Abidal pens new Barça deal

Abidal pens new Barça deal
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French international defender Eric Abidal has signed a new deal with Barcelona, the Catalan club said on Monday after some protracted negotiations.

European champions Barça said they had reached agreement with 32-year-old Abidal for an extra year, meaning his new deal runs through to June 2013.

"The agreement includes an option to extend it through to 2015," the club added on their website.

Abidal's original deal at the Nou Camp was until 2012 and he was initially offered a one-year extension, but based on appearances whereas the player had asked for two years without any appearance strings attached.

Abidal - capped 60 times for France - has made 177 appearances in four years at the club, winning the UEFA Champions League twice and the Spanish title three times among other trophies, and won much admiration for overcoming surgery to remove a liver tumour last spring.

Dzeko strikes as City extend lead

Dzeko strikes as City extend lead

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Edin Dzeko broke an 11-match scoring drought to send Manchester City three points clear in the English Premier League title race. The giant Bosnian netted his 14th club goal of the season as he steered David Silva's free-kick into the bottom corner for a 1-0 win.

It was enough to overcome a spirited Wigan side, although the visitors did have chances to make life a little more comfortable against the basement boys, with Dzeko taking the best chance off the toe of Sergio Aguero. And Blues boss Roberto Mancini ended the game in animated conversation with the fourth official after Martin Atkinson's failure to show Maynor Figueroa a red card for deliberate handball as he denied Aguero a clear run on goal two minutes from time.

Wigan's adherence to the passing game is very laudable, but there are times when their supporters would were prefer a bit of old-fashioned English-style long ball. Although the Latics were back-pedalling for most of the half, there were enough occasions when they did work themselves into decent positions yet failed to deliver a cross or a pass that might have put their opponents under pressure, leaving their supporters distinctly agitated.

As it turned out, James McArthur had their best chance, a snap-shot from the edge of the area, which Joe Hart gathered at the second attempt.

Silva returned to the City side for tonight's match at the DW Stadium. The diminutive Spain international is behind so much of the Blues' most inventive play and with Yaya Toure amongst the five senior figures missing this evening and Samir Nasri struggling for top form, there was more reliance on him than usual.

Silva had a couple of shots blocked, almost sent Aguero through and supplied the free-kick for Dzeko's goal. Having not found the net since 5 November, the Bosnian was in need of a goal. To that end, he could not have wished for more accommodating opponents. Wigan failed to get close enough to Dzeko and as Gary Caldwell and Antolin Alcaraz floundered, Dzeko found the bottom corner with a precise header.

Aguero brought a fine one-handed save out of Ali Al Habsi as the opening period drew to a close and, despite the closeness of the scoreline, the suspicion remained that City would cruise clear after the restart. Yet Wigan remained spirited opposition and with plenty of team-mates in support, McArthur could have picked a better option than a long-range shot from an acute angle that fizzed disappointingly wide.

It was not long before City were back on the offensive, although how they had not increased their advantage by the hour mark was a bit of a mystery. First of all, Al Habsi made a magnificent double save to deny Dzeko and Silva, clawing the Bosnian's curling effort away from the top corner, then repelling the midfielder, who had aimed low from barely seven yards.

What followed next was infuriating for Aguero, who weaved his way past three Wigan defenders and seemed to have the simplest of tasks to find the net. Instead, Dzeko whipped the ball off his toe and went for goal himself. But his shot was so weak Al Habsi was able to make a comfortable save.

It meant Roberto Martinez was able to introduce Ben Watson and Franco Di Santo midway through the second period still harbouring hopes of snatching something from the game. And how close they came too as Hugo Rodallega rolled a pass to James McCarthy on his left and the midfielder forced Hart into his best save of the match.

It was not turning into the cruise many had predicted and the jitters even seemed to get to the normally unflappable Hart, who made a save he did not need to as McCarthy's shot was flying wide. The introduction of Nigel de Jong for Nasri and Nedum Onuoha for Silva were further signs of City entering preservation mode.

Wigan continued to be the architects of their own downfall though, gifting a chance to Dzeko, which Al Habsi turned away, then costing themselves a decent attacking chance when Caldwell rolled a two-yard pass to Stam straight out of play.

And, though they worked hard to fashion another opportunity, Wigan could not find a talking point to match Figueroa's deliberate handball as he got the bounce of a De Jong clearance all wrong and, knowing he was the last man, stuck up a hand to prevent Aguero bursting clear.

Rewriting the rulebook

Rewriting the rulebook
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Football is a game rooted in tradition, and the Laws of the Game have undergone fairly minor changes since they were first drafted by England’s newly-formed Football Association in 1863. Nonetheless, while the aim has always been to preserve football’s original spirit, and to ensure that rules can be applied from elite to amateur level, several crucial changes have helped to enhance the sport over the years. Here, FIFA.com looks at a few of these key modifications.

1866: Forward passes permitted
The most fundamental alteration was also the earliest, with forward passes permitted for the first time – provided there remained three defending players between the receiver and the goal. Previously, once the ball had been kicked, any player on the same team closer to the opponent's goal was considered out of play and unable to receive the ball. This 1866 change represented the crucial first step away from sharing the original offside rule that remains in place in rugby, and allowed passing football to thrive.

1891: The penalty kick introduced
It took almost three decades from the first rules being drafted for the penalty, which has become such an integral part of modern football, to be instituted. Having previously operated on the quaint assumption that a gentleman would never deliberately commit a foul, football responded to increasing intensity and competitiveness by bringing in a measure known then as 'the kick of death'. Until 1902, the penalty was not taken from a spot, however, but from anywhere along a 12-yard line.

1891: Referees enter the fray
More recognition that the game had evolved from its gentlemanly roots came with the introduction of referees. In football’s early days, disputes had been settled by the two team captains, and later by two umpires - one per team - to whom appeals could be made. However, as the number of disputes and complaints grew, the need for an impartial arbiter became clear, and from 1891 the power to give penalties and free-kicks became the job of one man: the referee.

1912: Goalkeepers restricted
It was a century ago this year that goalkeepers were forbidden from handling the ball outside the penalty area. This change came just three years after it was decided that the players filling this position should be visually distinctive from their team-mates by wearing a different colour, with green the general default.

1925: Offside changed again
The revised offside rule was further relaxed in 1925 to allow a player to remain onside provided two, rather than three, opposition players stood between him and the goal. The result was an immediate increase in goalscoring, and this particular law was amended in attackers’ favour once again in 1990 to enable a player to remain onside by keeping level with his/her second-last opponent.

1958: Substitutes permitted
The early history of the game includes several mentions of ‘substitutes’, but the purpose of these back-up players was merely to stand in if any of the 11 selected failed to turn up. However, the detrimental impact of injuries on matches eventually resulted in substitutes being permitted during the 90 minutes, although initially only for an injured goalkeeper and one other injured player. From the late 1960s, these rules were relaxed to allow substitutions for tactical reasons.

1970: Red and yellow cards introduced
Championed by English referee Ken Aston, then an influential figure on the FIFA Referees' Committee, this ‘traffic light’ system was aimed at ending confusion among players and spectators over a referee’s intentions. Red and yellow cards were first used at the FIFA World Cup™ of the same year and have been a fixture ever since, even spreading to several other sporting codes.

1992: Handling of pass-backs forbidden
Another change aimed at tilting the balance of power in favour of attacking players was the International Football Association Board’s 1992 decision to forbid goalkeepers from handling deliberate pass-backs from a team-mate’s feet. Though initially greeted with widespread scepticism, this measure is now universally seen to have made a positive impact on the beautiful game.

As football continues to evolve, the Laws of the Game are sure to follow suit. Indeed, the FIFA Task Force Football 2014, chaired by Franz Beckenbauer, is currently examining various proposals aimed at improving the game’s overall attractiveness and match control in elite competitions. And as the aforementioned examples go to show, a small change can often go a long way.

Have Your Say
All of the amendments listed above have had a major impact on the game we watch today. But which do you believe has been the most significant? Just click ‘Add your comment’ to share your views with the world.

Klinsmann: I’d love to play Mexico every day

Klinsmann: I’d love to play Mexico every day
(FIFA.com) Tuesday 17 January 2012
Klinsmann: I’d love to play Mexico every day
© Getty Images

In the second instalment of FIFA.com’s two-part interview with USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann, the former striker chatted candidly about Mexico having the edge in the most hotly disputed of North American rivalries. The former Germany and Bayern Munich boss also discussed players needing to improve themselves, the peculiar complications of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup™ through the CONCACAF Zone and his hopes of finding a ‘hidden Messi’ on US soil.

FIFA.com: Jurgen, you have been experimenting with many new faces in your first six months in charge. What do you look for most in assessing a potential national team player?
I look for consistency and hunger. I can only tell the players to believe in themselves; I can’t do it for them. Every performance needs to be at the same level, like it is at Barcelona. It’s doable with the right mindset. The mental part of the game is very important. I can see a lot of my players taking this on. Some players we will lose along the path, I know this. You have to suffer to get to the top, I don’t care what field you are in: journalism, business, sport. The players need urgency. They can’t wait for things.

Can you give an example?
[Edson] Buddle was having trouble getting in the team with his German club Ingolstadt, so he was just hanging around, taking a break. I got on the phone and arranged for a fitness coach to work with him in Munich. He drives an hour and gets worked out hard and then he drives back to Ingolstadt feeling tired. There are no breaks at the top levels of football. It’s why I am sending some players from MLS over to Europe to train in the off-season (Brek Shea, Tim Ream, Juan Agudelo to name a few). There is no off-season.

So, they need to make themselves better players?
It’s about empowerment. You can only get people to do better if you leave it up to them. Soccer is driven from the inside. It's a player's game no matter what the level. This is something that is hard for Americans to understand. Baseball, American football and basketball, to a lesser degree, are driven from the outside, by coaches and managers. You have playbooks and timeouts and all manner of things.

Do you think there is a problem of sporting culture to work past?
In football, there are 11 quarterbacks on the field, so to speak, and they need to improvise and change things all the time. And that’s why I need to develop players who push themselves. You have to go out and work on the things that you are weakest at, over and over, hundreds of times every day. Then it will become automatic.

You have much experience in world football, but CONCACAF is different. You have never been to ‘The Office’ in Kingston, Jamaica or played on a bumpy cricket pitch or in the hostile environs of Central America. Are you ready for it?
It’s true, I am not totally familiar with the way things are over here in CONCACAF, but I will be. This is one of the main reasons that we will go play a friendly in Panama later this month. This way I can get a sense of the atmosphere in Central America, where there is great animosity and passionate feeling toward the USA.
I don’t think the Mexicans like to play us. The US players are fighters and they put everything on the line and never give up.
Jurgen Klinsmann

When USA play in Central America and Mexico is it about more than just football?
The US is seen in a special way in Mexico and Central America. I know from my playing days what it is to play in hostile environments and on tough pitches, in South America and Africa and big derbies, but this is a special case. I have good people in my coaching staff, like Martin Vasquez (Mexico-born former USA and Mexico international), who have a foot on both sides. We will do a great deal of preparing.

Friendlies are one thing, but FIFA World Cup qualifying is a whole different animal...
The goal becomes very practical once qualifying starts: get the points you need to take you through.

Mexico are USA’s arch-rivals and they currently boast one of their best teams in recent memory. Is there pressure to not only qualify for Brazil 2014, but also to beat Mexico along the way?
The rivalry with Mexico is big and you have to respect it. I have an admiration for what Mexico have done in the last ten years or so. The youth system at national level and the academy system at their clubs has been amazingly productive. They have all done a great job and their style of play is very creative, mainly because they have the kind of players they need to play that style. This is something we’re aspiring to.

Your first game in charge ended in a draw with Mexico, but before that the US were beaten badly in the Gold Cup final. Is this is a bad time for USA in this rivalry?
I would love to play Mexico every day. When you play teams like this, good teams, you play up to their level. Mexico are a notch above us on the international scene, there is no denying that. At the same time, we know we can beat them and we’ve proven it.

What do you think makes the USA-Mexico divide so great and so interesting to players and fans?
I don’t think the Mexicans like to play us. The US players are fighters and they put everything on the line and never give up. There is a psychological component to the rivalry. I had a taste of it after only one week in the job and it was great. We drew Mexico, but we should have won and it was a great moment to show my players what happens when you make a silly mistake against a strong team. CONCACAF needs five more Mexicos and it’s games like this that will get us to the level of the bigger teams. They bring out the best.

How important are experienced veterans like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey to the fortunes of the current US team?
Guys like Tim Howard, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are very important because they carry my message. As a coach you need the support of players like this on and off the field. Also, it is good because it can move them out of their comfort zone where they will have to challenge themselves more. There are also times where they need to step back and give the younger ones a chance to breathe. I couldn’t be happier with the way these players are going about their business as leaders.

You joked early on in your tenure about finding a “hidden Messi” somewhere in this very large USA. Do you think there are pockets of unknown players who might have what it takes to go all the way?
There is definitely talent in the US that is not being tapped. I think most of them are to be found in the Hispanic areas, in places like Southern California and Texas and Florida. We are trying to get our heads and hands around that. We are doing great work in building bridges and getting these players over to our side early, so they don’t get pulled toward Mexico.

Follow the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 Gala

Follow the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 Gala


Zurich provides the setting for the first major football event of the year, the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 Gala, which takes place on Monday 9 January.

The highlight of the star-studded evening will be the unveiling of the second FIFA Ballon d’Or winner, while the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football and Women’s Football will also be named, along with the winner of the FIFA Puskas Award and a clutch of other accolades.

You can follow the whole day from start to finish at FIFA.com. The first item on the packed agenda is a press conference at 14.00, when FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year candidates Marta, Homare Sawa and Abby Wambach will be joined by Bruno Bini, Norio Sasaki and Pia Sundhage, the three nominees for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football award. As well as broadcasting the event live on the site, we will be making sure you do not miss a thing by publishing everything the six candidates have to say.

Following the presentation of the FIFA Interactive Award to the winner of the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2011, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Xavi, Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola will take centre stage for their press conference, which kicks off at 15.00 and will also go out live.

At 17.00 it is on to Zurich’s Kongresshaus, where a fan zone will be set up beside the red carpet to give the lucky locals a chance to get the autographs of the players, coaches and celebrities attending the glittering show. Naturally, the FIFA.com team will be there to bring you the views of those present in a series of exclusive interviews, available for you to read on the site.

FIFA.com will also be offering live coverage* of the Gala itself, which gets under way at 19.00. You will find out who wins what just as soon as the awards are announced, and when the show is over we will be talking exclusively to the winners and their fellow nominees. All the interviews will be available for you to read on the site, which will also feature videos and photos of the Gala and the backstage scenes.

So make sure you log on to FIFA.com next Monday and keep up to date with all the events at what promises to be a very special FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 Gala.

In the meantime you can decide the fate of the FIFA Puskas Award by voting for your goal of 2011, and there is also a chance to win an exclusive signed shirt by playing the FIFA/FIFPro World XI Predictor.

*The Gala will not be broadcast in some countries. A full list of countries where it will not be shown will be published shortly.

Sabella: You can’t say no to this job

Sabella: You can’t say no to this job

Last August, former Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Sabella was given one of the biggest challenges a coach can face when he was handed the reins of his national team. An assistant to Daniel Passarella at the 1998 FIFA World Cup France™, Sabella’s brief was to restore the lustre of La Albiceleste and take them to Brazil 2014.

Already preparing for Argentina’s next qualifying match in June, the 57-year-old father of four and avid history student spoke to FIFA.com about the unique challenges and demands of the job, the form of the world’s leading national sides and the contribution Lionel Messi makes to the national side.

FIFA.com: You took over as Argentina coach nearly six months ago. Has the job matched your expectations?
Alejandro Sabella: I felt a huge responsibility when I took over and a huge amount of love too. The first thing I had to do on coming into the job was to get familiar with how a national team works, which is totally different to a club side. Luckily I’ve been able to draw on my experience alongside Passarella, which came at a time when Argentinian players started going abroad in large numbers. It’s taken me a while to settle in but I knew all about the responsibility I had on my shoulders when I took over and how difficult the World Cup qualifiers are.

What do you enjoy most and least about coaching the national team?
As a football-loving Argentinian this is the biggest job there is, the thing you dream about doing most. Anyone who makes a living out of the game dreams about playing in the first division and for the national team, and that goes for coaches too. That’s the good thing. The hardest part is handling the tremendous pressure to get results. There’s more and more pressure in football these days and not just in Argentina. There’s maybe a bit more in Latin America than there is in English-speaking countries, where the mindset’s a bit different, but there’s pressure wherever you go. That’s the unpleasant bit but it’s all part and parcel of the job.

Did the untimely departures of your predecessors Alfio Basile, Diego Maradona and Sergio Batista make you think twice about taking on the job?
No, not all. I didn’t have any doubts, for the reasons I’ve just mentioned. This job is the dream of any Argentinian who’s ever been in coaching. You just can’t turn it down or even have any doubts about it.
As a football-loving Argentinian this is the biggest job there is, the thing you dream about doing most.
Alejandro Sabella on the Argentina job

Let’s turn to the qualifiers for Brazil 2014 now and Argentina’s away win over Colombia in their last game, a result you seemed very pleased with.
Yes, because our previous match against Bolivia [a 1-1 draw in Buenos Aires] was a disappointment for us. We didn’t play that well but the result was totally unfair. We fell behind in Colombia and I felt a lot of pressure on myself to turn the game around quickly and take Argentina to where they belong.

Do you demand high standards of yourself?
Yes, I do.

That’s quite an explosive combination: someone as driven and determined as the national team coach of a country as passionate about its football as Argentina.
That’s right, and that’s why I feel you shouldn’t ask too much of yourself or be too critical of yourself. There’s nothing wrong with being self-critical as long as you don’t go too far. That’s when you can get depressed and that’s not good.

Have you ever had counselling or therapy?
No, never. Mao Tse Tung once said that self-criticism was a symptom of weakness. And there’s something in that because it is a weakness when taken to an extreme. Reading that helped me because I’ve always been critical with myself. It’s something I use with my players as well. I always tell them not to dwell on their mistakes because that’s worse. A little bit of self-criticism is great sometimes and necessary even. It’s a sign that you’ve got your feet on the ground. You can get big-headed otherwise, but there again, you always need to strike a balance.

Turning back to football now, would you say your biggest problem has been putting the defence together?
Overhauling the defence is taking a bit more time, that’s true. We need to stay grounded about it but when you’ve got strikers of the quality of [Lionel] Messi, [Gonzalo] Higuain and [Sergio] Aguero, I don’t think people should be offended by anyone saying the back line is proving to be a bit more of a headache. The thing is, we don’t have much time to work with and solve the problems inherent in the team. We need to get a good squad together, make sure the players get on well and that they have a sense of belonging and feel something when they pull the Argentina shirt on. That’s what these boys have been doing, especially in the second half against Colombia.

Do you listen to what the media have to say?
A little but not that much. There’s always someone worth listening to, and criticism, whether it’s positive or negative, is good. It opens your mind. Some people do have useful things to say.

You received a lot of criticism in the press when you said before the Venezuela match that you’d be happy to win “by half a goal to nil”, a comment some felt gave the Venezuelans belief. Having lost the game, do you regret saying that?
Given the history of the fixture, maybe I made a mistake in saying the “half a goal to nil” thing, though I don’t think it gave our opponents extra belief. You need to put things in context. Venezuela have come on a lot, they rested their first-teamers for their first game, and the match was played in very hot and humid conditions. Venezuela had the luxury of playing with their second string against Ecuador, the idea being: “If we lose this game, then so be it because we’ve got Argentina next.” But with the history Argentina have got they don’t have that luxury. Maybe my comment was a little unfortunate but I don’t think it helped them gain in stature.

Brazil are the hosts of the upcoming FIFA World Cup. You’ve played there and you know Brazilian football well. Do you think playing at home will be a disadvantage for them?
Home advantage can be a double-edged sword, and it all depends on the character of the players. Brazilian players are very special and possess tremendous technique. If they hit their stride they can destroy you, wipe the floor with you, thrash you. They’ll also be under pressure though. They’ll have the obligation of having to win, and we’ll have to see how they handle that. They’ll be big favourites of course. They always are and they’re at home. It’s a tricky one, though, and I always say that the sword has two edges.
The control he has of the ball at full pace is amazing. It reminds me of the Scalextric I used to play as a kid – those cars going flat out from a standing start.
Sabella on Lionel Messi


You were assistant coach to Daniel Passarella during his time as Uruguay coach. Why do you think La Celeste have been doing so well lately?
Uruguay have got a lot of character and a very strong and close-knit squad. The players really stick together and they feel they belong. They know what the Celeste shirt is all about and they also seem to have a great relationship with the coaching staff. Then there’s the fact that the players based in Europe have come on a lot. All that’s made them tremendously strong and they’ve really gained in confidence. They’ve created a virtuous circle and it’s all very positive for them.

You watch a lot of football. Which national teams have impressed you the most recently?
Germany and Spain are the best sides around. Germany are looking really good and they’ve grown a lot. They’ve brought in a couple of new and very talented young players, the likes of [Thomas] Muller have cemented their places in the team and big-name players like Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger are still there. They’ve gained in experience after going through a transitional phase. Spain are up there as well, no question. They’ve got fantastic potential but sometimes you ease off a little when you’re the world champions. They stand out the most, but then there’s Brazil too. How could I forget about them? Brazil are Brazil, and the five-time world champions too.

A question about Lionel Messi. What has surprised you about him most as a person?
I knew I’d be working with the best player in the world, a player who can change a game quicker than anyone. But to see him close up, and his acceleration, explosiveness and technique at pace, was a real eye-opener for me. The control he has of the ball at full pace is amazing. It reminds me of the Scalextric I used to play as a kid – those cars going flat out from a standing start. What’s surprised me about him more than anything, though, is what he means to people in India and Bangladesh, for example. It’s incredible. It’s the same in Venezuela, and Colombia was something else. He means so much to people. They idolise him and they’re crazy about him on and off the pitch. It’s unbelievable.

One last question. Do you see yourself at Brazil 2014?
No. I just see myself playing against Switzerland in February. After that we’ll see. I like to take things one game at a time and focus on the job in hand, and that goes for my work in general, not just coaching the national team. I don’t think long term, only short and medium term. We’ll see how the rest works out.