ALL ABOUT YOUTH

ISSUE 38/2015, 25 SEPTEMBER 2015 

ENGLISH EDITION 

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904 

FEYENOORD ROTTERDAM 

ALL ABOUT YOUTH 

AZERBAIJAN 

GABALA FK 

GOING FOR BROKE 

RUSSIA 

LEONID SLUTSKY’S 

DUAL COACHING DUTIES 

BOLIVIA 

TIGERS CLIMB 

TO LEAGUE SUMMIT 

WWW.FIFA.COM/THEWEEKLY

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL 

6 

Feyenoord Academy 

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the 

Netherlands squad included 11 players who 

learned their trade at Feyenoord’s youth academy 

in Rotterdam. What is it that sets this port 

city side’s development work apart? Sarah 

Steiner visited the academy to find out. 

16 

Bolivia 

A lack of leadership in their match against The 

Strongest cost Sport Boys not only the match 

but also their place at the top of the table. 

North and 

Central America 

35 members 

www.concacaf.com 

South America 

10 members 

www.conmebol.com 

23 

37 

Sepp Blatter 

In his weekly column, President Blatter calls 

on officials around the world to lend their 

wholehearted support to the sport’s urgent 

governance reforms during the year ahead 

to help rebuild confidence in FIFA. 

Jorge Luis Pinto 

The new Honduras coach is keen to bring radical 

change to the national team. 

18 Mathieu Valbuena 

The French international 

discusses his rocky path to 

becoming a professional 

footballer. 

All about youth 

Our cover image shows two Feyenoord 

youth players waiting to be brought on 

to the pitch as substitutes. 

Luc Schol 

The FIFA Weekly app 

FIFA’s magazine The FIFA Weekly is published 

in four languages every Friday and is also 

available free of charge on smartphone and 

tablet. http://www.fifa.com/mobile 

28 River Plate 

Antonio Alzamendi is confident 

his old team can emerge victorious 

from the FIFA Club World Cup 

in Japan. 

FIFA U-17 World Cup 

17 October – 8 November 2015, Chile 

FIFA Club World Cup 

10 – 20 December 2015, Japan 

Aflosport / imago, Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images 

2 THE FIFA WEEKLY

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL 

Europe 

54 members 

www.uefa.com 

Africa 

54 members 

www.cafonline.com 

Asia 

46 members 

www.the-afc.com 

Oceania 

11 members 

www.oceaniafootball.com 

24 Leonid Slutsky 

Russia’s new national coach has his 

sights firmly fixed on qualifying for 

EURO 2016. 

15 Belgium 

Oostende are leading the league 

after eight rounds of matches. 

(Pictured: Gohi Bi Cyriac) 

Belga / imago, Vladimir Pesnya / RIA Novosti / AFP 

THE FIFA WEEKLY 

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UNCOVERED 

Leading light 

The three visitors are both curious and intrigued as they wander around the 

training complex. Tablet computers in hand, they take photos and eagerly 

make notes; nothing escapes their attention on this rainy day at Varkenoord, 

home of the Feyenoord Academy in Rotterdam. 

The centre’s fame for outstanding youth work extends far beyond the 

Nether lands’ borders. The visitors turn out to be coaches from MLS, who have 

crossed the Atlantic in order to learn from the Feyenoord philosophy and the 

training programmes on offer. 

The academy has been producing numerous Dutch internationals for many 

years now, so what is it that makes it so special? Our staff writer Sarah Steiner 

went along to find out. Her report starts on page 6. Å 

Annette Braun 

Mario Wagner / 2Agenten 


5

FEYENOORD ACADEMY 

Giving everything for their dream 

Feyenoord Academy's young players are 

put through their paces at their daily 

training session in Varkenoord. 

6 THE FIFA WEEKLY


FOREVER 

FEYENOORD 

Almost half of the Netherlands squad at 

the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil learned 

their trade in Rotterdam. 

Sarah Steiner visited the starmakers at 

the Feyenoord Academy to find out more. 

Photos by Luc Schol. 

The rain falling on Rotterdam casts 

a grey pallor on the entire city. 

Even the stiff breeze blowing 

through the streets cannot shift 

the thick blanket of cloud. Although 

this less-than-inviting 

weather is fairly typical of autumn 

in Holland, it somehow 

seems to suit Rotterdam particularly 

well. As the Netherlands’ biggest 

industrial centre, the city is 

known for being slightly rough 

around the edges, its working-class credentials 

bolstered by the urban legend that shops 

around these parts sell shirts with the sleeves 

already rolled up. Nowhere is this mentality 

more apparent than down by the river. Europe’s 

largest port lies on one of the world’s busiest 

seaways, supporting 180,000 jobs, handling 

450 million tonnes of freight every year and 

covering 12,500 hectares – figures that are 

almost impossible to comprehend. 

The people of Rotterdam are proud of their 

city. They are equally proud of their football 

club, Feyenoord, part of Dutch football’s top 

trio of teams alongside arch-rivals Ajax and 

PSV Eindhoven. De Stadionclub have won 14 

Eredivisie titles and 11 KNVB Cups as well as 

lifting the European Cup and Intercontinental 

Cup in 1970 and the UEFA Cup in 1974 and 2002. 

Nerves of steel are a prerequisite for any player 

wishing to take on the fanatical crowd, electric 

atmosphere and expectant fans inside Feyenoord’s 

home ground, De Kuip. 

Although the club has run into financial 

difficulties several times in recent years, with 

several expensive signings failing to live up to 

expectations, it is now on a stable economic 

footing. Despite still struggling to live up to the 

expectations created by their illustrious past, 

Feyenoord are slowly but surely battling their 

way back to the top of the national and continental 

game. 

Meanwhile in Brasilia, the sun is shining, 

showing off the city in all its glory. A moderate 

wind makes for comfortable temperatures and 

perfect footballing weather – all part and parcel 

of the Brazilian winter. It is the day of the 

Match for Third Place at the 2014 FIFA World 

Cup, where the hosts face the Netherlands. 

Of the 23 men in the Oranje squad, 11 have a 

direct connection to Feyenoord. 


7


All-in-one package 

From recovery and nutrition 

to maintaining peak fitness, 

these talented youngsters 

are being prepared in 

every conceivable way 

to make history 

for Feyenoord one day. 

8 THE FIFA WEEKLY


Team talk Even the academy's smallest students have to learn to abide by its rules. 

Five of these players, none of them older 

than 24, play for the club: Jordy Clasie, Bruno 

Martins Indi, Terence Kongolo, Daryl Janmaat 

and Stefan de Vrij. All of them took their first 

footballing steps in the club’s youth ranks, the 

Feyenoord Academy. 

Four further Dutch internationals in the 

Brazil 2014 camp also trained at the academy 

and moved on after breaking into the first 

team: Leroy Fer headed to Norwich City, 

Georginio Wijnaldum to PSV Eindhoven, Jonathan 

de Guzman to Villarreal and national 

team captain Robin van Persie to Arsenal. Then 

there is Ron Vlaar and Dirk Kuyt, who laced 

their boots for the Rotterdam side at the start 

of their careers. All in all, almost half of the 

Dutch squad have spent time in Holland’s biggest 

port city – an impressive figure. 

Just across the street 

Rotterdam’s school of football must be doing 

something right – but what? What makes 

them so much better than any other youth 

academy? “We’ve found our own way,” is how 

Feyenoord Academy manager Raymond van 

Meenen succinctly puts it, before explaining 

that this path is not about being better or 

worse than anyone else. “The results of our 

work speak for themselves.” 

In addition to the eleven players who 

helped the Netherlands secure third place in 

Brazil, the stars of tomorrow also enjoyed success 

last season. There was scarcely room to 

move on the pitch when Feyenoord’s championship-winning 

teams were honoured ahead 

of the Eredivisie match at home to Willem 2 

two weeks ago, with the U-16, U-14, U-13, U-10 

and U-9 sides all in attendance to celebrate 

with the fans. 

While running out onto that same turf as 

a first-team player is the dream of every child 

who steps through the doors of the Feyenoord 

Academy, these promising youngsters are well 

aware that this road can be a long and difficult 

one. “From the very beginning, we tell the lads 

that only one or two per cent of all players will 

actually manage to make that leap into Feyenoord’s 

first team,” explains Marcel Koning. 

Despite this daunting prospect, the U-19 

coach also knows that the rate of success will 

be somewhat higher in his team, as his charges 

have reached the top rung of the club’s youth 

football ladder. After that, these young players 

will either move to another club or step literal- 

ly across the street to achieve their long-held 

ambition. De Kuip’s floodlights can be glimpsed 

through the trees, while the outer walls of the 

stadium are visible from the training pitches. 

This is the point at which the first team comes 

within reach in the truest sense of the phrase. 

“We’re in close contact with the team and 

their coaches in particular,” says Koning. Former 

academy graduate and Feyenoord player 

Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his assistant 

coach Jean-Paul van Gastel, once in charge of 

the club’s U-19 side, attend youth matches and 

know exactly which starlets they can already 

count on. “Where people once went to other 

clubs and countries in order to strengthen their 

teams, now they come straight to us at Varkenoord,” 

says Damien Hertog. 

Like so many other staff members here, 

the academy’s director also learned the secrets 

of the beautiful game at Feyenoord. “It’s a privilege 

to work for this club,” he enthuses. 

Focusing on the team 

There is a palpable sense of dedication to this 

club wherever you turn. Within moments of 

arriving, it becomes clear that the motto “Hand 

in hand” is both lived and played out here, all 


9


THINGS GO WRONG BETWEEN 18 AND 21 

The nation of Johan Cruyff and totaalvoetbal looks set to miss next year’s 

EURO in France. What’s gone wrong with the Netherlands? 

After finishing runners-up at the 2010 World Cup and third at last 

year’s showpiece in Brazil, the Oranje now languish fourth in their 

EURO 2016 qualifying group. Merely to reach the play-offs Holland 

must now beat Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic and hope nearest 

rivals Turkey slip up in their last two games. Few in the Netherlands 

expect this to happen. Tactical errors, plodding attack and 

defensive blunders have marred the Dutch campaign. Rumours even 

swirled this week that Danny Blind, who only took over as coach 

from Guus Hiddink eleven weeks ago and lost his crucial first two 

matches to Iceland and Turkey, could be replaced by former Dortmund 

boss Jurgen Klopp. 

Ideas copied and improved 

In the longer term, the main problem is that the Dutch simply aren’t 

producing enough top quality players any more. Holland pioneered 

much that is best in modern football but have lost their innovative 

edge. When the “total footballers” of the 1970s first deployed their 

sophisticated skills and position-switching it was revolutionary. 

Now everyone can do it. Youth-development methods first seen at 

Ajax have spread throughout the world. 

Setting a new benchmark Johan Cruyff in the Seventies. 

Rather like the British who invented railways then saw other nations 

build better trains and networks, the Dutch have seen their ideas 

copied, improved upon or borrowed. France, Germany and Belgium 

now produce more top players. Turkey’s Oğuzhan Özyakup, who 

scored against Holland two weeks ago, is actually a former Netherlands 

youth international who emerged at the AZ Alkmaar academy. 

Caught between generations 

Meanwhile, it is becoming clear that the Dutch may not have been 

quite as good as their results over the last five years suggested. In 

the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, first under Bert van Marwijk and 

later Louis van Gaal, Holland cannily turned weakness into strength 

by briefly abandoning their traditional attacking style to become 

defensively solid counter-attackers. Relying on breaks by Arjen Robben 

and the shrewd passing of Wesley Sneijder they came within a 

Spanish goalkeeper’s heel of winning the World Cup in South Africa. 

Then, employing a five man defence, the Dutch crushed the defending 

champions 5-1 in Brazil. It is sometimes forgotten that between 

those two successful tournaments Holland failed horribly at Euro 

2012, losing all three of their matches. 

Now the era of great Dutch coaches is passing. Cruyff has not run 

a big team since 1996. Hiddink is 68 and a spent force. Van Gaal 

will retire in two years. Meanwhile, the once-fabled youth system of 

Holland’s historically most important club, Ajax, has not produced 

a Dutch mega-star in over a decade (the Uruguayan Luis Suarez and 

Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic passed through as young adults). Changes 

introduced there after Johan Cruyff took over control of the club 

in 2011 have produced no discernible improvement. And the national 

team is now caught between generations. Footballers are at their 

peak in their late twenties but in losing 0-3 to Turkey earlier this 

month, the Oranje fielded no players between the ages of 27 and 

31. At one end of the age range were fading golden oldies like Sneijder, 

Robben and Robin van Persie. On the other were youngsters 

like Daley Blind and Memphis Depay, with nothing in between. 

Henk Spaan, editor of the influential journal “Hard gras”, says his 

country must stop living in the past and learn from the nations that 

have overtaken them. While Dutch football education between 10 

and 18 remains remains “unbelievably” good, he says “something 

goes wrong between 18 and 21. Dutch coaches somehow cannot 

transform phenomenal young talents into mature senior players.” 

And domestic Dutch competition suffers when top young players 

are sold too early. In the 1980s and 90s emerging stars like Ruud 

Gullit and Dennis Bergkamp did not leave Holland until they were 

24. Now 20 year-olds are flying the nest. 

Meanwhile Holland’s traditional tactics have become obsolete. 

“Cruyff still says we have to play with wingers ahead of the ball to 

pin the opposition fullbacks,” says Spaan. “But full backs are fitter 

than they used to be, so you can’t play like that any more. That’s 

modern football. The Netherlands must reinvent its football like 

Germany did after its disastrous early 2000s.” 

David Winner 

VI Images / imago 

10 THE FIFA WEEKLY


the way from the beaming eight-year-old boys 

scampering onto the training pitches, chests 

puffed out in pride, to the club’s international 

development manager, who says: “I grew up 

here. Feyenoord is my home and I could never 

work for another team.” The club’s presence is 

also omnipresent in the city itself: every neighbourhood 

boasts at least one graffiti tag professing 

support for De Trots van Zuid or “The 

Pride of the South”, and it is impossible to walk 

into a bar without seeing a red-and-white scarf 

pinned to the wall. 

Even on a dreary day such as this, nobody 

at Varkenoord grumbles when faced with the 

prospect of training in the rain. It is a friendly 

environment with a strong focus on teamwork, 

just as the academy’s management have intended. 

“What’s the use of playing well if your 

team loses 2-0?” asks Hertog. Feyenoord’s 

youngsters must give their all to meet the 

coaches’ strict criteria. After all, life as an aspiring 

professional footballer is no picnic. 

Nevertheless, the academy places great importance 

on giving its young charges a childhood 

and preserving their youth. It works 

closely with schools to coordinate training 

sessions with their academic education, allowing 

students to train in the morning before 

heading off to lessons while still ensuring that 

the school day ends early enough for these 

young footballers to spend enough time with 

their friends and family. 

Social considerations are extremely important 

to the club. The director of the academy 

keeps in regular contact with his 220 players 

and their parents about more than just football. 

“We once found a job for one father and 

can also offer assistance with bureaucratic matters,” 

says Van Meenen. The former professional 

referee considers it vital that the club sets an 

example, explaining: “We’re not just raising 

footballers here, but human beings too.” 

Ready for action Playing at Varkenoord's stadium now but within reach of a game at De Kuip. 

Communications training and 

nutritional advice 

In keeping with this philosophy, the players are 

also encouraged to fend for themselves and given 

responsibility for their own personal development. 

U-19 coach Marcel Koning explains 

how this works. “At the start of the season I sit 

down with each and every player to discuss his 

development, aims, strengths and weaknesses. 

We then choose three areas that require improvement 

and which the player can work on 

individually.” This process is called the Personal 

Development Plan interview and is conducted 

with every young footballer from U-13 level 

onwards. 

The academy’s video analysis tools are also 

on hand to help the youngsters implement 

their plan as effectively as possible. Every 

match and many training sessions are filmed, 

Organisers 


director Damien 

Hertog (top left) and 

manager Raymond van 

Meenen (bottom left) 

Talent scout 

U-10 coach Glenn 

van der Kraan 

(top right) and 

U-19 coach 

Marcel Koning 

(bottom left). 


11


Mighty oaks from little acorns grow 

Many of Feyenoord Academy's players 

have become international stars, including 

for the Dutch national team. 

12 THE FIFA WEEKLY


with each player given a unique code that 

allows them to log in to the online platform and 

review their performances. Coaches can see 

exactly when and for how long each young starlet 

logs in, and students are required to present 

their progress to their coaches halfway through 

the season. “That means both we and, much 

more importantly, the players themselves, 

know exactly where they stand,” Koning says. 

Together with footballing techniques, other 

skills are also honed at Varkenoord. “Being 

a professional requires much more than just 

talent,” explains Van Meenen. For this reason, 

players receive support in a wide range of areas, 

not least communications training. The 

academy’s budding stars must face the cameras 

of the club’s own television channel to answer 

questions as well as being asked about delicate 

topics such as problems with the coach or 

team-mates. Their answers are then analysed 

in special training sessions and discussed with 

the players themselves. The budding professionals 

also receive training from a mental 

coach and nutritional consultant, while a social 

worker is on hand to discuss personal matters 

at any time. 

“They have to develop themselves” 

The Feyenoord Academy operates under a rigorously 

organised system. Although at first 

glance it seems difficult to gain an overview of 

the club’s work, its digital club management 

system is on hand to help, offering a database 

where all of a player’s information can be entered. 

“This gives us the opportunity to bring 

all the different aspects together in one place,” 

explains Glenn van der Kraan. As the academy’s 

project manager and U-10 coach, he knows 

exactly what makes the database such a useful 

tool. “When a five-year-old enrols with us and 

starts training, we open a file where we can enter 

every conceivable piece of information over 

the years – everything from training dates and 

school results to medical information,” he 

explains. “This is accessible to everyone within 

the club and means that each of the player’s 

coaches can call up the data they need easily.” 

The qualified sports scientist is fully committed 

to the club. “I’m Feyenoord, my family 

are Feyenoord, and that’s the way it’s always 

been. Working here is a dream,” says the coach, 

who accompanied his sports journalist father 

to interviews with the stars at De Kuip as a 

young boy. He now coaches the club’s U-10 side 

– a job that continually inspires him. “It’s incredible 

to watch them play. They’re able to 

think two steps further ahead than we can and 

come up with ideas for their next pass far more 

quickly,” he says. 

The academy uses simple methods to nurture 

these skills even further. For example, Van 

der Kraan does not let his team play against 

each other in bibs, meaning that they cannot 

rely on the bright colours and must actually 

look around to identify which players are on 

their team. The academy also allows boys in 

this age group to play nine-a-side games rather 

than the four or five-a-side matches favoured 

by other clubs. “They’ll ultimately have to play 

11-a-side football – that’s a fact,” says the U-10 

coach. “They’ve got to learn to survey the 

entire pitch, so why wait?” 

“It’s the best academy 

in Europe, 

if not the world” 

Professional footballer Leroy Fer 

Van der Kraan has an unshakeable faith in 

his young charges and is convinced that every 

member of his team can eventually make the 

grade. “We’re here to show them the way,” he 

explains. “We help them, we organise things 

for them, we train them – but they have to 

develop themselves.” 

Forever Feyenoord 

Many of these youngsters have progressed 

well, with some ultimately making the trip 

across the street into the senior side. The portraits 

and names of these graduates hang 

prominently on the wall of the academy’s foyer. 

Examples include Feyenoord first-team regular 

Terence Kongolo, or Jean-Paul Boetius, now a 

Basel player, or new Eintracht Frankfurt 

goalscoring prospect Luc Castaignos. Only the 

silhouette of a player can be seen in the last 

picture, and instead of the name there is only 

a question mark. Every youth player in the 

academy knows that one day this could be 

their portrait. 

On the opposite wall are those players who 

have gone on to play for the national side, those 

who caused such a sensation in Brazil – particularly 

captain Robin van Persie – and they all 

have one special relationship in common. “We 

grew up together, this club unites us,” says 

Leroy Fer. His photo is among those in the 

academy’s reception, having joined its youth 

ranks at the age of ten. “Feyenoord is in my 

heart; it’s my club!” He remembers his time at 

Varkenoord well, when the prospect of playing 

at De Kuip one day was still a distant dream. 

Now a Queens Park Rangers player, he achieved 

his ambition and was part of the country’s 2014 

FIFA World Cup squad. “It was the best time of 

my life,” he recalls. 

When asked whether the Dutch national 

team have Feyenoord’s youth academy to thank 

for their success, his answer is immediate. “It’s 

the best academy in Europe, if not the world. 

Part of the country’s success is down to them, 

yes!” 

The Oranje are currently struggling to 

qualify for EURO 2016 in France and must 

now rely on assistance from Turkey if they are 

to progress. When asked why the national 

team is experiencing such a slump, Van 

Meenen laughs: “There are simply too few 

Feyenoord players in the team.” After all, 

having a sense of humour means looking on 

the bright side. Å 

FEYENOORD 

Facts and figures 

Founded: 19 July 1908 

Stadium: Feyenoord Stadium, 

De Kuip, 51,577 capacity 

Head coach: Giovanni van Bronckhorst 

Chairman: Gerard Hoetmer 

Club honours: 

Dutch champions: 

1924, 1928, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1961, 1962, 

1965, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1984, 1993, 1999 

Dutch Cup winners: 

1930, 1935, 1965, 1969, 1980, 1984, 

1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2008 

International honours: 

European Cup: 1970, 

Intercontinental Cup: 1970, 

UEFA Cup: 1974, 2002 


Director: Damien Hertog 

Manager: Raymond van Meenen 

Stadium: Varkenoord sports complex, 

3,600 capacity 

Honours: Rinus Michels Award: 

2010, 2011, 2012,2013, 2014 


13

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# B E T H E D I F F E R E N C E

TALKING POINTS 

O N T H E I N S I D E 

Belgium: Jupiler Pro League 

Oostende keep a 

grip on top spot 

Annette Braun is a staff writer on 

The FIFA Weekly. 

Last season, K.V. Oostende 

lost 7-1 at home to Kortrijk. 

Celebrating in the visiting 

dugout that day was Yves Vanderhaeghe. On 

Matchday 8 of the current campaign, the 

sides faced off again but this time the home 

side prevailed 1-0. Vanderhaeghe was again 

in the dugout and again celebrating: the 

45-year-old left Kortrijk to take charge at 

the coastal club this summer. 

Could Vanderhaeghe’s arrival be the reason 

behind Oostende’s impressive start to 

2015/16? With victory over Kortrijk, De 

Kustboys moved onto 19 points, consolidating 

their place at the top of the standings, 

four points clear of second-placed Ander- 

lecht. The scorer of Oostende’s solitary goal 

in the 66th minute was Gohi Bi Cyriac, who 

joined Vanderhaegh’s side from Anderlecht 

this summer. The 25-year-old centre-forward 

has helped the league leaders, who finished 

tenth last term, to emerge as one of this 

season’s surprise packages. 

For Standard Liege, by contrast, it has been 

a disappointing start. After finishing fourth 

in 2014/15, the domestic giants currently sit 

second from bottom, only a point above 

Westerlo. After losing 7-1 to Club Brugge on 

Matchday 6, Standard were beaten 4-1 by 

KAA Gent on Matchday 8, despite taking a 

second-minute lead through Anthony 

Knockaert. 

It seems that a first title 

has merely left Gent 

hungry for more success. 

Two red cards (Dino Arslanagic and Damien 

Dussaut) and 90 minutes later, a fifth defeat 

of the season had been sealed. Sven Kums 

netted the equaliser for Gent in the 42nd 

minute before Danijel Milicevic’s 45thminute 

strike and a second-half brace 

from Thomas Matton lifted the reigning 

champions to 14 points and sixth place in 

the standings. 

Facing Standard is likely to have rekindled 

happy memories for Gent, whose 2-0 

triumph over the same opposition in May 

secured the club’s first-ever domestic 

league title. 

Becoming champions brought not only 

long-awaited domestic honours, but also 

direct qualification for the UEFA Champions 

League: on Matchday 1 at Europe’s top table 

Gent drew 1-1 at home with Olympique 

Lyonnais. Next up for KAA is a trip to 

Waasland-Beveren, followed by a visit to 

St. Petersburg to face FC Zenit. It seems that 

a first title has merely left Gent hungry for 

more success. Å 

Belga / imago 

A happy reunion 

Yves Vanderhaeghe 

celebrates Oostende’s 

1-0 win over former 

club Kortrijk 


15

Tigerish 

Rodrigo Ramallo 

(centre) 

celebrates a goal. 

Bolivia: Liga de Fútbol Profesional 

Tigers knock Sport 

Boys off the top 

Sven Goldmann is a leading 

football correspondent at Tagesspiegel 

newspaper in Berlin. 

Sport Boys could have done 

with a proper number 10 

in their top-of-the-table clash with The 

Strongest in the Bolivian Liga de Fútbol 

Profesional. They were lacking a player with 

leadership qualities who is not afraid to put 

himself about. It is over a year since the 

club from the town of Warnes in the Bolivian 

lowlands assigned the prestigious 

number 10 shirt to the Bolivian president 

Evo Morales. In May 2014 Morales signed a 

professional contract with the club, which 

guaranteed him the minimum wage of $213. 

It was a nice bit of publicity for the club and 

also for Morales, who was preparing for 

presidential elections at the time. No one 

would have ever thought that the 55 yearold 

head of state would one day play for 

Sport Boys. 

Now the blue number 10 shirt is worn by 

Anderson Gonzaga, but the Brazilian 

offered little at the Estadio Samuel Vaca 

Jimenez on the eighth matchday of the 

Apertura stage. The 2-1 defeat ended Sport 

Boys’ status as undefeated league leaders as 

they were displaced at the top by the team 

known in Bolivia as ‘the Tigers’ because of 

their black and gold striped kit. The Strongest 

are a historic club from La Paz who are 

due another title after their eleventh and 

most recent Apertura success in 2013. The 

two most recent half-year tournaments 

went the way of city rivals Club Bolivar, 

the country’s most successful club with 

20 titles to its name. 

Sport Boys, who are nicknamed ‘the Bulls’ 

in Bolivia, have not reached these heights 

before. The club only got promoted to the 

first tier two years ago after finishing 

runners-up in Division B, having only just 

avoided relegation in the previous season. 

But the Bulls were too gentle on their home 

turf in the big match against the Tigers. 

Things went badly from the start for the 

hosts; on five minutes an awful ricochet 

left Rodrigo Ramallo through on goal and 

he made it 1-0 to the visitors. Hope was 

restored shortly before the break when 

Leonel Morales equalised with a sensational 

volley from an acute angle. 

In the second half The Strongest took 

command of the game again, although 

there was more than a hint of luck about 

their winning goal. Paraguayan Ernest 

Cristaldo’s header was meant more as an 

assist but the ball bounced off Sport Boys’ 

Helmut Gutierrez and into his own net. 

The Strongest saw out the rest of the 

game comfortably and never looked like 

surrendering their lead. Their opponents 

lacked imagination and determination, 

as well an enforcer who could get in the 

faces of the opponents when they needed 

to. Unfortunately Evo Morales was 

taking part in an anti-drugs campaign 

on the weekend and had no time to play 

football. Å 

Xinhua / imago 

16 THE FIFA WEEKLY

Azerbaijan: Supreme League 

Gabala FK aiming 

for first title 

Emanuele Giulianelli is a 

freelance football correspondent 

based in Milan. 

Gabala FK are determined to 

break new ground on the 

tenth anniversary of their creation. After 

finishing third in the last two league campaigns, 

each time behind Qarabag and Inter 

Baku, the representatives of Azerbaijan’s 

oldest city have their sights set on winning 

their first national title. 

Yet with five matches played in the Azerbaijan 

Premier League, which is also known as 

the Supreme League, the clear frontrunners 

are Qarabag Agdam, who are forced to play 

their home games in the capital due to the 

long-running and bloody Nagorno-Karabakh 

conflict. The two-time defending champions 

top the table with 13 points from four wins 

and an away draw at Gabala on the opening 

day. That stalemate finished 2-2 after Estonian 

forward Sergei Zenjov had struck first 

for the hosts, who then fell behind to a 

double from the champions’ Brazilian 

midfielder Richard Almeida, now in his 

fourth season with the club. The home side 

then equalised three minutes from time 

through Samir Zargarov. 

Gabala share second spot with Inter Baku 

on ten points, both teams having lost only 

once so far this season. 

Qarabag and Gabala are also the only Azerbaijani 

clubs still in contention in a UEFA 

club competition. Gabala, competing in the 

Europa League for the second time, drew 0-0 

at home to Greek side PAOK Salonika in 

their opening group qualifier. Qarabag fell to 

a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham, despite playing 

well and demonstrating their intention to 

avoid being labelled the group’s weakest 

team. Qarabag still have a chance of emulating 

or even exceeding their excellent performance 

last season, when they came within a 

point of progressing past the group stage. 

Last crowned league winners in 2010, Inter 

Baku are the third title favourites in the 

Azeri championship, which is one of the 

least well attended in Europe with an average 

of around 1600 spectators per game. 

Three points separate the top trio, with 

fourth-placed Zira FK close behind on nine 

points. The Baku-based newcomers, who 

were founded only 13 months ago, are intent 

on bettering the surprising fifth place they 

achieved in their maiden season and are still 

unbeaten in the current league campaign, 

having already obtained a commendable 0-0 

draw at home to Inter Baku. 

Propping up the ten-team table with no 

points and no goals scored are another 

capital city side, AZAL, whose prospects of 

staying in the division will be boosted if 

they distinguish themselves in back-to-back 

away meetings against high-flyers Qarabag 

and Gabala in late October. Å 

ZUMA Press / imago 

On the European stage 

Sergei Zenjov (l.) in Europa 

League action for Gabala in 

their 0-0 draw with 

PAOK Salonika. 


17

THE INTERVIEW 

“If you work hard, 

you’ll reap the rewards” 

Mathieu Valbuena is a hard worker, a playmaker and a danger to any defence. 

In an interview, the 30-year-old French international discusses his difficult 

beginnings in Bordeaux, his tenacity and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. 

Mathieu Valbuena, which players did you enjoy 

watching most? 

Mathieu Valbuena: My idol has always 

been Ronaldo, Il Fenomeno, who could do 

incredible things with the ball. Romario and 

Rivaldo also fired my imagination back then 

and did great things for Barça. They didn’t 

play like everyone else – they were football 

geniuses. When you’re a kid, it’s players like 

those who get you dreaming. They’re the 

reason people say football is beautiful, and 

they create passion for the sport. 

Your own image is that of a player who had to 

work harder than most to get where you are. 

Why is that? 

It’s never been easy for me because of my 

build, which raised question marks for a lot 

of people. I started out at Bordeaux at the age 

of eight and completed my training there, but 

when I was 18 and it was time to progress to 

the first team, they put the brakes on. It was 

because of my size, or perhaps because I 

wasn’t ready to take on the physical challenge 

at the time. I left and had to finish my 

training elsewhere, at smaller, amateur clubs. 

It was tough because when you go from 

training sessions every day to sessions twice 

a week, you need to train on your own to be 

able to continue believing in your dream. 

When you get rejected at 18 you can’t exactly 

be a tower of strength, but I busted a gut 

and never gave up. It ended up making 

me stronger. 

How did you react at the time? 

I cried. It really made me sad because I 

felt like my world was suddenly collapsing. 

My parents, and my father in particular, were 

the driving forces who pushed me to keep 

believing. They told me I was still young and 

that I needed to work and follow a different 

path to keep progressing in order to get there 

in the end. I went to Langon and then 

Libourne, where it was tough for me to 

impose myself, but I’ve always been able to 

achieve my goals. My strength has been my 

capacity to stick at a task despite nothing 

having ever been easy, whether it was 

becoming a professional, winning a starting 

place at each new club or getting into the 

national team. Thanks to hard work and 

self-sacrifice, values which have always been 

my strengths, I’ve always managed to turn 

things around. 

How did your difficult start in the game make 

you stronger? 

It was a blessing in disguise. I didn’t get 

everything handed to me on a plate. Today 

you see a lot of players who sign professional 

contracts very young and suddenly find 

themselves in a comfortable situation. If 

I’d signed with Bordeaux, perhaps I never 

would’ve had the career I’ve had and wouldn’t 

have become an international. The fact that 

I was cast aside was like a wake-up call. 

What aspect of your personality made it 

possible for you to overcome all those 

challenges? 

I think it’s a kind of carefree attitude. 

I also had a respect for hard work which I got 

from my parents, and I was passionate about 

football. Football is my whole life and I get 

huge pleasure from playing games or kicking 

the ball around with friends. These days you 

don’t find as many passionate people in 

football. I’m just happy when I get to train 

and kick a ball, and when I play I’m not 

thinking about anything else. That’s what 

gives me strength. 

Does that same quality explain why you have 

tended to perform well in big games? 

For me, it’s a pleasure to play in a big 

game. You have to approach it positively and 

enjoy it. If you work hard, you’ll always reap 

the rewards. It’s true that I got to score in 

some important matches when I was at 

Marseille. My debuts have tended to be 

successful as well. For example, my first 

Champions League game was at Liverpool, 

where I scored. It was the same with my 

international debut. For me, that’s a positive 

pressure. I try to make the most of it so as 

to have no regrets when I end my career. 

How did your experiences at the 2014 FIFA 

World Cup Brazil change you? 

On a personal level, it was an adventure 

like nothing else I’d ever experienced. Leaving 

aside the fact that we all performed well, the 

cohesion in the squad was extraordinary, as 

were the stadiums and the ambience. And 

that fact that it was held in Brazil added 

something very special to the mix. It was a 

great moment and scoring a goal against 

Switzerland remains my greatest career 

memory. 

Having spent a year in Russia, what are your 

expectations of the 2018 World Cup? 

I can tell you that they’re thinking about 

it a lot. We’re thinking about it too, but it’s 

still some way off because we’re due to 

have the EURO in France. Having seen 

the stadiums and the projects under 

construction, I can assure you that the 

infrastructure is fantastic and that it’ll 

be a truly great World Cup. 

What are your thoughts on France’s qualifying 

group, with Les Bleus drawn alongside the 

Netherlands, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus and 

Luxembourg? 

There are no easy groups whatever 

happens. We lost to Albania at the end of 

last season. There are no small teams any 

more – the days when you could beat 

Azerbaijan 10-0 are long gone. We’ll have to 

fight hard, as in every qualifying campaign. 

We had to go through the play-offs to reach 

the last World Cup, so I hope that this time 

we’ll finish top. Å 

Mathieu Valbuena was speaking to 

Pascal de Miramon 

18 THE FIFA WEEKLY

pressesports 

Name 

Mathieu Valbuena 

Date and place of birth 

28 September 1984, Bruges, France 

Position 

Midfielder 

Clubs played for 

2001-2003 Girondins Bordeaux 

2003-2004 Jeunes de Langon-Castets 

2004-2006 Libourne-Saint-Seurin 

2006-2014 Olympique Marseille 

2014-2015 Dinamo Moscow 

since 2015 Olympique Lyon 

France national team 

50 caps, 8 goals 


19

First Love 

Place: Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire 

Date: 6 April 2014 

Time: 4.43 p.m. 

Photographer: Malte Jaeger 

20 THE FIFA WEEKLY

laif THE FIFA WEEKLY 21

Football breaks down barriers 

Football builds bridges. It has a unique power to inspire friendship, respect and equality. 

FIFA’s Say No To Racism campaign is part of our commitment to tackle all forms of discrimination in football. 

Everyone should have the right to play and enjoy football without fear of discrimination. Say no to racism. 

For more information visit FIFA.com

FIFA WORLD FOOTBALL MUSEUM 

PRESIDENTIAL NOTE 

FIFA World Football Museum 

now in home straight 

Reform must be global 

Olivier Morin / AFP 

Inspection Alessandro Del Piero (left) and Marta visit the construction site. 

Major construction work has been underway in Zurich since March 

2014, with FIFA Museum AG building the FIFA World Football 

Museum at the very heart of the city. Work on the interior of the 

museum began in September, with fitting-out work currently being 

undertaken on all three exhibition levels in order to install the complex 

background technology for more than 1,000 exclusive exhibits. 

The museum will boast an interactive world of experiences with no 

fewer than 60 screens, but it is the installation of the unique pinball 

machine that is particularly challenging. 

“I can’t wait to see the Museum. We are creating a special meeting 

place, because it will bring shared memories and emotions to life, 

and therefore bring the whole international football family together,” 

said FIFA President Sepp Blatter. 

The start of the interior fitting-out phase means that the FIFA 

World Football Museum has now entered the home straight. “It is 

great that work has finally begun on the inside of the museum,” said 

Stefan Jost, CEO of FIFA Museum AG. “Everything that we have only 

known from plans so far is now beginning to take shape.” Another 

person working at full steam at the moment is Creative Director 

David Ausseil: “There is still a lot to do. Apart from installing the 

complex technology, we also need to check all of the museum’s content 

to make sure that there are no mistakes, review all of the translations, 

and also finalise all of the video material.” Work on the interior 

of the museum will be finished by the end of October, which is 

when an intensive test phase will begin for all areas of the museum. 

Nevertheless, Stefan Jost is still confident that “we will be able to 

open the museum in the first quarter of 2016”. 

Once complete, the Museum will boast an exhibition area measuring 

more than 3,000m 2 over three levels, covering all aspects of 

the world of football. An interactive, multimedia world of experiences 

will give visitors the chance to look at the emotions that football 

awakens on a daily basis all around the world, thrilling people and 

shaping their lives. Å 

tfw 

FIFA’s 2011 reforms helped us to establish a stronger foundation for 

the governance of football around the world. However, the highly 

regrettable events this year have made it painfully clear those 

changes have not been enough. 

While most of the recommended 2011 reforms were approved by 

a global vote at the FIFA Congress, they have not been embraced in 

full throughout the framework responsible for the day-to-day control 

of football around the world. We must put this right, once and for 

all, with water-tight reforms and a genuine commitment from all 

football administrators. 

We need to show that we understand the severity of this situation 

and that we are ready to take the right steps to fix it. 

But FIFA cannot achieve this change in football alone. We need 

the full cooperation of the six confederations, our member associations 

and national authorities. FIFA supports the actions of the U.S. 

and Swiss authorities and we will continue to do so, no matter how 

close to home those investigations get. This is the difficult path we 

must follow if we are serious about change. 

I am confident that Dr. Francois Carrard and the 2016 Reform 

Committee will deliver a credible package of reforms with the substance 

to help us restore credibility and trust. The independent 

chairman of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee Domenico 

Scala has put forward a strong list of proposals to FIFA which has 

helped to set the tone and direction of this next phase of reforms. 

I expect all member associations to fully support this reform 

process at the Extraordinary Congress in February. To fail to do so 

would represent a betrayal of our institution, of football and of the 

millions of fans around the world that rightly expect the highest 

standards from those managing the game. 

Our goal must be to give FIFA, the institution, the opportunity 

to move forward next year and to build on the progress we have 

achieved in staging competitions and developing football around the 

world since 1904. If we do not act now, we will be putting all of that 

work at risk. 

Best wishes, Sepp Blatter 


23

RUSSIA 

Name 

Leonid Viktorovich Slutsky 

Date and place of birth 

4 May 1971, Volgograd 

Clubs played for 

1989 FC Zvezda Gorodishche 

Clubs coached 

2000 FC Olympia Volgograd 

2003-2004 FC Elista 

2005-2007 FC Moscow 

2008-2009 Krylia Sovetov Samara 

Since 2009 CSKA Moscow 

Since 2015 Russia national team 

Three footballs, two jobs Multi-tasking is not a problem for Leonid Slutsky. 

Alexander Vilf / RIA Novosti / AFP 

24 THE FIFA WEEKLY

RUSSIA 

Dual expectations 

Not only is Leonid Slutsky head coach at CSKA Moscow, he is also in charge of 

leading Russia through the final phase of EURO 2016 qualifying. However, performing 

both roles is no problem for the successful strategist, writes Ivan Tarasenko. 

As Russia continues to prepare to host 

the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, its 

national team is starting life under a 

new coach: current CSKA Moscow 

boss Leonid Slutsky. For the first time 

since 2006, the Russian Football Union 

(RFU) has entrusted the job to a Russian 

national, following the appointments of 

Dutchmen Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat, 

and the Italian Fabio Capello. What made the 

selection even more unusual is that Slutsky 

has agreed to take charge of the national 

team until the end of the UEFA EURO 2016 

qualifiers while still fulfilling his coaching 

duties at CSKA Moscow, where he has been 

in charge for six years, winning the Russian 

Premier League twice and the Russian Cup 

twice. 

“I know that having a part-time coach is 

unusual in modern football, but it’s not the 

first time this has happened in Russian or 

world football,” he said. 

“When I spoke to the RFU, we talked 

about a short period of time, four to six 

EURO 2016 qualifiers. It’s an exceptional 

measure. Russia’s got into difficulties in its 

group, so when the offer was put to me, I said 

yes. For any coach in my position, I think it 

would have been entirely natural to answer 

the call and help the national team, even if 

it’s only for a few matches.” 

Multi-tasking not an issue 

As a result, Slutsky’s autumn schedule now 

looks particularly daunting. It includes the 

domestic title race, which CSKA are currently 

leading, the UEFA Champions League 

group phase, in which they lost to Wolfsburg 

and still have to face Manchester United and 

PSV Eindhoven, and key EURO 2016 qualifiers. 

Yet this packed programme holds no fear 

for the 44-year-old. 

“I don’t see a problem here,” he said. “In 

modern football, what a coach needs to think 

about above all is the next game. I’ve already 

been operating that way for a number of 

years and it’s nothing new for me. I know virtually 

all the players in the national team – 

they’re all playing in the Russian Premier 

League. The only exception is Denis Cheryshev 

at Real Madrid, but we’ve spoken on a 

few occasions.” 

However, critics argue that coaches performing 

dual roles can develop a conflict of 

interest. A club coach who also works with 

the national team could, for instance, lack 

objectivity when it comes to players he 

knows well. 

“I think any coach in 

my position would 

have answered the 

call to help the 

national team.” 

Leonid Sluzki 

Slutsky is not too concerned in that regard: 

“My main objective is to get good results. 

If we can do that then it doesn’t matter 

what people accuse me of. If we don’t get 

results then me favouring certain players is 

only one of many things I could be criticised 

for. So I’m really not worried about it.” 

A year in hospital 

If Slutsky sounds confident, it is not without 

good reason. Domestically, he has been one 

of the most successful coaches in recent 

years, helping CSKA to hold their own 

against a star-studded Zenit St Petersburg 

side. In 2009, he was the first coach to lead a 

Russian club into the quarter-finals of the 

UEFA Champions League, and before that he 

enjoyed more local success with Krylya 

Sovetov from Samara and FC Moscow. But as 

far as the strategist is concerned, his finest 

achievement to date was his work with the 

Olimpia youth team in Volgograd at the very 

outset of his career. 

“At Olimpia I was working with boys who 

were born around 1982, and 17 of them ended 

up playing professionally. That’s just an unbelievably 

high percentage, pretty much impossible. 

I’m proud of that,” he remarked. 

Slutsky himself, unlike the overwhelming 

majority of Russian coaches, has virtually no 

experience of playing professional football. 

His bourgeoning career ended when he was 

19, after he was injured falling out of a tree 

while trying to rescue a neighbour’s cat. 

“The woman next door came round and 

asked me to help retrieve her cat from a tree,” 

the Volgograd native explained. “I climbed 

up the tree but then I fell. The result was an 

open compound fracture of my left kneecap. 

It’s the sort of injury that not only rules you 

out of football, but also affects every part of 

your life. In all I spent a year in hospital and, 

while I was able to work on my leg and later 

tried to get back into football, it didn’t happen. 

But now, as a coach, when I look back at 

what happened, it was no great loss to Russian 

football to be deprived of Slutsky the 

player.” 

Russia’s “Special One” 

When Slutsky later began coaching in the 

Russian Premier League, the local press 

dubbed him “the Russian Mourinho” given 

his lack of experience as a professional player. 

“When the president of FC Moscow, Yuro 

Belous, hired me, he was asked why he was 

employing someone who had never played 

football,” Slutsky recalls. “He answered: 

‘Mourinho never played professionally either.’ 

That’s how what is really a far-fetched 

comparison started. But I was pretty relaxed 

about it.” 

Although Slutsky has done most of his 

coaching in Moscow, he has strong links with 

other parts of Russia. He was born in Volgograd, 

and spent a year coaching in Samara . 

Both cities will be hosting matches at Russia 

2018, and, according to the CSKA boss, are 

very excited about the prospect. 

“People in Russia, and the provinces in 

particular, are really looking forward to the 

World Cup. For these cities, it’s the chance of 

a lifetime to see the best stadiums, the best 

footballers, to bring about real improvements 

in infrastructure and to be part of 

the international community. Not everyone 

living in these cities has the opportunity 

to travel abroad. They’re already looking 


25

RUSSIA 

A VERY PERSONAL TOUCH 

Numerous events were held across Russia to mark 1,000 days until the 

Opening Match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The activities centred on a volunteer 

programme aimed at giving the tournament an individual touch. 

Kick-off The countdown gets underway in Moscow’s Red Square. 

Anticipation 1,000 days to go until the Opening Match of Russia 2018. 

Representative 1990 world champion Lothar Matthaus gets involved. 

Friday 18 September marked 1,000 days until the 2018 

FIFA World Cup Russia begins with the Opening Match 

at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. To mark this significant 

milestone, over 45,000 people in 33 cities across Russia 

took part in a whole host of events organised by the Russia 

2018 Local Organising Committee (LOC) with support from 

the Volunteer Centres Association and the Russian Student 

Sports Clubs Association. The main focus was on attracting 

volunteers for the tour nament itself, a process that will begin 

in the second quarter of next year. 

“For us, the community of volunteers plays an important role 

in promoting a positive image of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia,” 

said Alexey Sorokin, CEO of the Russia 2018 LOC. “In fact, 

volunteers will become the face of this global event. We are happy 

that the chance to take part in the Volunteer Programme has 

attracted such huge interest from across the country. And the 

1,000 day countdown has clearly shown that. To date, Russia 

2018 LOC volunteer centres have already been selected in all 11 

Host Cities, but we are going to run the volunteer programme as 

a single team. Volunteer candidates will be able to apply to take 

part from the second quarter of 2016.” 

In other events to mark the 1,000 day countdown, football 

matches and masterclasses took place across the length and 

breadth of the country with schools and universities getting 

involved, while volunteers in Arkhangelsk and Tambov helped 

youngsters who have grown up in orphanages develop their 

footballing skills. In Vladivostok, Russian First Division side 

Luch Energiya hosted a mini-football tournament, with Russia’s 

Minister of Sport and Chairman of the Russia 2018 LOC 

Vitaly Mutko eager to stress the physical benefits that playing 

football brings. “It is important for us that sport and 

healthy lifestyles become increasingly popular among young 

people,” he said. “In terms of preparations for the 2018 FIFA 

World Cup, we are building a multitude of sports venues 

across practically the entire European part of Russia. This is 

not just new stadiums, it is also training grounds and team 

bases. This will all lay the foundations for the rich legacy that 

the tournament will leave behind, and we are certain it will 

help improve the nation’s health.” Å 

tfw 

Sefa Karacan / Anadolu Agency / AFP, Pavel Lisitsyn / RIA Novosti / AFP, Golovanov + Kivrin / imago 

26 THE FIFA WEEKLY

RUSSIA 

Successful start Leonid Slutsky (r.) won his first two matches as Russia head coach and is satisfied with the way his team played. 

Grigoriy Sisoev / RIA Novosti / AFP 

forward to the World Cup. So I want to tell 

all football fans planning to come to Russia 

that they’ll quite simply be charmed by the 

people they meet, especially in the regions, 

and they’ll be charmed by the feel-good atmosphere 

the tournament will bring to these 

cities.” 

So would Slutsky himself like to be national 

team coach when Russia hosts the 

World Cup? “I don’t really think in those 

terms,” he said. “I just go from one match to 

the next without looking that far ahead. But 

it’s definitely the case that, for any coach, it 

would be very prestigious, and also very 

emotional, to prepare your national team for 

a World Cup at home.” 

Striving for recognition 

Slutsky is currently focusing on the crucial 

upcoming EURO 2016 qualifiers. Critics of 

the national team still claim the current lineup 

lacks stars, but that is not quite the way 

the coach sees it. “If ‘stars’ means players 

from the top clubs in the best leagues, then 

that’s true, we don’t have any,” he acknowledged. 

“That said, Cheryshev’s at Madrid, 

and we would really like to see him get more 

playing time there. But the way I see it, the 

Russian championship doesn’t get the recognition 

it deserves. I think the national team’s 

got really good players, and they’re absolutely 

up to the challenge facing them at the moment 

– which is to qualify for EURO 2016.” Å 

Russia’s path to 

EURO 2016 

With two wins from as many games at the 

beginning of September, Leonid Slutsky 

got his tenure as Russia national team 

coach off to the perfect start. In 2016 

European Championship qualifying his 

side posted a 1-0 victory over Sweden – 

direct rivals for a place at the tournament 

– and also beat Liechtenstein 7-0. 

The wins lifted Russia to second in the 

Group G standings on 14 points, two 

ahead of Sweden in third and eight behind 

Austria, who have already booked their 

ticket to the finals. Russia’s hopes of securing 

automatic qualification are therefore 

in their own hands as they head into their 

final two games against Moldova and 

Montenegro. 


27

RIVER PLATE 

Third triumph 

River Plate were in celebratory mood following their Copa Libertadores success in August. 

No fear of Barcelona 

In 1986 Antonio Alzamendi helped River Plate win their maiden Copa Libertadores 

title and then the Intercontinental Cup. He believes the current side could repeat 

that feat at the Club World Cup in Japan in December. 

Though the days of Antonio Alzamendi speeding down the wing 

or cutting inside and ghosting past defenders in the No7 River 

Plate jersey may be over, the Millonarios faithful have far from 

forgotten him. Now 59 and sporting a shock of white hair, the 

Uruguayan forward says that he has become “sensitive” with age, 

which might explain his reaction to the adulation he received 

from the River fans on a recent trip to Buenos Aires. 

It came on 3 August, when Alzamendi made the journey from his native 

Uruguay to the Argentinian capital to see his beloved River claim the 

Copa Libertadores title. His appearance caused the home fans to strike 

up an old chant once sung in his honour, back in the days when he 

became a club legend on the back of the header that gave Los Millonarios 

a 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 Intercontinental Cup. 

“Hearing them sing “Uruguayo, Uruguayo!” gave me goose bumps,” 

Alzamendi said, recalling that heartfelt ovation from the fans. “It had 

me shaking all over. I was lucky enough to score the most important 

goal in River’s history and that’s kept me in their thoughts.” 

Anxious to downplay his part in that triumph, Alzamendi added: 

“We were a team that filled in the biggest black hole in the club’s history, 

and that was never having won the Copa Libertadores and the 

world title. What we did is still fresh in the memory, and it was a landmark 

achievement for one of the most important clubs in the world.” 

Xinhua / imago 

28 THE FIFA WEEKLY

RIVER PLATE 

“We weren’t little kids. 

We were a pretty fierce bunch.” 

Antonio Alzamendi 

River’s relationship with the Libertadores was an unhappy one 

until the likes of Alzamendi, Norberto Beto Alonso, Oscar Ruggeri, 

Hector Enrique, Nery Pumpido, Americo Gallego and Juan Gilberto 

Funes broke the curse in October 1986. Less than two months later 

they travelled to Japan – where River will return this December to 

contest the FIFA Club World Cup. Alzamendi's goal then earned his 

side their one and only Intercontinental Cup win and completed, in 

the space of only 46 days, an international double that broke a 26-year 

hoodoo. 

Feeling like King Kong 

“The pressure was on us in every game, but we had a group of players 

who could stand up to anything,” Alzamendi continued. “We were up 

for any challenge, and we didn’t care who we came up against because 

we were confident we could beat anyone. 

“It was a team that broke with River’s history. Maybe we didn’t play 

the prettiest football but we were very strong. That team had a lot of 

character.” 

The motivational skills of coach Hector Veira were also crucial to 

their success: “El Bambino convinced us that we could go down in the 

club’s history,” Alzamendi explained. “His team talks got you so pumped 

up you felt like King Kong.” 

After sweeping their continental rivals aside, Veira’s River travelled 

to Tokyo to take on a Steaua side that had stunned everyone by beating 

Barcelona in the European Cup final and which contained seasoned 

Romania internationals such as Marius Lacatus, Miodrag Belodedici, 

Adrian Bumbescu and Gavril Balint. 

Describing the first time they caught sight of their opponents, 

Alzamendi summed up the psychology of that River squad: “We arrived 

in Japan virtually at the same time as the Romanians. They were 

wearing suits and we were in this gym gear that was so tight we looked 

like dancers. 

“We said to ourselves: ‘Look at those madmen. Look at them. Look 

at the meat on them. We’re going to eat them anyway. We’re going to 

beat them anyway.’ And that’s how it turned out. It was very difficult 

to get the better of us. We had four world champions with Argentina 

and five members of the Uruguayan national team. We weren’t little 

kids. We were a pretty fierce bunch.” 

River’s dream now is to win their semi-final on 16 December and 

then take down the mighty Barcelona in the final four days later in 

Yokohama. But is it an impossible one? “If I bumped into Luis Enrique, 

I’d tell him to watch out because River have got what it takes,” replied 

a defiant Alzamendi. 

“Barcelona have got [Luis] Suarez, [Lionel] Messi, Neymar and 

[Andres] Iniesta but it’s just the same as when we played the Romanians. 

There are only 11 of them. I think River have got a real chance. I 

suppose they’re Goliath and we’re David. Watch out, because a little 

stone could do them a lot of damage.” 

Speaking with true Uruguayan grit, the former No7 added: “Roque 

Maspoli, who played in goal in the Maracanazo in 1950, used to say to 

us: ‘Everyone said Brazil would beat us 99 times out of 100, but we beat 

them the one time we had to. Brazil can have the other 99.’ 

“I think River can do the same. Barcelona would maybe win nine 

times out of ten, but let’s see what happens when the game’s played. 

Football is all about doing it when you have to, and this team has 

responded superbly when it’s had to stand up and be counted.” Å 

Eduardo Barassi 

AFLOSPORT / imago 

Semi-final on 16 December 

Many of the fans who witnessed River’s three Libertadores wins – the 

second of which came in 1996, a year in which they went on to lose to 

Juventus in Japan – believe the current champions and the class of ‘86 

have a lot in common. Having followed their Libertadores run to the 

final on TV (“I like watching football in peace and quiet, at home with 

my wife and sipping on mate”), Alzamendi agreed in part. 

“The players are totally different in terms of characteristics but 

they’ve got a similar team spirit and this team has also learned how to 

win finals and get through tough games,” he said. “When we beat the 

Brazilians in the quarters (a 3-0 victory over Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte 

following a 1-0 home defeat in the first leg), I saw a very strong team. 

They showed a huge amount of character, and the coach Marcelo Gallardo 

has got a lot of personality and knows the game inside out.” 

Match winner 

Antonio Alzamendi (c.) at the 1986 Intercontinental Cup. 


29

FOOTBALL 

FOR HOPE 

Football for Hope is our global commitment to building a better future through football. To date, we have supported 

over 550 socially-responsible community projects that use football as a tool for social development, improving the lives 

and prospects of young people and their surrounding communities 

To find out more, visit the Sustainability section on FIFA.com.

FREE KICK 

SPOTLIGHT ON 

GENERAL 

INFORMATION 

Country: 

Sri Lanka 

FIFA Trigramme: 

SRI 

Confederation: 

AFC 

Continent: 

Asia 

Capital: 

Colombo 

Fan favourite 

Annette Braun 

GEOGRAPHIC 

INFORMATION 

Surface area: 

65,610 km² 

Highest point: 

Pidurutalagala 2,524 m 

Neighbouring seas and oceans: 

Indian Ocean 

Mario Wagner / 2Agenten 

During his 13 years at Borussia Dortmund, 

Dede won two Bundesliga titles and made 

399 competitive appearances, of which 

322 were in the league and 47 on the European 

stage. The Brazilian striker was with the 

Yellow-and-Blacks from 1998 to 2011 and has 

long since secured a place in Dortmund fans’ 

hearts. 

At the beginning of September it became 

clear just how popular Dede is among the 

Dortmund faithful and at the club itself at 

his testimonial, in which he played alongside 

numerous former team-mates and global 

stars in front of a crowd of 80,000. The sheer 

number of spectators present underlined the 

impact the former No.17 made on the Ruhr 

district club, having stayed with them 

through thick and thin. 

Dortmund and Dede triumphed together 

and also stood side by side when the club 

faced insolvency; far from pushing them 

apart, it brought them closer together. The 

Brazilian rejected attractive financial offers 

from other clubs and stayed in Dortmund, 

saying the city was his home. 

Players with that kind of loyalty are a 

rarity in the fast-moving world of the modern 

game, and as such they are honoured and 

showered with affection. Football fans have 

big hearts and an equally big desire for support 

and devotion. Although they have the 

opportunity to cheer their team on every 

week, there are decreasing numbers of players 

they can truly identify with. 

Dede was one such player. He was one of 

the fans and is still a hugely popular figure in 

Dortmund to this day, despite the fact he has 

not played for the club for four years and is 

currently working as an assistant coach in 

Turkey. 

Once supporters have taken a hero into 

their hearts, their admiration and affection 

know no bounds. Dede’s testimonial between 

a World XI and a ‘national team’ selected by 

him filled a stadium, making it the all-time 

best-attended farewell fixture in Europe. Å 

The weekly column by our staff writers 

MEN’S FOOTBALL 

FIFA Ranking: 

184th 

World Cup: 

No appearances 

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL 

FIFA Ranking: 

124th 

World Cup: 

No appearances 

LATEST RESULTS 

Men’s: 

Bhutan - Sri Lanka 2:1 

17 March 2015 

Women’s: 

Indien - Sri Lanka 4:0 

13 March 2015 

FIFA INVESTMENTS 

Since 2001: 

$ 4,189,220 


31

MIRROR IMAGE 

T H E N 

Westminster, England 

1958 

Laundry drying slowly in the cold, wet English climate. 

Sven Torfinn / laif 

32 THE FIFA WEEKLY

MIRROR IMAGE 

N O W 

Elmina, Ghana 

2012 

The process is rather quicker with the help of an Atlantic breeze. 

mauritius images 


33

THE ART OF FOOTBALL 

QUOTES OF THE WEEK 

Formation and fortune 

Ronald Düker 

“We’ve earned the right to be 

in the top ten of the World Ranking 

and are on the verge of doing 

something special.” 

Wales team coach Chris Coleman 

“It’s the saddest day of my life. I was 

with him when he was born, shared an 

experience for seven years that will 

never be repeated, and gave him his last 

kiss goodbye. I’ve not shed so many 

tears in years but my grief is shared. 

Life will not be the same without you.” 

Michael Owen after his beloved horse Brown 

Panther was put down after suffering an injury 

defending the Irish St Leger crown 

Imagebroker / imago 

Never before have tactical line-ups and 

strategies been as popular a topic of debate 

as they are today. Formations such 

as 4-4-2, 5-3-2, 4-3-3 and even 4-2-3-1 are 

bandied about as though they were being 

read from a telephone directory. Back in the 

1970s, though, it was a rather different story: 

legendary head coach Rinus Michels' 

'total football' system gave his players licence 

to roam the pitch and switch positions 

with more regularity and flexibility 

than ever before. Michels' Oranje ran rings 

around their opponents at the 1974 World 

Cup - at least until the semi-final stage. Despite 

the apparent fluidity of Michels' approach, 

there was an obvious structure to 

his 4-3-3 system, providing a platform for 

his players to prosper. 

Certain other systems have long been 

consigned to the history books. The very 

attacking 2-3-5 formation, which enjoyed 

great popularity during the 19th century, 

was known as the Pyramid, while the ultra-defensive 

1-4-3-2 formation employed by 

the Italians to slowly wear down the opposition 

over a century later is commonly 

called Catenaccio. 

One thing that football fans the world 

over have grown accustomed to in recent 

years are the TV graphics that serve as a 

visual aid of how a team is set to line up. The 

pitch is depicted as an abstract rectangle, 

while the players are portrayed as small 

dots. These dots are typically lined up in 

rows of varying length, although it would be 

impossible to draw a straight line along 

them: some of the dots are positioned further 

forward than others in any given row, 

depending on the more defensive or attacking 

role of the player in question. Though a 

player's movement can only be outlined in 

this rather primitive fashion, these graphics 

are nonetheless able to relay a team's set-up 

reasonably accurately. 

Let us take a moment to compare these 

tactical diagrams with a roulette table - a 

green baize surface covered in red and black 

squares which are numbered from 1 to 36. 

The zero on a roulette table is almost exactly 

where the goal would be on a diagram of 

a football pitch. A roulette player can choose 

between a number of moves - or bets - which 

are listed in rectangles that run parallel to 

the numbered squares on the other side of 

the “touchline”: Passe, Manque, Pair, Impair, 

Rouge and Noir. Just like the dots denoting 

the players on the football pitch, the 

roulette chips can be moved up and down 

the table onto one of the squares. The comparison 

ends, however, with the roulette 

wheel through which the ball spins before 

eventually slowing down and deciding the 

gambler's fate. 

Coaches can be as meticulous as they 

like: no matter how compelling their team's 

formation, whether they win or lose is ultimately 

decided by an entirely different power. 

Sometimes the result is fair, sometimes 

it is not; but it is always unpredictable. This 

is precisely why so many of us regard 

football as the most beautiful game in the 

world. Just as in a game of roulette, once the 

ball is in motion the outcome is in the hands 

of the gods. Were this not the case, we 

might as well replace human footballers 

with robots. Å 

“There are a lot of stars in this 

Paris team – the only place where 

you can find more is in the sky!” 

Age Hareide, Malmo’s coach, 

on Paris Saint-Germain 

“My team is like the RA – beep, beep, 

beep! I love it. When you want to build 

something, it’s about the club. The head 

of the fish. That’s the secret. Now I want 

a clean sheet. If we get one I’ll pay for 

pizza… and maybe even a hotdog.” 

Claudio Ranieri on Leicester City 

“He was a very direct guy. One day he 

would humiliate you in front of the entire 

team and the following day he would 

make you feel like Zidane.” 

Barcelona’s Xavi on Louis van Gaal 

“Wrestling has definitely had an impact 

on my physical attributes, my agility and 

on the way I control my body. It taught 

me to think of myself as an individual. 

In wrestling, the only one taking 

responsibility is me.” 

Finland international Emmi Alanen 


35

FIFA PARTNER

HONDURAS 

“I want a 

fresh style 

for Honduras” 

Some crises provide genuine 

opportunities for renewal, 

which is exactly how veteran 

Colombian coach Jorge Luis 

Pinto is looking at his ongoing 

assignment with Honduras. 

Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images 

Los Catrachos’ underwhelming showing at 

the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup revealed 

their shortcomings and the scale of the 

task he faces in turning their fortunes 

around. Now ten months into his tenure, 

the 62-year-old Pinto shared his thoughts 

and plans in an exclusive interview. “Transitions 

from one generation to the next are always 

painful, but it’s allowed me to look for a 

fresh style for Honduras,” he said, getting 

straight to the point and identifying his main 

challenge. 

Honduras enjoyed unprecedented success 

in the period between 2009 and 2014, qualifying 

for the FIFA World Cup twice in a row for 

the first time in the country’s history and doing 

so directly, without having to go through the 

intercontinental play-offs. Though talented, 

the generation that achieved that feat went to 

Brazil 2014 as the second-oldest squad in the 

competition, with an average age of 28.56. And 

after La H went tumbling out in the group 

phase, the time had come for a generational 

handover. 

Pinto knew as much when he signed the 

contract that made him national team coach, 

making that handover his number one priority: 

“We analysed the team’s recent past and realised 

that was the course we needed to take. We 

had no option,” he said. “That’s just the way 

things are, and the idea is for the team to gradually 

pick up the concepts they need so that 

there’s no vacuum and no shortfall in terms of 

experience.” 

That process of change is already under 

way. Of the 23 players called up by Pinto for the 

friendlies against Ecuador and Venezuela, only 

seven are survivors from the squad that contested 

last year’s world finals. 

“There’s a new generation of talented young 

players coming through,” commented Pinto. 

“Some of them already have experience of playing 

abroad and have had a taste of international 

football, which is really important in my 

eyes. It’s something we can work with.” 

A results business 

The transition is proving anything but easy, 

however, as recent results show. Since their 

elimination at Brazil 2014, Honduras have lost 

11 of the 20 matches they have played, winning 

only five and drawing the remaining four. In 

the process, they finished a lowly fifth in last 

year’s Copa Centroamericana 2014 and were 

knocked out in the group phase of the recent 

Gold Cup after losing to USA and Haiti and 

drawing with Panama. 

Despite that unsatisfactory run of form, 

the coach sees reasons to be optimistic. “Some 

games have been learning experiences and 

have been demanding for us, especially the 

ones with Brazil and Mexico,” he explained. “To 

my mind, the results in the Gold Cup don’t reflect 

how we played. We performed well, but we 

made some schoolboy errors. It hasn’t been 

easy, but my feeling is that, one way or another, 

we’re doing fine.” 

A coach of great experience and the man 

who took Costa Rica to the quarter-finals in 

Brazil last year, Pinto is aware that it will take 

time for his message to get through and for the 

new Honduras to take shape. Nevertheless, his 

objective is clear and he knows that it can only 

be achieved through hard work: “I want this 

team to do more with the ball, to play a faster 

game than they used to.” 

A 3-0 defeat of Venezuela suggested that 

the wily Pinto might be on the right track. He 

certainly believes so: “The talent is there. All 

we need to do is work on it, because these players 

can go far.” Å 

Martin Langer 


37

WOMEN’S WORLD RANKING 

Leader 

Moves into top ten 

Moves out of top ten 

Matches played in total 

Most matches played 

Biggest move by ranks 

Biggest drop by ranks 

Newly ranked teams 

Teams that are no longer ranked 

USA 

none 

none 

98 

Nigeria (7) 

Jamaica (67th, up 7) 

Nigeria (38th, down 9) 

6 (Fiji, Guyana, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Grenada) 

none 

Last updated: 

25 September 2015 

Rank Team 

+/- Points 

1 USA 0 2189 

2 Germany 0 2115 

3 France 0 2083 

4 Japan 0 2052 

5 England 0 2038 

6 Korea DPR 2 1993 

7 Brazil -1 1973 

8 Sweden -1 1970 

9 Australia 0 1968 

10 Norway 0 1933 

11 Canada 0 1924 

12 Netherlands 0 1908 

13 Italy 0 1874 

14 Denmark 1 1856 

15 China PR -1 1840 

16 New Zealand 0 1839 

17 Korea Republic 0 1838 

18 Spain 1 1824 

19 Iceland -1 1818 

20 Scotland 0 1791 

21 Switzerland 0 1781 

22 Russia 0 1779 

23 Ukraine 0 1770 

24 Finland 0 1754 

25 Colombia 0 1747 

26 Mexico 0 1736 

27 Austria 0 1722 

28 Belgium 0 1712 

29 Thailand 1 1666 

30 Czech Republic 0 1654 

31 Republic of Ireland 2 1653 

32 Poland -2 1639 

33 Vietnam 2 1629 

34 Costa Rica 0 1627 

35 Argentina 1 1621 

36 Wales 1 1620 

37 Chinese Taipei 2 1608 

38 Nigeria -9 1602 

39 Portugal -1 1580 

40 Hungary 0 1565 

41 Romania 0 1562 

42 Chile 0 1559 

43 Uzbekistan 2 1540 

43 Serbia 3 1540 

45 Cameroon -2 1530 

46 Slovakia 1 1525 

47 Myanmar -4 1515 

48 Trinidad and Tobago 0 1489 

49 Papua New Guinea 1 1480 

50 Equatorial Guinea 5 1477 

Rank Team +/- Points Rank Team +/- Points Rank Team +/- Points 

51 Belarus -2 1476 101 Mali -2 1196 Singapore ** 1177 

52 Ghana 0 1475 102 Palestine -2 1192 Vanuatu ** 1139 

53 Paraguay -2 1459 103 Dominican Republic -6 1191 Angola ** 1134 

54 Ecuador 0 1451 104 Cook Islands 1 1185 Sierra Leone ** 1132 

55 Croatia 5 1436 105 El Salvador -4 1184 Congo DR ** 1132 

56 India 0 1425 106 Moldova -4 1180 Armenia ** 1104 

57 Israel 0 1424 107 Zimbabwe -3 1174 American Samoa ** 1075 

58 Jordan -5 1423 107 Latvia -5 1174 Guinea ** 1063 

59 Iran -1 1418 109 Ethiopia -3 1154 Eritrea ** 1060 

60 Peru 1 1412 110 Suriname -3 1152 Burkina Faso ** 1038 

61 South Africa -2 1408 110 Honduras -3 1152 Uganda ** 965 

62 Turkey 0 1395 112 Malta -3 1145 Guinea-Bissau ** 927 

62 Côte d’Ivoire 5 1395 113 Solomon Islands 1144 Syria ** 927 

64 Slovenia 0 1390 114 Samoa 1138 Iraq ** 882 

65 Venezuela 0 1380 115 Puerto Rico 0 1137 Liberia ** 877 

66 Northern Ireland 0 1376 116 Kyrgyzstan -6 1134 Mozambique ** 873 

67 Jamaica 7 1374 116 Luxembourg -6 1134 Sierra Leone * 1132 

68 Haiti -5 1372 118 Georgia -6 1116 Burkina Faso * 1038 

69 Greece -1 1364 119 Nepal -7 1115 Grenada * 1029 

70 Panama -1 1363 120 Nicaragua -6 1111 Rwanda * 996 

71 Uruguay -1 1361 121 Cyprus -6 1108 Barbados * 979 

72 Bosnia and Herzegovina -1 1360 122 FYR Macedonia -5 1079 Macao * 922 

73 Kazakhstan -1 1351 123 Gabon -5 1052 Liberia * 877 

74 United Arab Emirates -1 1348 124 Namibia -5 1039 British Virgin Islands * 867 

75 Hong Kong 0 1347 125 Zambia -5 1015 US Virgin Islands * 852 

76 Bulgaria 0 1343 126 St Vincent and the Grenadines -5 1000 Andorra * 763 

77 Estonia 0 1329 127 St Lucia -5 991 Comoros * 761 

78 Albania 0 1322 128 Bangladesh -5 987 Madagascar * 714 

79 Indonesia 0 1321 129 Sri Lanka -5 968 Turks and Caicos Islands * 704 

79 Algeria 0 1321 130 Lebanon -4 949 

81 Morocco 0 1320 131 Bermuda -4 943 

82 Tunisia 

83 Philippines 

84 Guatemala 

85 Fiji 

0 

0 

0 

1314 

1312 

1300 

1292 

132 St Kitts and Nevis 

133 Maldives 

134 Tanzania 

135 Pakistan 

-7 

-5 

-5 

-5 

942 

938 

937 

926 

** Inactive for more than 18 months and 

therefore not ranked. 

* Provisionally listed due to not having 

played more than five matches against 

officially ranked teams. 

86 Bahrain 0 1289 136 Grenada 914 

87 Guam 0 1287 137 Dominica -6 900 

88 Faroe Islands 0 1286 138 Afghanistan -6 889 

89 Egypt 0 1278 139 Qatar -6 864 

90 Laos 0 1273 140 Cayman Islands -6 849 

91 Malaysia 0 1260 141 Swaziland -6 836 

92 Guyana 1259 142 Belize -6 825 

93 Tonga -8 1258 143 Kenya -6 796 

94 New Caledonia 1252 144 Bhutan -6 778 

94 Senegal -2 1252 145 Antigua and Barbuda -6 767 

96 Montenegro -3 1241 146 Aruba -6 745 

97 Lithuania -3 1238 147 Botswana -6 730 

98 Bolivia -2 1217 Azerbaijan ** 1341 

98 Cuba 0 1217 Tahiti ** 1238 

100 Congo -5 1206 Benin ** 1187 

http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/women 

38 THE FIFA WEEKLY

PUZZLE 

Published weekly by the 

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 

The objective of Sudoku is to fill a 9x9 grid with digits so that each of the 

numbers from 1 to 9 appears exactly once in each column, row and 3x3 sub-grid. 

Publisher 

FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, PO box, CH-8044 Zurich 

Phone +41-(0)43-222 7777, Fax +41-(0)43-222 7878 

President 

Joseph S. Blatter 

Acting Secretary General 

Markus Kattner 

Director of Communications 

and Public Affairs 

Nicolas Maingot (a. i.) 

Chief Editor 

Perikles Monioudis 

Staff Writers 

Alan Schweingruber (Deputy Editor), 

Annette Braun, Sarah Steiner 

Art Direction 

Catharina Clajus 

Picture Editor 

Peggy Knotz, Christiane Ludena (on behalf of 13 Photo) 

Layout 

Richie Kroenert (Lead), Tobias Benz, Susanne Egli 

Proof Reader 

Nena Morf (Lead), Martin Beran, Kristina Rotach 

Contributors 

Ronald Dueker, Matt Falloon, Luigi Garlando, Sven Goldmann, 

Andreas Jaros, Jordi Punti, David Winner, Roland Zorn 

Contributors to this Issue 

Eduardo Barassi, Pascal de Miramon, Emanuele Giulianelli, 

Martin Langer, Luc Schol, Ivan Tarasenko 

Editorial Assistant 

Alissa Rosskopf 

Production 

Hans-Peter Frei 

Project Management 

Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub 

Translation 

www.sportstranslations.com 

Printer 

Zofinger Tagblatt AG 

Contact 

feedback-theweekly@fifa.org 

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2 

MEDIUM 

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HARD 

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3 9 1 6 2 

1 7 5 4 9 

6 3 

2 3 5 4 

1 3 7 2 

8 4 

1 9 

6 5 8 3 7 

9 5 2 1 

5 6 4 7 

3 1 7 5 

8 4 7 3 9 

6 9 

3 8 

8 4 6 

9 1 2 

6 3 4 

1 7 8 

Internet 

www.fifa.com/theweekly 

Reproduction of photos or articles in whole or in part is only 

permitted with prior editorial approval and if attributed 

“The FIFA Weekly, © FIFA 2015”. The editor and staff are not 

obliged to publish unsolicited manuscripts and photos. 

FIFA and the FIFA logo are registered trademarks of FIFA. 

Made and printed in Switzerland. 

Any views expressed in The FIFA Weekly 

do not necessarily reflect those of FIFA. 

6 4 5 2 3 1 

8 9 7 

8 5 1 

9 3 4 

2 8 9 

Puzzles courtesy: opensky.ca/sudoku 


39

GRASSROOTS 

FIFA inspiring girls and boys to play football 

FIFA’s Grassroots programme is the core foundation of our development mission, aimed at encouraging girls and boys 

around the world to play and enjoy football without restrictions. Grassroots focuses on the enjoyment of the game 

through small-sided team games, and teaching basic football technique, exercise and fair play. 

For more information visit FIFA.com

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