Other world football chat 2017/18

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Arsene Wenger says Fifa's expanded Club World Cup will help make football 'global'

Arsene Wenger says Fifa's expanded Club World Cup can make football "really global" and should not just be looked at from a European perspective.

The 32-team event will begin in 2025 with 12 European clubs, including Manchester City and Chelsea.

World players' union Fifpro and City boss Pep Guardiola have expressed concern at the plans.

However, Wenger, Fifa's chief of global football development, says it is "a chance for other clubs to progress".

Having championed the idea of a biennial World Cup, only for it to be dropped amid fierce opposition, the Frenchman wants to find ways of making all the confederations as strong as Europe's Uefa.

"The positive impact this will have on clubs is going to be huge, because it will increase resources for clubs all over the world to develop and to compete," said the former Arsenal manager.

"In Europe we are lucky, but it's important that we make football really global and this creates a chance for other clubs to progress. It will give more opportunities to more players all over the world to compete at the highest level.

"I accept that the football calendar is a busy one, but this is a competition that is going to take place every four years and of course the rest period during the competition and afterwards has to be respected."

The final of the event in the United States in 2025 will take place on 13 July. Under normal circumstances that would be four weeks before the start of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, European club competitions were completed after the end of all domestic football, with the quarter-finals onwards staged in this August period.

As a result, the Premier League gave Manchester City and Manchester United the opening week of the 2020-21 season off to allow their players extra rest time.

Wenger believes a solution can be found this time and pointed to the improved treatment of players as evidence their workload is being managed far better.

"The welfare of the players in the last 20 years has increased dramatically when you look at injury prevention, recovery work, nutrition and advances in medical technology," he added.

"Also VAR has helped with the protection of players, as players know they cannot escape from making bad tackles that cause injury.

"We see players receiving world awards, the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Benzema, all over the age of 35. And it is not unusual to see international careers lasting over 20 years.

"Not so long ago, that was not possible."

Manchester City manager Guardiola says he is concerned by the scheduling of tournaments in the middle of the summer, limiting the time off players have between seasons.

"I am not against the new competitions. I am against the lack of time to recover from year to year," Guardiola said.

"But it is really tough to finish the season and then in three weeks restart again and go to Asia, to be financially stable, or the States. That is really, really tough, for ourselves and especially for the players. For myself, things should change.

"But how do you change when [after] you finish the season, you go to the United States to play another competition? This is the problem."

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva says the amount of games elite footballers have to play now is "crazy" and increases the risk of injury, though he also says they are well paid to compensate.

His verdict is therefore strikingly different to that of Wenger.

"We were not consulted, but we try to do our jobs, to represent our clubs the best possible way, and the people that pay our salaries and the fans that support us," said the Portugal international.

"At the end we cannot complain because we earn a lot of money, but in my opinion, for the people that love the game and are entertained by the game, if we have this many games for so long, at the end the games will lose the energy and the intensity."

Fifpro said the new competition format "demonstrates a lack of consideration for the mental and physical health of participating players" and urged world governing body Fifa to hold talks with other football stakeholders to discuss player welfare regulations.

"The extreme mental and physical pressures at the pinnacle of the game is the principal concern of players with multiple club and national team competitions, leading to exhaustion, physical injuries, mental health issues, diminished performance, and risks to career longevity," Fifpro said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67759565

 

A president just took his team off the pitch personally I wish this would happen here tbh


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See Ajax were put out the cup by minnows. Shambles this season

 

Arsene thinks football ‘isn’t global ‘ ???

No mate…. it is… it’s just the money that’s stuck in a few places..

 

Not paid any attention tbh in regards tae this fifa World Cup put it on whilst waiting for the Villa Game tonight.

what’s the script with it is the Saudis behind this or what.

 

they have improved recently but 13 points off Feyenoord so getting CL is unlikely. Wouldn't be surprised if they took ECL though.

 

Ooof that's big. The Turks are fiercely patriotic.

 

Turkish Cup Final officially cancelled, teams refused to play

https://www.reuters.com/sports/socc...ayed-saudi-cancelled-amid-row-ntv-2023-12-29/

 

Jordan Henderson wants to come home. What a herbert.

 

Third-tier Unionistas de Salamanca have knocked out Villarreal on penalties

 

Sven-Goran Eriksson: Former England manager says he has cancer and 'best case a year' to live

Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson says he has "best case a year" to live after being diagnosed with cancer.

The 75-year-old Swede was the first foreign coach to manage England and led the side to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and 2004 Euros.

"I'm going to resist for as long as I can," Eriksson told Swedish Radio P1.

"I have an illness that's serious. Best case a year, I have worst case a lot less. It's impossible to say exactly, so it's better to not think about it."

Eriksson, who had a 42-year career in management, learned of his cancer diagnosis "almost one year ago" and stood down from his most recent role as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad 11 months ago because of health issues.

"I live a totally normal life," Eriksson told BBC World Service's Sporting Witness.

"I'm not in hospital, I go now and then for a visit but I live at home and I have friends here. Christmas and New Year, the whole family were here - a lot of people.

"I'm going out to try and exercise as much as possible, which is less than it was one year ago, but I have a normal life.

"When you get a message like that, you appreciate every day and you are happy when you wake up in the morning and you feel OK, so that's what I'm doing.

"I thought I was fully healthy but suddenly I had a small stroke so I fell and my children took me to the hospital.

"After one day of examination they told me I had five small strokes, but said 'no problem, you will recover 100% from that', but worse is they said I have cancer which they can't operate on.

"They said they will give me treatment and medicine to try and live as long as possible. I have that diagnosis and they can't operate, unfortunately."

Eriksson began his managerial career with Degerfors in 1977 before joining fellow Swedish side Gothenburg, where he won the Swedish title, two Swedish cups and the 1981 Uefa Cup.

He then went on to enjoy two spells with Portuguese giants Benfica as well as Italian sides Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio - where he won seven trophies including the Serie A title, two Italian Cups and the Uefa Cup Winners' Cup.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67942943

 

Hope he has good last few months on earth pancreatic cancer isn't nice

 

Blue cards and Taker in football...in one day.

That's enough Twitter today.

 

A change to the offside rule.....what do we reckon troops?

 

Yes please, imagine how many goals kyogo would score

 

first thought. Defenders won’t like that rule change in the slightest lol

 

Time to sign sprinters as defenders

 

This rule change would favor weaker teams. Say hello to a few good European results for us, assuming we can find a manager willing to park the bus in Europe while letting our D-line look for Maeda, Kyogo, Yang etc. with long punts. At the same time, the overall effect would be the opposite of what Wenger hopes: more defensive football. To get a more attack-minded shift, a points system change is needed. Give 2 points for a draw with goals.