Tag Archives: a-league

Asian Cup – Australia vs Korea Republic…..All square, but oh, how it hurt!

Mile Jedinak’s first international goal for Australia could not have come at a better time when the Socceroos got a valuable and deserving 1-1 with fellow Asian Cup heavyweight, Korea Republic in their Group C clash on Saturday morning.  But Socceroos’ coach, Holger Osieck could have some selection nightmares ahead of the Bahrain clash and beyond…..

The good:

1.        A unique and “un-Asian” style.  Whilst the Socceroos lack the pace, fluency and technique of many of the other teams at the Asian Cup, the team’s never say die attitude, discipline and physical strengths may well give opposing teams headaches when attempting to break down this Australian side.  Jedinak’s equalising goal epitomised the Australian style – Lucas Neill was quick to float a ball across the face of goal from a Luke Wilkshire cross and Jedinak had no right to challenge Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong for a high ball but did and impressively beat him to it. 

2.        Mark Schwarzer.  Australia possesses the tournament’s best goalkeeper and Schwarzer played a fitting part in the match, saving superbly late on. 

The bad:

1.        Too predictable, too slow and an inept passing game.  Like the India game, the Socceroos, unlike the Koreans, played a long ball game in preference to a short and quick passing one.  The Aussie tactic of crossing towards Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell at every opportunity was clear once again and one wonders whether such a tactic will reap rewards against a more organised and disciplined defence.  Further, the Koreans’ pass and move groove clearly rattled the Aussies, as evidenced by the number of fouls, particularly Jedinak and Ognenovski, committed.  Finally, the Aussies’ passing and cheap turnovers left a lot to be desired at times. 

2.        Poor defending.  Football is one of those rare games where one defensive lapse can be the difference between success and failure.   Whilst the Socceroos’ defending was excellent for a majority of the game, just how five Socceroos’ defenders let Ji Dong-Wong gain possession and cut back to an unmarked Koo Ja-Cheol for Korea’s goal still baffles and frustrates me.  This was the second defensive lapse in two games.  Whilst the Indians failed to capitalise last week, the Koreans didn’t.  Nor will the likes of Iran and/or Uzbekistan (future potential opponents for the Aussies in the Asian Cup).

The ugly:

1.        Injuries to three first team regulars – Jason Culina, David Carney and Luke Wilksire. I have regularly been vocal about the Aussies’ lack of squad depth….the three aforementioned players will be hard to replace if the diagnosis isn’t favourable.  Whilst Valeri is a straight swap for Culina, he lacks his experience. Of greater concern are the full back positions – Carney (a left winger by trade) has become custodian of the left back position by virtue of a lack of competition and options for that berth, whilst Wilkshire, is in my opinion, Australia’s second best and most consistent outfield player.  Second only to Tim Cahill…..Osieck may be forced to re-shuffle and moreover, test the mettle of his pack.

2.        Harry Kewell’s (constant) whingeing.  Once again, it was refreshing to see a fully fit Kewell get the better of his opposing defenders.  His whingeing with fellow teammates, opposing players and officials was however, disappointing. This was not the first time Kewell has brought this ugly side into his game (read: harassing and “touching up” the match officials after Australia’s group game against Brazil at the 2006 World Cup and his verbal tirade against the referee after being controversially, but correctly sent off against Ghana at last year’s World Cup).  Kewell is a professional footballer first, an underwear model second.  He should start acting more like the former and stop dicking around.

All in all, Australia will now fancy its chances to progress to the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup, knowing all but a loss against Bahrain tomorrow morning will be enough to see them through.

But the Asian Cup is to Australia, what the World Cup is to heavyweights Brazil, Germany and Italy.  Qualifying for the knockout rounds should be viewed as a mere formality.  Not reaching the semi finals would be deemed a failure. 

This is when the real tournament starts.

Mark “The F word” Fiorenti

Sportzfan Radio #185.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!16 January 2011 185.2 – Daniel believes that skill goes out the window in 20/20 cricket and therefore this is not a good thing for cricketers who are wanting to be successful in test matches. He says 20/20 should be scrapped.  The Professor says there are too many players over thirty in Australia’s cricket sides and the Gambler suggests that perhaps there should be a compulsory retirement age.  Daniel thinks it could be a case of mates scratching mate’s backs and even he gets into the groove suggesting sackings.  Mark Fiorenti talks soccer in particular the Asian Cup and reviews the Socceroos matches against India and South Korea.  He thinks Holger Osieck is demanding a more attacking game from the Socceroos.  He thinks the squad is getting older and a few players are at the end of the road.  Mark also talks about the A League, in particular the form of Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory and the poor crowds attending A League matches.  There is also a discussion with the Panel on the happenings in Premier League with Man Utd, Man City & Arsenal going well at the top.  Paul Dalligan chats about the ABL and the recent poor form of the Melbourne Aces having lost 6 in a row.  He also talks with the Professor about Sportzfan Radio’s broadcast of the Aces match against Perth Heat.  Paul even manages to sneak a discussion of rugby league in even though it is not in season.  Daniel exclusively announces a charity baskets game to aid the Flood relief appeal.  Sean Callanan comes on to talk social media and a Liverpool soccer player being charged by the Football Association over what he had written in his twitter account.  The Gambler talks about Essendon FC’s high numbers on their Facebook account.  The Panel conclude with their thoughts on which Australian tennis players will do well in the Australian Open.

Sportzfan Radio #184.1

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!19 December 2010 184.1 – The show starts off with a festive intro and Daniel, Stan, the Gelding and the Professor talk about what they would like for Christmas. Daniel then discusses the blockbuster NBA trade sending Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson & Hedu Turkoglou to the Orlando Hornets for Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus. Stan is all over the poor form of the Melbourne Tigers and the Houston Rockets scouting Eric Devendorf and Luke Nevill. Daniel says the Tigers need a miracle to make the playoffs.

Nick Tedeschi comes on to talk rugby league and the retirement through the week of Eric Grothe Jnr from Parramatta Eels. Nick thinks Eric did not live up to his potential and was basically a waste of space, He believes the Eels may go after Greg Inglis as they have a very big war chest.   He sees Canterbury as being the big improvers next season.  The Wests Tigers can go one better and make the Grand Final and Melbourne Storm will bounce back.  Parramatta Eels and Cronulla will struggle in 2011.

The Gelding and the Sydney Colt talk winners and losers at Flemington and Randwick whilst Mark Fiorenti talks all things soccer with the A League and Premier League updates.

Sportzfan Radio #183.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!12 December 2010 183.2 – Mark Fiorenti continues his discussion of the A League looking at Sydney Rovers dropping their bid to join and also reviews at Premier League and Champions League. John O’Callaghan and Nicole Chvastek return to discuss a number of sporting topics including the World Cup bid fiasco which highlighted the lack of leadership by those running the bid process for Australia and the secrecy of surrounding money spent on the bid. Daniel says that it was OK for Elle MacPherson to be involved with the bid….he wouldn’t complain about that. Nicole queries the cost benefit analysis of spending so much money for one vote. The Professor eblieves the money paid to consultants was an absolute waste.

John also looks at the ‘rivalry’ round in the ABL and he believes after four weeks that is an absolute nonsense idea. Sean says Brendan Fevola smashing a car windscreen in a baseball promotion gave the ABL some main stream press during the week but for all the wrong reasons. Daniel talks about the stupidity of one match last week being called a tie becaue of the time curfew restrictions at the stadium.

Nicole starts off a discussion with the Panel about Shane Warne – his suntan, his eyebrows and his teeth, the mediocrity that is Australia cricket and whether or not Warne will make a comeback. She also believes that Geelong officials should be deemed to be ‘negligent’ for allowing Bomber Thompson and Garry Ablett to not talk to each other for about eight months. She says whoever oversaw such a debacle should be kicked out of the Club.

Daniel and the Professor discuss the NBL, particularly the new imports with both the Adelaide 36ers and the Sydney Kings. They also talk NBA and the improvement of the New York Knicks this season after recruiting Amare Stoudemire.  Daniel wonders if Carmelo Anthony will sign soon with the Knicks.  He talks about Julius Hodge who says he has finished with Australia and won’t be back to play in the NBL.

Paul Dalligan also wants to talk ABL and he was impressed with his first game watching the Melbourne Aces. He also has NRL mail that Wayne Bennett will coach the Rabbitohs in 2012.

Sportzfan Radio #183.1

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!12 December 2010 183.1 – Sean makes a rare appearance in studio and Daniel starts with an apology as it took him five days to read Mark Fiorenti’s blog so he knows nothing about what happened in the sports world for the week. He also adds his favourite Qatar player after some research is Eric Clapton and Sean adds that FIFA’s new game Qatar hero. Stan gets into Daniel again about basketball asking him how he thinks the Melbourne Tigers will go against Perth. Sean thinks as it is Al Westover’s 200th game it may get the Tigers across the line. Their is also a discussion about the the test cricket side and Stan is for sacking all the player sand the selectors. Dan Butterly talks US sport and commences with his view on the Heisman trophy and who will win it. He thinks Cam Newton from Auburn will win it, even with all the cloud of suspicion over him regarding the behaviour of his father. Dan also talks about the Bowl matches coming up with 35 being played over three weeks. He likes Oregon to beat Auburn in the Championship game and TCU to beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. There are moves afoot within the Conferences and Hawaii has now decided to leave the WAC and join the MWC in 2012. The Professor asks whether the MWC will play a game in Australia given Hawaii is halfway here. Dan agrees that it would raise the MWC profile. Sean says AAMI stadium would be perfect to host such a game. Dan feels Brett Favre’s streak will end at 297 as he will not recover in time to play in tomorrow’s game.

The Professor thinks there may have been a first last week when the Gelding was not on the show at all. The Gelding talks cricket first discussing the problems with Victorians trying to get into the Test side. He then moves on to racing and reviews his selections for the Flemington meeting. Although he got off to a great start tipping Aloha to win, it was all downhill from there with his other three selections failing to even be placed. The Gelding’s favourite Qatar player is Jimmy Page from Led Zepplin.

The Panel discusses Gary Ablett’s revelations during the week where he hadn’t spoken to his coach, Bomber Thompson since March this year. Sean talks about a rumor that James Hird and Thompson had been talking about getting together for 2012 but because Essendon’s coterie groups wanted Matthew Knights out, everything got moved forward twelve months. Daniel starts talking about Bob Costas (NBC sportscaster) but he really means the Geelong president, Frank Costa. Stan is swinging the axe again and Sean observes he is going to put Centrelink out of business as everyone is getting the knife.

Mark Fiorenti talks up the local Melbourne derby between the Heart and the Victory with over 23,000 at AAMi stadium. Sean went to his first game during the week to see Heart play but they went down in front of around 2,000 people. Mark says it was the lowest ever at an A League game in Melbourne. He says the FFA must address this as mid week games don’t work.

From the colony to the colonised….Football’s not coming home but to new frontiers….and without a dose of “Fair Play” (Part 2)

So, too 2022….

Millions of football fans around the world are still wondering how Qatar ultimately won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup. Yet in the end FIFA was seduced and “sold” by Qatar’s promise of a high-tech tournament. 

I always maintained Australia was arguably punching above its weight in trying to secure the hosting rights to 2022, yet I also consistently argued we had a solid bid and our real and only rival, and favourite, was the United Sates of America.  Exactly how the tiny Emirate state which has a climate conducive to hell on earth and its capital, Doha, is according to Lonely Planet, “the dullest place in the world” secured the rights over the mighty United States is about as impressive and moreover, believable as me getting lucky with Megan Gale.

And Jennifer Hawkins.

On the same night…..

Not only did the win leave me breathless, but more so, the gravity of same – 11 votes in the first round to the United States’ 3….14 votes in the fourth round to the United States’ 8!

Some of the reasons why I was, and will continue to be shocked by the Qatar win include:

-Heat – the average temperatures in June and July are a whopping 41 and 46 degrees celsius, respectively;

-Potential terrorist attacks/threats;

-The fact there will be ten stadiums within a 25 kilometre radius of Doha which was deemed incapable of hosting the (2016) Olympic Games only last year; and

-Restrictions on the consumption of alcohol. 

To counter these problems Qatar has promised, amongst other things:

-Airconditioned stadiums which will be solar powered and therefore, carbon neutral.  What effect will airconditioning have on the “ball”?  It may make the Jabulani (which was used at this year’s last World Cup and branded by many as like playing with a beach ball), appear “normal”?!; and

-Fans will be able to drink alcohol in specially designed areas called “fan zones”.  Will Doha, I mean Qatar, have room to fit these fan zones? Will they be air conditioned too?!

I’ll believe it when I see it. 

For now, it is a fictional tale. 

Just like Qatar’s bid video which was largely set in the future and the country shown as it “might” be in 2022.   

The abovementioned concerns are shared by many, including FIFA.  In fact, Qatar received the worst technical report of all the bidding nations from FIFA (for instance, FIFA labelled the punishing heat “a potential health risk”) and was the lowest ranked by FIFA’s own independent inspectors.

Yet FIFA still awarded Qatar the World Cup!

In the words of Paul Dalligan, “I have now seen it all”.

So, too the conspiracy theories…..I’m no investigative journalist but the following just doesn’t wash with me:

-How secretive was the voting when Qatari state owned broadcaster, al-Jazeera reported the result before Sepp Blatter opened his envelope and informed the world? And what of Qatari officials who were reportedly seen embracing one another and appeared relaxed in the lead up to same whilst Frank Lowy looked like he needed a year’s supply of Gastro Stop to curb his anxiety?

-What did Mohamed Bin Hamman say to Reyanld Temarii (the Oceania member who was suspended from voting for his part in an undercover newspaper sting) when he met him in Kuala Lumpur last week and shortly thereafter, Temarii stated he would proceed with his appeal, thereby allowing Oceania not to be represented in the ballot? Lest we forget that Temarii was quoted as saying he would have voted for Australia.  To add salt to the wound, Hamman supported Temarii’s decision (to proceed with his appeal).  

-The fact the Qataris were able to sponsor the Confederation of African Football Congress on 29 January 2010 and in doing so secured “exclusive” rights to make presentations to African delegates, including FIFA executive committee member, Issa Hayatou.  Does that name sound familiar?! If not, read my last blog!  In short, he has been accused of accepting bribes in the past! Australia, and the other 2022 bidding nations, could only attend the event as “observers” and could not organise press conferences.

Which brings me to my final point….

The integrity of the World Cup bidding process has been damaged and the system of bidding within FIFA ranks must change.

Transparency is needed. 

In awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar (and the 2018 World Cup to Russia) does FIFA really care about the fans who have made the game what it is today? It would appear not.  FIFA does not appear concerned if a supporter is subjected to a violent racist attack in Moscow or another dies of heat exhaustion whilst playing, “Let’s find the nearest watering hole” in Doha. I have no doubt that any of the other bidding nations would have delivered a better experience for the football fan than the eventual winners.

The “beautiful” game and its loyal fans, stands to lose.  

Mark “The F Word” Fiorenti

From the colony to the colonised….Football’s not coming home but to new frontiers….and without a dose of “Fair Play” (Part 1)

“And the host of the 2018 World Cup is….Russia…

And the host of the 2022 World Cup is….Qatar”

 When the abovementioned hosts were announced just after 2am last Friday morning, I no longer needed my shot of espresso to wake me up. Rather, I needed something to drown my sorrows.

If that wasn’t enough, I became nauseous when I learnt:

  1. England was out in straight sets and finished dead last in the voting for 2018;
  2. Australia was out in straight sets and finished dead last in the voting for 2022; and
  3. The icing on the cake….the results was allegedly known approximately one hour before the tournament.  So much for a secret ballot….

I can read the headlines already…. FIFA president Sepp, or should I say Gall, Blatter is remembered as the man who took the World Cup to Eastern Europe and the Middle East (along with Africa). 

What won’t be widely reported is that Qatar’s victory gives him a reprieve, for had the World Cup not gone to Qatar, Asian Football Confederation chief Mohamed bin Hammam (Qatar’s bid chief, no less) would have allegedly challenged Blatter for the FIFA presidency.  Blatter will now serve a fourth term as FIFA president.

So Hamman gets the glory of winning the World Cup for Qatar (a nice ego check) and Blatter gets to keep his job (and leave a “legacy” behind).

Nice wok guys – ego and political aspirations first, most logical choice and delivering fans a better footballing experience, a distant second.

To 2018….

Russia won the vote in a landslide victory in as early of the second round of voting, whilst England, a favourite, was miraculously sent packing after securing only two votes!

Nevertheless, in the weeks leading up to the vote, Blatter himself stated, “England can organize the World Cup tomorrow” boasting of its numerous world class stadia and the necessary infrastructure to deliver the world’s biggest sporting event.

And what of Russia…? FIFA’s own inspectors graded the bid as a “medium” operational risk and did not appear concerned by:

  1. Travelling distances between host cities;
  2. The need for extensive investment in infrastructure; and
  3. The problem of racism amongst Russian fans (read – the banner erected by Lokomotiv Moscow supporters that abused Peter Odemwingie when he moved to West Bromwich Albion).

I can only guess FIFA didn’t appreciate England’s media recently uncovering new evidence about bribery claims regarding four of the men who voted last Friday morning.  Three of those men, Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou, Brazil’s Ricardo Teixera and Paraguay’s Nicolas Leoz were accused of accepting bribes in the 1990’s and the fourth, CONCACAF President, Jack Warner was treated to a renewal of old allegations from earlier this year when he allegedly sold thousands of World Cup tickets on the black market for personal gain….but more on the issue of bribery and these shady characters, namely Hayatou, in Part 2….

It’s a travesty to think that the country which gave the world the beautiful game and continues to give so much to the world through its highly successful league – the most widely followed in the world, no less, scored so miserably in the voting last Friday. 

England must now wait in excess of 60 years before football comes home.

I’m all in favour of FIFA’s legacy argument and desire to sail into unchartered waters, but in order to move forward one must also acknowledge and pay respect to our past.  Further, a nation should be awarded the World Cup on its respective merits.

England would have been a logical, fair and timely choice.

It appears reputation means nothing in FIFA’s murky corridors of power. 

Mark “The F Word” Fiorenti

Australia’s 2022 World Cup bid becomes a Greek tragedy

Professor’s Rant #4

I’ll start this rant by repeating what I said on Sportzfan Radio last Sunday (see show #181.2) – I would love Australia to get the 2022 World Cup (a view shared by The Gelding, but not Daniel or Stan – is that OK Daniel?). 

The report on the assessment of finacncial return to FIFA  from each of the bidding countries, which has only been recently released (more about that later), seems to be a fatal blow to our chances. 

Given the findings of the report, what are the chances of Australia getting the nod when the vote is held in the early hours of tomorrow morning?  Zero, zilch, zippo, naught, nil, zip.  Get the picture?

Why?  It comes down to simple mathematics – which Board would vote for an option that reaps the least (that’s right, the least) profit for it?  Think about that question for a second or two…now roll it around……easy to answer when you consider it.  Let’s for good measure add that the favourite in this five horse race is the USA ,who just happens to be the country that reaps the most reward for FIFA if they are to be successful with their bid.  The answer becomes a no brainer!

Even if I am wrong and the USA aren’t successful, there are still three other bids that make more money for FIFA.  I can’t see a kangaroo, Hoges and Julia Gillard making up for the giant cash shortfall. 

Ask yourself this further question should you still be struggling with the economics of the situation.  If you were a share holder in FIFA Inc., would you want the voters to vote for a bid that would give you the least money in your pocket to pay increasing mortgage rates and rising electricity and gas bills?

Yet another question.  If FIFA had released the report much earlier (ie when bidding opened) would Australia have run as hard or invested as much money.  I think not!  Synics like me wonder why the findings of this report have only come to light in the last week of the process.  You don’t need to be a Rhodes scholar to work that one out.  Why would FIFA reveal findings that would stifle the competition?  Another no brainer – they wouldn’t.

On Sportzfan Radio, we have queried from the start the wisdom of making such a large investment in a bid that was against the odds from its very beginning.  We felt the money would be far better spent putting resources into growing the game at the grass roots level and enhancing the A League and its teams.  Make no mistake, the local product needs to improve significantly if we are to be rated a credible force in world soccer.

So in the end, what will we have?

Nothing for $45 million dollars.  Shareholders just love that sort of equation!

To quote Paul Dalligan “ah, yep!”

Sportzfan Radio #181.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!28 November 2010 181.2 – Daniel wants the Tigers to get rid of their white alternate strip. Stan adds that the Tigers are hopeless at 1-7.  Mark Fiorenti talks up Australia’s chances for the 2022 World Cup and thinks the bid looks a lot better than it did three or four months ago. He also thinks the USA are favourites.  Daniel believes if Julia Gillard writes a letter of support that will sink the bid. The Professor thinks Bob Hawke should have been asked to write a letter.  Mark also wraps up A League and Premier League matches of interest.  He thinks it is Chelsea’s title to lose.  Dr Leslie’s CSA returns to the show after a few weeks off.  Daniel is not happy that the Professor signed off with “We all hope we get the 2022 World Cup”…this then promotes a discussion as to who actually wants the World Cup.  Stan and Daniel don’t want it.  The Gelding hopes we do get it.  Suitably chastened, the Professor re-announces “The Gelding and I both hope we get it, Daniel and Stan definitely don’t”.   The Panel then discuss emails about the Australian Test selections.  The Gelding thinks the role of wicketkeeper has changed over the years as we now pick a wicketkeeper that is an allrounder.  Stan believes it is no good trying to make a batsman into a wicketkeeper.  Paul Dalligan is back to talk rugby league….didn’t the season finish eight weeks ago?  He talks about Russell Crowe leaking details of Greg Inglis’ contract on a US talk show.  The NRL are now looking more closely at the deal.  The Professor asks why this deal is different to the Mark Gasnier deal.  Daniel thinks it would be good for Crow to team up with Inglis at the Rabbitohs.  Paul then goes on to talk baseball and the ABL.  Unfortunately, the Melbourne Aces first three home games have been rained out.  We give a shout out to a new listener…Lisa Haye’s husband.  The Panel talk about Mark “Choco” Williams appointment as Kevin Sheedy’s assistant at Greater Western Sydney.  This leads into a discussion of whether Sheedy will actually coach the team in 2012.  Stan decides to swing the axe and believes Mick Malthouse and Kevin Sheedy have reached their use by date and should retire as the old guys are keeping the younger coaches out of jobs.  Sean Callanan comes on to talk social media and discusses the Dallas Cowboys forgetting to renew their domain name so they were left without a website and thinks the IT man at the Cowboys may be out of a job.  The Denver Broncos have been fined $100,000 for filming the 49ers at practice.  Sean talks about Vince Young apologising to his coach Jeff Fisher by text and says it is probably not the most effective means of doing that.  A listener queries why Young didn’t call Fisher as he had the phone in his hand sending the text.

Sportzfan Radio #179.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!14 November 2010 179.2 – Daniel thinks the Melbourne Tigers theme song is very annoying to listen to and believes there should be no basketball theme songs. The Professor wonders whether Daniel was alive when the Leyland Brothers were on television. The ‘F’ word looks at the local A-League scene. Archie Thompson back for Melbourne Victory will be a positive however the Victory have lost one of their other strikers. He doesn’t believe Victory can make the top three given their current ladder position. He is going to see both Melbourne Heart and Victory in the next week but will only be wearing a Heart scarf. Mark also has a quick look at English Premier League and the Socceroos upcoming friendly against Egypt. The Panel discuss IPL’s growing disruption to other forms of cricket with Australia’s test series against Bangladesh needing to be moved as it clashes with IPL matches. Paul Dalligan is stoked about Greg Inglis heading for the Rabbitohs and says it is the biggest signing in his lifetime. He is disppointed that Australia was beaten by the Kiwis in the last minute of last night’s final of the Four Nations Tournament. Social media expert, Sean Callanan believes the Queen has a lot of work to do to catch up to LeBron James on Facebook. He likes people quoting tweets but has a problem with journalists quoting tweets but then not linking back to the original story or using their twitter handle. The NBA and the NHL are always trending on twitter when the games are played which says those Leagues are on the ball with social media.