Angel Correa in comments published by the team website.
A more intriguing side note is whether Pope Francis’s election would mean a revival of Vatican City’s dormant national team. The team, a collection of Vatican guards and staff members, is one of only a handful of independent states that are not FIFA members, a group that includes the likes of Monaco and Palau. It has played only a handful of games in its short history, including only two full internationals — both against Monaco — and friendlies against the likes of San Marino and Palestine. It lost that Palestine game, 9-1, in 2010, which gives one a sense that the team’s priorities lie — understandably — elsewhere.
But you would have to like the Vatican’s chances if it ever got in a penalty shootout.
AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis was rebuked by politicians, fellow athletes and fans after appearing to give a Nazi salute in celebration of a goal he scored in the Greek league.
¶ Manchester United opened a 15-point lead in the Premier League, beating Reading, 1-0, on a Wayne Rooney goal as second-place Manchester City lost, 2-0, at Everton.
Giorgos Katidis, a 20-year-old Greek soccer player who celebrated a game-winning goal on Saturday by giving a Nazi salute to fans in Athens, has been banned for life from representing his country in international tournaments.
The Hellenic Football Federation met Sunday in response to the incident the night before and decided to ban the player who has previously captained the national team in youth competitions. “The player’s action to salute to spectators in a Nazi manner is a severe provocation, insults all the victims of Nazi barbarity and injures the deeply pacifist and human character of the game,” the federation said as Greece marked the 70th anniversary of the deportation of thousands of Greek Jews to Nazi death camps.
Katidis, who initially claimed that he was not saluting but pointing at a friend in the stands, said later that he had no idea what the gesture meant. In an apology issued after the ban, he called his salute, “totally unacceptable,” adding, “I feel terrible for those I upset with the stupidity of my act.” The player also said on Sunday: “I want to clarify that I am not a fascist or neo-Nazi or racist. I have a step-brother from Puerto Rico and all my family are from the Black Sea and have experienced racism in the worst ways.” He added: “I sincerely apologize to my teammates and everyone involved with the club that I have insulted in not knowing exactly what I had done in my celebration. Nonetheless, the fact that I did not know what I was doing is no excuse.”
Video and photographs of the incident showed that while several members of the club’s support staff celebrated with the player, others looked disturbed by the gesture and at least one older man attempted to pull his arm down. In messages posted on Twitter late Saturday, the midfielder for A.E.K. Athens insisted that he was “not racist,” and claimed that he was entirely ignorant of the meaning of the salute. “I despise fascism,” he wrote. “I would not have done it if I knew what something like this meant. I know what the consequences are and I would never have done it.”
Greek Soccer Player Banned for Nazi Salute - NYTimes-com
A smiling Brad Guzan fielded point-blank shots rocketed off the foot of U.S. goalkeeper coach Chris Woods in the corner of the University of Denver's soccer field. Watching Monday afternoon were a few bored students resting in the stands and media more interested in coach Jurgen Klinsmann's shooting drill on the other end of the field.
For Guzan, quiet anonymity was his career companion for four years.
But today, that obscurity is a speck in his rearview mirror while living in the white-hot pressure cooker that is Premier League soccer in England and World Cup qualifying in the United States.
Few soccer players in the world are under more pressure this month than the balding 28-year-old from suburban Chicago. First, he's about all that stands in the way of tradition-oozing Aston Villa from getting relegated to England's second division.
Second, at 8 p.m. Friday, in a sold-out Dick's Sporting Goods Park, he'll replace injured Tim Howard against Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifier for a U.S. team already one step deep in the CONCACAF hole. The U.S. must merely finish in the top three in the six-nation CONCACAF to automatically qualify for its seventh consecutive World Cup. But after losing to Honduras, 2-1, and with ensuing games at Mexico and Jamaica, starting 0-2 won't bode well for a nation still running in place trying to join the world's soccer elite. This is his first World Cup qualifier in four years.
Brad Guzan? Your nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
"We all know the magnitude of the game," he said. "We know how big it is, how important it is to our country, to our team. For me, you prepare as you would any normal week. Come Friday, we'll be ready."
Howard has played every major U.S. soccer game for the past four years. However, he broke bones in his back Feb. 26 and will be out four to six weeks. So Guzan not only must help beat a Costa Rica team that has gone 3-0-2 against the U.S. its last five games but must face Mexico Tuesday in Mexico City where the U.S. has won once in history.
"He's played World Cup qualifiers already successfully and most importantly, he became the No. 1 at Aston Villa," Klinsmann said. "So, we have total trust in him."
Guzan is also coming in fine form. He made two spectacular saves Saturday as Aston Villa edged Queens Park Rangers, 3-2, to move three points clear of the Premiership's bottom three teams designated for relegation to the second division at season's end.
This came off the heels of a 2-1 win over Reading. Aston Villa, founded in 1874, hadn't won back-to-back Premier League games since May 2011.
Said Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert after the QPR win: "I have already said I wouldn't swap (Guzan) for anybody else but I'm getting sick of speaking about him."
Much will be made of the United States' injury-ravaged defense. Not to say that the defenders called up for Friday are young but after Tuesday's practice, Klinsmann took them out for ice cream.
That's nothing new to Guzan. Aston Villa's defenders include 22-year-old Joe Bennett, 21-year-old Nathan Baker and 23-year-old Ciaran Clark. The savage British press hammered the trio for making mistakes leading to goals in three straight games while Guzan is trumpeted as Aston Villa's guardian angel.
Guzan doesn't pile on, praising their skill and, instead, emphasizing the challenge in playing in the best league in the world.
"You look at the quality of the internationals that are over in England," Guzan said. "There's a reason they're getting paid 200,000, 250,000 pounds (about $300,000-$375,000) a week. The best players in the world are going there. As a young goalkeeper you want to go against the best in the world."
That was Guzan's plan when he left Chivas USA for Aston Villa in 2008. But after four years, including a half-season loan to Hull City, he had appeared in only 52 games playing primarily behind compatriot Brad Friedel. Even saving four penalty shots against Sunderland in October 2009 didn't nail down a starting job.
He has been Howard's backup on the national side since 2006. He's 3-1-1 in his five World Cup qualifiers and also blanked Egypt, 3-0, in the 2009 Confederations Cup.
He finally came into his own at season's end last year when he earned a new contract from Aston Villa and beat out Shay Given, Ireland's national goalkeeper.
"When you're able to work with world-class goalkeepers like Brad and Tim and Shay Given, you get better," Guzan said. "During that time I knew it was an important time. I knew I was going to get a chance."
He has succeeded on the English stage. Now he must do the same on the world stage. And America is watching.
Read more: Future of U.S. Soccer now in hands of Brad Guzan - The Denver Post Future of U.S. Soccer now in hands of Brad Guzan - The Denver Post
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham visited the Shijia Primary School in Beijing as an ambassador to help develop young players as the country tries to clean up its football image after a spate of corruption scandals - See more at: David Beckham's soccer date with kids in China Photo Gallery, Picture News Gallery - The Indian Express
The U.S. Soccer team hosts Costa Rica Friday night in an important World Cup qualifying match in Commerce City in suburban Denver, Colorado. The U.S. sits last in the six-team qualifying group in the North, Central America and Caribbean region - or CONCACAF - after a 2-1 loss at Honduras last month in the opening round of matches.
As most followers of World Cup qualifying know, it's crucial to win your home games.
U.S. forward and new captain Clint Dempsey, a star for England's Tottenham Hotspur, says he and his American teammates know what's at stake.
"We have to score goals, so it's always good playing back in the (United) States and having that home field advantage. But it's definitely about winning at home, because it's crucial if you're not winning at home, well, then your chances of qualifying for the World Cup don't look good," Dempsey said.
The U.S. team's German coach Jurgen Klinsmann is under some pressure after the defeat to Honduras and criticism of how he's handled his players. This match won't be easy with several players sidelined with injuries.
But forward Eddie Johnson of Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders says at least this time the group has had more training days together.
"We have a full week here together for guys to form that chemistry and understanding and gelling as quickly as possible to get three points in the game (with a win). But we know the importance of it. We know it's going to be hard, but we're looking forward to the game," Johnson said.
In recent years, the U.S. Soccer team has tended to play its best when facing adversity. The players, their coach and their fans are hoping that will be the case in their World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica.
US Soccer Hosts Costa Rica in Key World Cup Qualifier
The match has now concluded in Zagreb, with Croatia winning 2-0 and the coaches of the two national teams embracing in the center circle. Twitter updates filed by journalists from the stadium in Zagreb during the game are at the foot of this post.
As my colleague James Montague reports, Friday’s World Cup qualifying match between host Croatia and Serbia will be played in a stadium packed with supporters of only the home team. The decision to ban Serbian fans from traveling to Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, for the match was made with an awareness of the central role nationalist soccer hooligans played in the wars that ripped the former Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s.
That means that the atmosphere in Zagreb’s Maksimir Stadium will be as one-sided as it was in 1999, when the Croatians first hosted Serbia’s best players — who then represented what remained of Yugoslavia at the time, just Serbia and Montenegro. (The Montenegrins later declared independence). Your Lede blogger attended that match in late 1999 and produced a video report, which included footage of a legendary fight between Serbian and Croatian soccer hooligans in that stadium on the eve of the war. As the Croatian-born journalist Andrej Krickovic explained in 1999, in the tense final year before Yugoslavia dissolved into ethnic-nationalist warfare, “Traditional fights between rival football hooligans acquired a political meaning.” He added:
The climax occurred in Zagreb at the match at Maskmir stadium between Dinamo and Crvena Zvezda Belgrade on 13 May 1990, only days after the Croatian elections. Some 1,500 members of Crvena Zvezda’s fan club, Delije, attended the game. They were led by Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic, who later became commander of the most notorious paramilitary group, the Serbian Volunteer Guard. When Serbian fans began to tear apart the stands, the BBB stormed their end of the stadium. The fight then moved onto the field, with police trying to separate the two groups. A solid hour of battle followed. The mayhem was broadcast live on national television, and order was restored only when riot police were called in. The match was called off.
When the real war broke out, the BBB rushed to the front lines. “The Croatian National Guard didn’t even have its own insignia then, and we put our Dinamo badges on and went off to fight,” recalls a BBB member named Stipe. Behind the western stands of the Maksimir stadium is a monument to those who lost their lives in the war. The epitaph reads: “To all Dinamo fans for whom the war started at Maksimir stadium on 13 May 1990 and ended by them laying their lives on the altar of the Croatian homeland.”
Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian explained that when the two nations first met in 1999, Sinisa Mihajlovic, the current coach of the Serbian team who comes from the Croatian city of Vukovar, was on the pitch and at the center of attention. Serbia, in its present form, has never played Croatia, although Yugoslavia – by then consisting of just Serbia and Montenegro – did play Croatia in qualifying for Euro 2000. The power failed at the first game in Belgrade, a 0-0 draw and when the lights came back on, it became clear that Yugoslav players had surrounded Croatia’s players in the center circle to protect them. In Zagreb, where a 2-2 draw eliminated Croatia, a huge banner commemorated “Vukovar 91;” Mihajlovic knelt before it and crossed himself, a gesture that was understandable in that he wanted to commemorate the fallen on both sides but one that was also hugely provocative, drawing a torrent of abuse from home fans.
At a news conference ahead of Friday’s kickoff, the Croatian coach Igor Stimac, played down reports of nationalist tension. Considering that both Croatian and Serbian extremists also visited great violence during those wars of the 1990s on Bosnia’s Muslim population — mainly descended from Slavic converts to Islam during the centuries of rule by the Ottoman Turks — an interesting wrinkle was added by the selection of a Turkish official, Cuneyt Cakir, to referee the match.
Serbs and Croats Renew Soccer Hostilities - NYTimes-com
A few thousand Egyptian fans will watch their national soccer team continue its bid to end a long World Cup wait on Tuesday, but coach Bob Bradley says that a population of 85 million are praying for victory.
His "Pharaohs" will take on Zimbabwe knowing that a win will put the side five points clear of second-placed Guinea and well on the way to reaching the final round of African qualification for Brazil 2014.
With the domestic league halted for a year after more than 70 fans were killed during a riot at a match last February, the American's task of lifting the continent's fallen soccer heavyweight has been fraught with problems on and off the pitch.
Al Ahly, one of the clubs at the center of the Port Said tragedy, may have qualified for the Club World Cup by winning the continent's Champions League title last year against all the odds, but Egypt failed to reach the Africa Cup of Nations -- a tournament it has won a record seven times.
The country's last World Cup finals appearance was in 1990. "Egypt is a big team, a champion in a transitional period where we are rebuilding the squad. Added to that is the current situation, and then came the Port Said incident and football activities were suspended.
"This made the mission even more difficult, but I never thought of abandoning it. All this stuff made me determined even more to achieve success with this team."
Zimbabwe has just one point from two Group G games, while Egypt has six -- and Bradley's mission was made easier when Guinea could only draw 0-0 with Mozambique on Sunday.
"When we faced Mozambique in match day one of the qualifiers behind closed doors, we felt as if we were not the home team," Bradley said.
"This time we'll have a few thousands in the stands and 85 million outside praying for us to win. If it was possible most of these millions would be there in the stands. All the Egyptians want to see their national team in the World Cup finals after a 24-year absence.
"After Zimbabwe we have two more games in June and everything could happen. But I believe winning on Tuesday will open the door for us to win this group and qualify to the final qualifying round. There are no margins for error in this match." Bradley, who won over many doubters when he took an active interest in the Egyptian people's struggles and protests following his arrival in September 2011, believes his players can overcome their recent adversity -- especially now the domestic league has resumed.
"Those players are very strong, mentally and technically. Playing in the World Cup is the ultimate dream for all of them, either the young ones like Mohamed Salah and Mohamed El Nenny, or the veterans like Mohamed Abou Treika and Wael Gomaa who want to put the cherry on the top of their career by playing in the World Cup."
Defender Ahmed Elmohamady hopes the presence of supporters will spur his team to victory. "Recently we played either away or behind closed doors and that affected us much. Our supporters' presence will be like magic and will motivate us to win this game," he said.
"I know only 30,000 fans can attend because of security measures, but still this is better than nothing. I hope to see 30,000 ones in full voice in the stands."
Meanwhile, Ethiopia edged closer to a first World Cup finals appearance after beating Botswana 1-0 on Sunday thanks to a late goal from substitute Getaneh Kebede.
It returned Ethiopia to the top of Group A, having surrendered the position when South Africa won 2-0 against Central African Republic on Saturday.
Tunisia earned a third successive victory in Group B, beating second-placed Sierra Leone 2-1 to move five points clear.
Morocco's hopes of a fifth finals were hit by a 3-1 defeat against Tanzania, which allowed the home team to close to within a point of unbeaten Group C leader Ivory Coast after three matches.
Zambia dropped its first points in Group D, being held 1-1 in Lesotho while second-placed Ghana closed to within a point with a 4-0 win at home to Sudan.
Burkina Faso beat Niger 4-0 for its first win in Group E, where three teams all have three points but Congo leads the way with a 100% record following Saturday's 1-0 win over Gabon.
African champion Nigeria was caught at the top of Group F on Saturday after snatching a 1-1 draw with Kenya, as Malawi also moved up to five points with a 1-0 win away to Namibia.
Mali leads Group H by two points following Sunday's 2-1 win over bottom team Rwanda, while Libya's bid to overhaul Group I leader Cameroon was thwarted in a 0-0 draw away to Democratic Republic of Congo.
Liberia closed to within a point of Group J leader Senegal with a 2-0 win at home to Uganda. Senegal drew 1-1 in Angola on Saturday in a match moved to Guinea due to crowd trouble in Dakar last year.
Bradley: 85M praying for Egypt's soccer mission - CNN-com
It may be the greatest home-field advantage in sports history.
Seventy-five times Mexico's national soccer team has played a World Cup qualifier at home and only once has it lost — 12 years ago to Costa Rica. Six other times Mexico was held to a draw, giving it a winning percentage at home of 91%.
Juergen Klinsmann, who will lead the U.S. into a World Cup qualifier at the sprawling Estadio Azteca on the southern edge of Mexico City on Tuesday, said his team won't be intimidated. "Playing Mexico in a sold-out stadium in Mexico City, it's awesome," he said Monday. "[But] we're here to get not only a result, we want to win here."
Klinsmann, after all, is riding an impressive streak of his own. In six games as a player and coach, the former German star and national team manager has never lost to Mexico, the most recent victory coming last August when the U.S. beat Mexico for the first time in Mexico City in a friendly.
The U.S. may have still momentum on its side because although Mexico blew a 2-0 lead and had to settle for a tie in its qualifying match Friday in Honduras, the Americans were beating Costa Rica, 1-0, in the snow outside Denver. (FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, announced Monday it will consider Costa Rican claims the weather compromised the "physical integrity" of the match.)
However the U.S. will be without midfielder Jermaine Jones, who did not travel to Mexico after spraining his left ankle against Costa Rica. Mexico will be without defender Francisco Rodríguez because of yellow card accumulation, but it will have Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, who scored twice in the tie with Honduras.
Regardless of the lineups, though, the Mexico-U.S. game will draw a crowd of more than 105,000, adding another chapter to what former U.S. national team defender Alexi Lalas calls the "greatest international soccer rivalry in the world."
And it's a rivalry that has reached such heights, at least in Mexico, for reasons that have little to do with soccer.
"It's more social, I think," argues Juan Carlos Labastida, a 29-year-old accountant who has tickets to Tuesday's match. "[The U.S.] is a country that has dominated Mexico in many aspects. This is the one opportunity Mexicans have to win, in soccer."
Now even that has begun to change. After winning only five times in the first 65 years of its rivalry with Mexico, the U.S. is 11-5-3 since 2000.
Journalist John Sutcliffe, a Mexico City native who has covered the Mexican team in the last five World Cups, most recently for ESPN, says the social implications give the rivalry added importance in Mexico.
"It's like finally beating your neighbor or that big brother who's always been beating you at everything," he says. "Mexico cannot beat the U.S. for way of life. But in soccer they can."
Now Mexico isn't even doing that with the same frequency as before, something that hasn't gone unnoticed in a country where soccer is a huge part of the national identity. Which is why, after Mexico ended a five-match winless streak against the U.S. with a 5-0 win in the 2009 Gold Cup final, tens of thousands of T-shirts popped up in Mexico bearing the simple slogan "Cinco-Cero" in the colors of the Mexican flag.
"It's not just another game," insists Elmur Souza, who covered the Mexican national team for 13 years before joining Time Warner Cable's Spanish-language channel as a special correspondent. "It's mostly the pride. 'I lost every game, but I beat the United States.' That's the whole mentality from the Mexican players."
Yet the Mexican players and their public are also quick to credit the growth of U.S. Soccer for the growing parity between the two countries. Former U.S. national team star Landon Donovan remains both reviled and respected here — he has even been featured in TV commercials — not just for his obvious soccer talent but also for his gamesmanship and the fact he has become fluent in Spanish.
And although that newfound respect for the American game has fueled the rivalry in recent years, many Mexicans agree with Labastida, who argues the soccer series gathers most of its energy from the hot-button social issues that continue to divide the countries, including immigration.
As a result, the plight of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. has become a frequent theme of popular culture here, one retold in television soap operas, film and music. Now it's being played out on the soccer field too.
"Many people we know go to the United States to live and return ever more determined to beat the United States," Labastida says. "In that moment you don't have to feel less than the United States. For one moment during that day, you can feel superior to them. This is the context, the general feeling."
That could make things difficult Tuesday for such U.S. national team players as Omar Gonzalez, Joe Corona and Herculez Gomez, who have family roots in both the U.S. and Mexico.
"Because of my heritage, my family's background, it does hold special meaning," says Gomez, who was born to Mexican parents in Oxnard and grew up watching his father cheer the Mexican national team on TV. "There is no Hollywood here. There is no NFL. There's no NBA, NASCAR, NHL, any of that.
"It's futbol. They breathe and die with this sport. This is what they do. Their national team plays, everything stops. The whole country will be watching. So it's important to them. The whole country knows the importance of this."
U.S. soccer team faces daunting task in World Cup qualifier in Mexico - latimes-com
A FATHER who caused the death of his newborn baby girl by lashing out when his football team conceded a goal has been jailed for 10 years.
Mark Lackenby attacked his five-week-old daughter, Ruby, while watching a Champions League match between his team, Arsenal, and Barcelona.
He had placed an accumulator bet, predicting the first goal would be scored by Robin van Persie - but when Barcelona’s David Villa scored first he lost his temper.
Lackenby shook Ruby so violently he caused brain and nerve injuries.
She died the next day.
The 32-year-old shook his head in the dock at Sheffield Crown Court as he was sentenced to prison by Judge Charles Haddon Cave.
“Many will puzzle as to how you could have done such a thing,” he said. “It is frankly despicable, and defies belief anyone could do such a thing to their own baby in such circumstances.
“That evening you badly lost your temper with this tiny baby and the football simultaneously.”
Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Sue Steeples said: “Mark Lackenby had his night planned. He came home to his tea on the table, beers in the fridge and a football match on the television.
“He’d bet on the football and stood to win if the match went his way.
“Ruby was next to him on the sofa, and when a goal was scored against Mark’s team we believe he lost his temper and lashed out.
“We don’t know specifically what happened to Ruby, but we do know it resulted in a brain injury which led to her death.
“Mark had an opportunity to help her. When paramedics arrived they needed a true account of what happened to Ruby so they could offer her the best possible treatment. Mark lied and claimed Ruby had just stopped breathing.”
Lackenby, of High Street, Goldthorpe, Barnsley, was found guilty by a jury of manslaughter, and of grievous bodily harm by breaking three of her ribs a week earlier, following a three-week trial.
Judge Haddon-Cave said the fatal attack on February 16, 2011, had been the culmination of a growing pattern of abuse against his baby girl, who had also suffered bruising at his hands.
Tests after Ruby’s death revealed she’d suffered head injuries, including bleeding.
She also had fractured ribs thought to have been inflicted seven to 10 days before her death.
Ruby’s mother, Gemma Coates, 31, wept as the jury cleared her of perverting the course of justice. She had been having a bath while Lackenby carried out the fatal attack.
Mr Haddon-Cave said the reason for Lackenby’s violence towards Ruby was a ‘mystery’ as he was a loving father to three children by his ex-wife.
“Was it one child too many? Was it too many responsibilities? Was it the break up of one relationship and the beginning of another?” he asked.
“Whatever the reason, cruel you were to Ruby on several occasions,” he said.
Detective Chief Inspector Sean Middleton, the senior investigating officer, said afterwards: “This is a tragic case which must have caused a great deal of anguish for the extended family of Ruby and has greatly affected the community of Goldthorpe.”
Barnsley dad killed baby over soccer bet - Local - The Star
Both President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry bounced soccer balls around Tuesday: Obama at a White House meeting with Los Angeles’s Galaxy and Kings — championship teams in soccer and hockey — and Kerry while goofing around with a women’s soccer team in Kabul.
Obama is known for his prowess on the basketball court, while Kerry has a legitimate soccer background, having played for the Yale team. Both men are clearly athletes, but politics would be their primary game. Still, both managed not to embarrass themselves while bouncing soccer balls off their noggins. But that was just our layman’s opinion, so we enlisted the help of D.C. United midfielder Chris Pontius to analyze the leaders’ soccer skills.
Pontius, with a diplomatic demeanor that even a secretary of state might envy, said after watching the video evidence that Kerry’s form in executing a heading of the ball “could be a little better.”
“He didn’t have much control, Pontius observed, though he allowed that it might be difficult to pull off smooth moves while wearing a constricting suit, as Kerry was. “We should get him in a soccer jersey,” he said. “And then we’ll really see.”
As for Obama, Pontius pointed out that he kept his eyes on the ball, apparently a good thing. “It sounds strange, but when you keep your eyes on the ball, it helps you put it in whatever direction you want it to go,” he said. (You can watch a video of the header at washingtonpost-com/intheloop-)
Some think players might lose brain cells every time they head a ball, Pontius noted, but the American people shouldn’t worry about their leaders losing brainpower. The balls were coming at these heads of state at a pretty slow speed, he said — “I don’t think they’ll be making any decisions they wouldn’t have anyway.”
Most of all, Pontius was just glad to see two U.S. political bigwigs giving soccer a boost — though he did say he wished it was his team getting that White House welcome.
“Soccer is obviously such a global sport. It can touch a lot of lives, and it’s great to be part of that.”
The name game
Political talk shows are popping up everywhere on television these days, increasing the intense pressure on each of them to stand out and attract younger viewers.
Some folks think the networks may be pressing too hard to come up with hip names for the gabfests.
No more “Today” or “Good Morning America” or “The View” or even “Morning Joe.” And no more names of the stars, such as “Ellen” or “Oprah.”
But the more recent titles, we’re seeing on Twitter this week, have people wondering who comes up with these monikers.
Last summer brought “The Cycle,” on MSNBC, which we had thought clearly referred to the 24-hour news cycle or, this time of year, hitting for the cycle (single, double, triple and home run) in one baseball game.
Then, CNN recently titled former ABC White House reporter Jake Tapper’s new show, “The Lead.” That, as most folks would understand, refers to the top part of a news story or perhaps of a news program, as in the top news of the day.
Of course, if you pronounce it differently, it could appear to have been named for a heavy ductile metal that can poison you.
And now MSNBC is stealing femme fatale Paula Broadwell’s title of her book about former CIA director (and lover) David Petraeus, calling Nation editor at large Chris Hayes’s new show “All In.” That obviously refers to the term for betting all your chips, right?
Back to the bar
Lanny Breuer, former head of the criminal division at the Justice Department, is returning to his old law firm, Covington & Burling.
His tenure at Justice included high-profile prosecutions — including the case against oil giant BP for the Deepwater Horizon spill. But he also drew criticism for his role in the “gun walking” operation known as Fast and Furious.
Breuer will be vice chair of the firm and focus on civil and criminal litigation. He joins other high-profile hires, including former senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who is now a member of the lobbying practice.
Soccer politics from Obama and Kerry - The Washington Post
In preparation for attending Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier between Mexico and the United States, I was ordered to be discreet. The game was being played in Mexico City, at Estadio Azteca, in front of more than a hundred thousand Mexican soccer fans, so I shouldn’t wear red, white, and blue. My haircut, I was told by a Mexican acquaintance, was too American, so she recommended a hat. Walking into the stadium we saw a bus of American supporters being guarded by a line of police. My pants were hanging low, because belts were not allowed inside. “That way you can’t hit someone with it, and your fists are busy hiking your trousers up,“ a British expat living in Mexico City speculated. Despite a warning on the JumboTron to set geopolitics aside, a large portion of the stadium booed “The Star Spangled Banner”; the booing only grew louder as the Americans, clearly the inferior squad, managed to stifle each attack by the Mexican team. Tensions reached a peak midway through the second half, when a penalty kick could have been awarded to Mexico but wasn’t. I turned around and looked up to find myself in the middle of a Medieval siege, as imagined by Hollywood, except the shower of arrows was replaced by cups of beer and kernels of popcorn, covered with hot sauce, being tossed from the upper deck.
By night’s end, the U.S. had won, 0–0. That’s how it felt, at least. In meaningful matches at Estadio Azteca, the Americans have never won. They were victorious last year, for the first time ever, but the match was a friendly game, with neither team using its best players, and the stadium was half full. This time, Azteca was sold out: the only empty sections formed an L-shaped buffer of unsold seats around the rows in the upper deck reserved for the traveling corps of American soccer fans who call themselves the Outlaws. (Their other flank was guarded by a fence, and police.) Azteca is big and loud, and situated at such a lung-challenging altitude, that the experience is unmatched for visiting teams when it comes to unpleasantness. The Americans have not been the only ones to struggle there: in the more than seventy World Cup qualifiers played at Azteca, Mexico has lost only once.
That record is owed at least in some part to Mexico’s fanbase. I sat with several local fans; they were friends, and, I thought, mild-mannered, which made the fact that they yelled “Puto!”—a word whose specific English translation no one could completely agree on, but it isn’t kind—as each American player walked out of the tunnel for warmups somewhat alarming. Along with the rest of the stadium, in unison, they shouted “Puto!” each time the American goalie kicked the ball, during every corner kick, and at any other time that seemed appropriate. When they got bored with “puto,” they switched to “culero,” which everyone agreed translates to “asshole.” (In more optimistic moments, they chanted, “Si, se puede.”) The fans only grew louder throughout the game, having been well lubricated: our seats were in front of a beer vendor, who allowed our group to open a tab, and handed us a bill on a piece of cardboard at the end of the game.
There were, I was told, four thousand police officers at the game, one for every twenty-five fans—or, perhaps more accurately, eight or nine for every American. I felt slightly nervous, sitting in the lower deck, ten rows behind a fence topped with barbed wire. During corners, a group of policemen stood near the kicker and held up riot shields to keep any projectiles at bay. Someone in the stadium had an especially strong laser pointer, which they would direct toward the field any time an American player fell to the ground in agony, something the Mexican fans automatically presumed to be fake. Earlier in the day, as we were heading to the match, an expat friend’s landlord had told us a story about the aftermath of a game in which Argentina had beaten Mexico. Two Argentinian fans started celebrating boisterously nearby, and several Mexican fans approached and started beating them up. The Argentines spotted several police officers and called to them for help. The officers looked the other way.
On Tuesday night, American fans seated in the supporters’ section reported tossed beers and, in at least one case, injury. The Americans were likely far from innocent, and there are perhaps lessons in humility, or, at the very least, caution, to be learned. Where I sat, surrounded on all sides by Mexican fans but wearing beige and gray rather than draped in an American flag, there was no trouble. The match was hugely disappointing for Mexico, which now faces a difficult road to World Cup qualification, but the only commentary I got afterward was from a Mexican fan who tapped me on the shoulder and, before I could raise my hands to protect myself, said, “Good match.” I mustered all the Spanish I could to tell him his equipo was mejor, and that the Americans had simply gotten lucky—which they had, having been outplayed for much of the match and saved at least once by a whistle, or lack thereof.
And yet, the U.S. now finds itself in a strong position to qualify for its seventh straight World Cup, a feat whose difficulty American fans often don’t appreciate. But it’s something they’ve come to expect, and with good reason: missing next year’s Cup, in Brazil, when the games will be played more or less in American prime time, would be devastating for American soccer, despite all the progress it’s made recently. American fans are not as rabid as their counterparts, and playing matches at the Rose Bowl is not as difficult for opponents as visiting Azteca, but steps are being made. The team’s survival in such a hostile environment was impressive, but games like this are a prerequisite for success in international soccer. With limited blood spilled, Tuesday was another step on the path to gaining the soccer world’s respect.
Former Central Kitsap High School soccer star Miles Rodriguez-Nilsen is choosing grades over goals.
Rodriguez-Nilsen, who earned Class 4A state player of the year honors in 2012, has decided to end his soccer career after one season at Seattle University.
After his freshman year is over, he plans to transfer to Arizona State University, which does not have a men’s soccer program.
“My first college season, even though I think that it went well, it wasn’t for me,” Rodriguez-Nilsen said. “With school and soccer and stuff, it was too much. I didn’t really think it was going to be as intense as it was.”
Seattle U. men’s soccer coach Peter Fewing, former head coach of the Kitsap Pumas, said the departure of Rodriguez-Nilsen is a substantial one.
“Miles would be a four-year starter for us,” Fewing said.
Making tough decisions regarding his soccer career is nothing new for Rodriguez-Nilsen. Last spring, he chose to leave the Seattle Sounders U18s Development Academy team in order to play his senior season at Central Kitsap.
The Cougars finished first in the Narrows League and reached the state championship game, where Central Kitsap lost to Skyview 3-2. Rodriguez-Nilsen, a midfielder/forward, finished the season with 30 goals and 12 assists.
During his college season with the Redhawks, Rodriguez-Nilsen started in 13 of the team’s 17 games and tallied two assists. Seattle U. finished with a 3-13-1 record.
Rodriguez-Nilsen said while he enjoyed playing, his grades suffered. He often found himself exhausted at the end of the day with school work still to do.
Balancing soccer and studies became too stressful.
“I give a lot of props to people who can do it,” said Rodriguez-Nilsen, who received a partial scholarship to attend Seattle U. “There were times I’d be thinking about school during a soccer game, which really isn’t a good thing to do.”
After soccer season ended in November, Rodriguez-Nilsen spent time pondering his next move with his family. In January, he told Fewing he would be leaving the team.
“I just think his heart wasn’t in it in the end,” said Fewing, who offered to bump up Rodriguez-Nilsen’s scholarship if he stayed. “That’s what he shared with me.”
Central Kitsap boys soccer coach Christopher Floro was surprised to learn that his former captain would no longer be playing in college, but he wasn’t surprised by the reason why.
“A lot of these guys just don’t realize how consuming it is playing at the major university level,” Floro said. “They own you. ... It’s almost like a business.”
Floro believes we may not have seen the last of Rodriguez-Nilsen on the soccer field.
“He probably needs a break,” said Floro, who called Rodriguez-Nilsen the best player he’s ever coached. “He’s an incredible talent. Naturally gifted, fast, physical.”
Rodriguez-Nilsen said he’d be interested in playing this summer in the Premier Development League for the Kitsap Pumas or the Seattle Sounders U23.
Pumas assistant coach Dustyn Brim said this week that he might reach out to Rodriguez-Nilsen to gauge his interest, but the player wasn’t necessarily on the team’s radar.
It remains to be seen if Rodriguez-Nilsen will seek another chance to play at the college level. If he doesn’t, he can live with it.
“I’m glad I tried it,” he said. “I don’t think I would have done things differently.”
FIFA have written to the South African government warning them against a judicial inquiry into the recent soccer match-fixing scandals, saying the matter should rather be handled by the country's football association.
Several of South Africa's warm-ups before they hosted the 2010 World Cup were found to have been fixed, which led to the brief suspension of senior South African Football Association (SAFA) officials, including its president Kirsten Nematandani.
South Africa's Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) recommended a judicial commission of inquiry but FIFA warned them of possible consequences should the government be seen to be intervening in football matters.
South Africa's sports minister Fikile Mbalula told local media he would travel to FIFA headquarters in Zurich next week to discuss the issue with world football's governing body.
"SASCOC have made a recommendation to us that we must go ahead with a judicial commission of inquiry into the matter," Mbalula said.
"Match-fixing is about fraud, corruption and mismanagement. There is a rule of law in South Africa. Where there are suspicions, they must be investigated. SAFA must understand that you can't be a referee and player at the same time," he said.
SAFA vice president Danny Jordaan told Reuters his organisation had already asked police to investigate the matter.
Nematandani and four other top officials were briefly suspended following the handing over in December by FIFA to SAFA of a 500-page investigation into the activities of Wilson Raj Perumal and his Football 4U organisation.
But within a month their suspension was lifted on procedural grounds.
FIFA found the results of pre-World Cup warm-up matches against Thailand, Bulgaria, Colombia and Guatemala in the weeks leading up the 2010 finals were fixed.
Allegations of match-fixing were first revealed in the South African press in July 2011 year but SAFA did not immediately act, only raising the issue once FIFA had incorporated the country into a wider investigation into Perumal's activities.
Alexandre Pato won and converted a late, controversial penalty to give Corinthians a 2-1 win derby win over bitter rivals Sao Paulo.
The former AC Milan forward intercepted a back pass and went over as he was challenged by Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni.
Sao Paulo protested furiously, delaying the match for seven minutes before Pato finally converted from the spot.
"It was a disgrace, both players went for the ball and he went in with his foot raised and could have broken my foot," Sao Paulo captain Rogerio told reporters after Sunday's Paulista championship match at the Morumbi.
"It was 100 percent a penalty, if he hadn't stopped me, I would have scored into an empty goal," retorted Pato.
Jadson gave championship leaders Sao Paulo, already qualified for the quarter-finals, an early lead and Danilo levelled for Club World Cup winners Corinthians four minutes before halftime against the run of play.
Santos forward Neymar scored his first goal since Feb. 10 to help his side to a 2-1 win over Oeste in another of Sunday's games.
Former Brazil fullback Branco quit as coach of Guarani after they lost 3-0 at home to Atletico Sorocaba, leaving them bottom of the table.
"The supporters don't deserve this," said the 1994 World Cup winner who played for Porto, Genoa and had a short spell at Middlesbrough in his club career.
The Paulista is one of a plethora of regional tournaments which kick off the Brazilian season.
Whenever a high-profile sports team hires a new head coach, the move prompts heated debate among fans. But since Britain’s Sunderland soccer team announced it had hired an avowed fascist as coach over the weekend, the debate has been far more intense and widespread than the club expected.
On Sunday, the Northern England club replaced its coach with Italian Paolo Di Canio, a former star player who once gave a fascist salute after scoring a goal and once called Benito Mussolini “basically a very principled, ethical individual.” The appointment has prompted outrage across Britain with several anti-racism groups, including Football Against Racism in Europe, saying his hiring is a setback for campaigns to fight fascism and racism in soccer. Former foreign minister David Miliband also immediately resigned from the team’s board, citing Mr. Di Canio’s extreme views and adding, “I think it right to step down.” Mr. Miliband had resigned his seat in the British Parliament only last week to take up a position with a charity in New York, but he had planned to remain on Sunderland’s board.
Mr. Di Canio and club CEO Margaret Byrne tried to play down the controversy on Monday, insisting the new coach’s comments had been taken out of context and that he was hired for his ability to win soccer games and not for his political opinions.
“I expressed an opinion in an interview many years ago,” Mr. Di Canio said in a statement. “Some pieces [of the interview] were taken for media convenience. They took my expression in a very, very negative way – but it was a long conversation and a long interview. It was not fair.”
He added: “I don’t have a problem with anyone. I haven’t had a problem in the past and I don’t know why I have to keep repeating my story, to be defending myself on something that doesn’t belong to me every time I change clubs. Talk about racism? That is absolutely stupid – stupid and ridiculous.”
Ms. Byrne defended the choice of Mr. Di Canio. “Anyone who has met Paolo and spoken with him personally, as we did in depth before making this appointment, will know that he is an honest man, a man of principle and a driven, determined and passionate individual,” she said. “To accuse him now, as some have done, of being a racist or having fascist sympathies, is insulting not only to him but to the integrity of this football club.” The statements won’t likely ease the concern among some about Mr. Di Canio, 44, who has a colourful history on and off the field.
Born in Rome, Mr. Di Canio has written about his rough childhood, which included stabbing his older brother in the back with a barbeque fork during a fight. He became a decent soccer player, earning stints with several Italian teams before jumping to Britain’s Premier League and becoming a star at West Ham United between 1999 and 2003.
He returned to Italy and played for Lazio, his favourite club growing up, and gained infamy in 2005 when he offered a fascist salute to fans after a goal. The league suspended him for one game and fined him $10,000 for the salute, considered a racist taunt. Afterward, Mr. Di Canio told an Italian news agency: “I am a fascist, not a racist.” In his autobiography, Mr. Di Canio also expressed support for Mr. Mussolini, who adored Lazio, saying he was fascinated by the Italian dictator who had been “deeply misunderstood” and was “basically a very principled, ethical individual.”
This won’t be Mr. Di Canio’s first coaching job. He spent nearly two years at Swindon, a lower-division club in England, boosting its fortunes but leaving in a huff two months ago after a string of controversies. His appointment there also led a major union to pull its sponsorship of the club because of his fascist views.
Sunderland, which is owned by American Ellis Short, is hoping Mr. Di Canio’s no-nonsense coaching style can help the club avoid relegation, whereby the last three teams in the Premiership are demoted to a lower league. Sunderland is just one point out of the bottom three with seven games remaining. Relegation can be financially ruinous to clubs, as the lower leagues generate a fraction of the revenue of the Premiership.
Avoiding relegation “is a crucial cause,” Mr. Di Canio said in an interview posted on the club’s website. “Not just for Paolo Di Canio and the staff but more importantly for the thousands and thousands of people who care about this club.”
U.K. soccer club spurs outrage by hiring fascist coach - The Globe and Mail
1. Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico) Net worth: $73 Billion, up $4billion from last year. Clubs: Club Pachuca, Club Leon (Mexico) and Real Oviedo (Spain)
Carlos Slim is the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row. He made his fortune in telecom but didn't stop there. His omnipresent empire is also involved in soccer. In September 2012, his America Movil bought stakes in two Mexican clubs, Club Pachuca and Club Leon. In November 2012, Slim purchased part of struggling Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo.
2. Amancio Ortega (Spain) Net worth: $57 Billion, up $19.5 billion from last year. Club: Deportivo La Coruna (Spain)
Spain's Amancio Ortega, the fashion kingpin who founded Spanish retail giant Inditex, has moved into the top three among the world's richest for the first time. Ortega can often be seemed in the tribunes of stadium Riazor, home of Deportivo La Coruna. Last year his daughter's million dollar wedding was forced to start 90 minutes late because of a match between his adored team and Barcelona B. Ortega is the year's biggest gainer, up $19.5 billion. However, his beloved soccer team, known as“El Turco,” has been the biggest loser in the Spanish League so far, currently in the last position.
3. George Soros (United States) Net Worth: $19.2 Billion, down $800 million from last year. Club: Manchester United (England)
Billionaire investor George Soros is known for having broken the bank of England. Now, he’s betting on the UK’s largest soccer team, Manchester United. In August 2012, Soros revealed a 7.85% stake in the football club, through his investment firm, Soros Fund Management. Billionaire Malcolm Glazer is the club’s official owner. He took the team public the last year, retaining 98% of voting shares and netting $100 million in cash. The stock surged more than 33% in the following 6 months. Manchester United became the first sports team to be valued at more than $3 billion in January 2013.
4. Lakshmi Mittal (India) Net Worth: $16.5 Billion, up $500 million from last year. Club: Queens Park Rangers Football Club (England) Indian-born steel baron Lakshmi Mittal is a longtime London resident; he and his son Aditya were among the torch bearers for the 2012 Olympics Torch Relay. Laskshmi and his family own 33% of Queens Park Rangers, which broke their own transfer record twice in January, spending over $30 million to buy striker Loic Remy and central defender Chris Samba. Currently, the west London club is in the last position of the English Premier League. Tony Fernandes, who runs Asia’s largest budget airline, also owns stake in QPR, which was once owned by billionaire Bernard Ecclestone. 5. Alisher Usmanov (Russia) Net Worth: $17.6 Billion, down $500 million from last year. Club: Arsenal Football Club (England)
The richest man in Russia, Alisher Usmanov, has his fingers in many pots: he got rich in metals (iron and steel), but now has interests in everything from Silicon Valley start-ups to Russia's largest business daily, Kommersant. He sold part of his stake in Facebook at the time of the 2012 IPO, pocketing $1.3 billion. Usmanov and billionaire partner Farhad Moshiri, who has a fortune of $2.8 billion, also own stakes in FC Arsenal. American billionaire Stanley Kroenke, with an estimated net worth of $5 billion, is the controlling shareholder of FC Arsenal. British press claims that a Middle East consortium is preparing a bid to buy out Arsenal for around $30,000 a share, totaling over $2 billion.
6. Rinat Akhmetov (Ukraine) Net worth: $15.4 billion, down $600 million from last year. Club: FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) Ukraine's wealthiest and son of a coal miner, Akhmetov has been riding high after UEFA Euro 2012 games were played in his $400 million Donbass Arena. Akhmetov is the owner and president of FC Shakhtar Donetsk, which won the national championship seven times in the past 13 years. Soccer is the most popular sport in Ukraine, especially among billionaires. Akhmetov's business partner, Vadim Novinsky, with a fortune of $1.9 billion, is the owner of Ukranian club PFC Sevastopol.
7. François Pinault (France) Net worth: $15 billion, up $2 billion from last year Club: Rennes (France)
French luxury goods mogul Francois Pinault’s group owns high-end fashion houses including Gucci, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. Pinault is 100% owner of Christie's, which sold $5.3 billion of art at auction in 2012. His son Francois-Henri, married to actress Salma Hayek, is a soccer aficionado. Since 1998, the family Pinault owns Stade Rennais, also known as Rennes, a professional soccer club in their native Brittany.
8. Paul Allen (United States) Net worth: $15 billion, up $800 million from last year Club: Seattle Sounders FC (United States)
The co-founder of Microsoft has gone from state-school dropout to one of the world's richest men. Allen is the kind of billionaire who combines his passions for sports and science. He is a part-owner of Seattle Sounders FC, which plays in the American Major League Soccer and was founded in 2007. Allen also owns other sports teams like the Seattle Seahawks (football) and the Portland Trailblazers (basketball). The cancer survivor has a keen interest in neuroscience, having recently lost his mother to Alzheimer's disease.
9. John Fredriksen (Cyprus) Net worth: $11.5 billion, up $200 million from last year. Team: Valerenga (Norway)
This much is certain about John Fredriksen: the oil tanker and shipping tycoon loves soccer almost as much as he hates paying taxes. Fredriksen became a citizen of Cyprus in 2006 to avoid Norway's hefty taxes and now follows his Olso team mostly from afar. Fredriksen reportedly turned down a $200 million offer by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich for his London mansion in 2006. A fan of English soccer, Fredriksen's name has long been floated as a potential buyer of a Premier League club.