Friday, January 29, 2010

Maradona's Argentina Remains a Potent Force

By Farid Omar.

As the qualifying for the FIFA 2010 World Cup slated for South Africa was winding down in the COMNEBOL, South American zone, Argentina's near peril of missing an automatic qualifying spot dominated soccer headlines from across the world.

Of course, a world cup without Argentina, a major soccer power house, would be unimaginable. Add this to the fact that Argentina is led by their beloved Diego Maradona, arguably the greatest soccer player to ever play the game, alongside Brazil's Pele. Worse still, Argentina boasts of the finest soccer player on the planet today in the name of Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona, the 2009 FIFA world player of the year

Last season, the Barcelona playmaker led his Barca team to an unprecedented six titles having won the Spanish La Liga and Copa Delray, UEFA's Champions League title, the Spanish and European Super Cups and the 2009 FIFA World Club Championship. But during the 2010 World Cup qualifying rounds, Messi has been but a shadow of himself, finding it difficult to click in an Argentine side bereft of ideas.

Since taking over, Argentina's overall competitive record under Maradona is four defeats and four wins, with 13 goals conceded and only ten scored. Certainly, this is a damning indictment for a man who has at his disposal, world class strikers like Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Agüero and Gonzalo Higuaín and stalwart defenders in Javier Mascherano, Javier Zanetti and Gabriel Heinze.

The Messi factor has puzzled many in the soccer world. Ossie Ardiles, a world cup winner in 1978 and a former team mate of Diego Maradona recently said "It's another problem we have. How can we have the best player in the world and he cannot perform?" As Argentina precariously hung on a thread, Ardiles described his country’s prospect of missing out on South Africa 2010 as “catastrophe, disaster, unthinkable”.

In an embarrassing campaign, Maradona's Argentina suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat at the hands of lowly Bolivia. The loss went into the records as Argentina's heaviest defeat in international soccer in 51 years. Maradona's shaky team also suffered a high profile 3-1 home defeat to arch rivals Brazil in Rosario.

Against all odds, Argentina finally emerged from the doldrums in its last two crucial qualifying matches, securing a last gasp 2-1 win against Peru and a late 1-0 decider away to Uruguay to clinch the fourth and last automatic qualifying spot for the COMNEBOL zone.

The less than inspiring qualifying campaign has important lessons for Argentina. First, Maradona is a living proof that being a world class player does not necessarily translate into being a great manager. For Argentina to do well in South Africa, Maradona should solicit the advice of Argentina's soccer legends, the likes of Mario Kempes, Ossie Ardiles and Daniel Passarella.

Another key problem is Maradona's inability to motivate and inspire his players. As a coach, Maradona must demand a 100 percent commitment from his players and adopt a no nonsense approach to the game. These, combined with correct tactics and team line-up, could elevate Argentina to its traditionally potent, technical and efficient game that has been the hallmark of its attractive soccer for decades.

At the peak of his career, Maradona had the ability to change the game by himself without having to depend on his coach or teammates. As a coach, Maradona should not approach the game the way a striker does. He should learn to draw a clear line between coaching and playing and focus on coach-driven tactics and techniques that can help deliver the game in his favour.

Apart from the media, most of Argentina's influential soccer personalities including former coaches, past and current soccer administrators and his former world cup team mates have mostly shied away from criticizing Maradona's tactics. This is understandable, given that Maradona enjoys a near deity status in Argentina.

For the interest of Argentine soccer, Maradona should not be immune from constructive criticism, and especially from the upper echelons of Argentine soccer that has the power and influence to shape the national team's fortunes.

His poor record at the qualifiers notwithstanding, Maradona can count on Messi, who in the eyes of many pundits, remains a playmaker of the highest calibre. Messi definitely has the opportunity to redeem himself in South Africa by guiding his team to world cup glory.

AC Milan and England’s David Beckham has heaped praise on Messi proclaiming that the Argentine is one of the best players he has ever seen. He went on to compare Messi’s trademark style to that of Maradona, saying “He’s the closest player to Maradona that you can get, and he even plays in a similar passionate way too”.

No doubt, Maradona remains one of the biggest names in the game and his iconic status in world soccer is unquestionable. With the right team selection, tactics and of course psychological and mental edge, Argentina under Maradona has the potential to take South Africa 2010 by storm and even secure its elusive third world cup title. By doing so, Maradona will earn the distinction of winning the world cup both as a player and manager.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Cabinda Shooting Should Have no Bearing on the FIFAWorld Cup in South Africa

By Farid Omar


The timely decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) not to call off the African Cup of Nations (ACN) tournament in Angola despite the deadly gunfire by secessionist rebels, who targeted the Togolese national squad two days before kick off, should be hailed as a brave and bold move by the continental football authority.

In a grisly incident that shook millions around the world, the bus ferrying the Togolese players came under heavy fire from rebels shortly after crossing into Angola’s Cabinda enclave from Congolese territory. The restive enclave is cut off from the rest of Angola by a strip of Congolese land on the Atlantic Coast. The Cabinda Enclave Liberation Front (FLEC) has been fighting to breakaway from Angola in attempts to establish an independent homeland in the oil rich enclave that accounts for 60 percent of Angola’s oil production.

The Togolese contingent suffered heavy casualties as the bus driver, assistant coach and team spokesman all died in the attack while several players were injured. The reserve goalkeeper, reportedly in critical condition at the time of the incident, was airlifted to South Africa and is now listed as stable.

When news of the attack started trickling in, skeptics called for an outright cancellation of the ACN, citing security concerns. But calling off the event, expected to be the continent’s largest ever, would be seen as giving in to political violence as this would encourage violent militants to target other international sporting events in future.

Despite the deadly incident, the ACN went ahead and kicked off to the best start it could ever dream of, with the Freddie Kanoute’s marshaled Mali, wiping out a massive 0-4 goal deficit in spectacular fashion by scoring four times in the last 11 minutes to tie with host nation Angola 4-4. It was an explosive opening game that elevated the spirit of a tournament overshadowed by the tragic event.

It is understandable that Togo had to pull out of the tournament to allow its players who are in state of shock, to mourn their dead. But it would be pointless to ask CAF to scrap the competition as it would reward the cowards behind the attack and mean that any competition is stoppable at any time. The Cabinda incident should be seen as an isolated one and participating teams should certainly put their faith on reassurances by Angolan officials who have vowed to guarantee their security.

The ACN is the largest football showpiece in the continent and it is unfortunate that the attack in Cabinda came less than six months before the continent hosts Football’s biggest tournament, the FIFA World Cup, slated for South Africa in June.

In some footballing circles, the Cabinda shooting has raised security questions for the FIFA World Cup. But given South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, it is clear that the land of Madiba has already passed the World Cup test. It is worth noting that the rainbow nation has elaborate security measures in place and can guarantee the safety of all world cup teams.

Following the Cabinda incident, detractors were quick to attack South Africa’s security credentials for the FIFA World Cup. There is no reason why the incident in Cabinda should have any impact on the World Cup in June. In fact questioning South Africa’s security capabilities speaks of double standards.

Speaking to the BBC, Danny Jordaan, the South African World Cup boss, was clear on this. "When there was a bomb in London no-one said we should not have 2012 (Olympics) in London so we cannot have double standards."

Certainly, South Africa cannot bear any responsibility of what has happened in Angola. Jordaan noted that the majority of the world is not influenced by a distorted understanding of the African continent. He told the BBC that "If there is a war in Kosovo and a World Cup in Germany, no-one asks if the World Cup can go on in Germany, everyone understands the war in Kosovo is a war in Kosovo”

"The world must be balanced and must not apply different standards when it comes to the African continent. Our World Cup is secure and we are confident because we have employed a lot of resources to safeguard the event in our country." He said.

South Africa should not be singled out for any perceived lapse in security. This is because terrorism and political violence in general are global and no single country in the world can offer 100 percent guarantee against any security threats.

President Obama described the botched Christmas Day airline bombing as constituting a “systemic failure” and a “catastrophic lapse in security” - an indication that even the most sophisticated security systems in the US and Europe where the Detroit bound plane originated can be breached

The 2010 ACN is poised to live up to its billing as the continent’s most spectacular tournament ever. And come June, South Africa is ready to host the world in what promises to be a scintillating World Cup to remember.