Tabla de contenidos para July 2017 en Australian FourFourTwo

One day, Australia will go into an international tournament and not be in the inevitable Group of Death. And while, once again, our group stage rivals in the Confederation Cup look the most formidable of anyone’s, maybe – just maybe – they’re not. At face value, the Socceroos are going up against the reigning World Champions in Germany, the African Champions in Cameroon and South America’s back to back Champions in Chile. But scratch the surface and that’s possibly not quite as intimidating as it seems. Germany’s decision to blood a young squad in the face of a lengthy injury list (and to allow some of their veteran stars a long-overdue rest) is of course a chance for Australia to pull off a massive shock. It’s Germany though, where youth…

1 TEMPER, TEMPER Argentina La Plata We’ve seen players rip off their shirt in anger, but never a manager. Ex-Arsenal defender – and recent FFT interviewee – Nelson Vivas, however, is known for the odd temper tantrum. He resigned from his first managerial role with Quilmes after punching a supporter. This time Vivas’ ire was at a referee. Upon being sent up to the stands, the Estudiantes boss ripped off his smart shirt in one movement, kicked a water bottle and marched off. He is already a better Incredible Hulk than Ed Norton. 2 DON’T HAVE A COW, MAN (PT.I) Spain Madrid For no apparent reason, Real Madrid’s advance to the Champions League final this season resulted in not one but two massive Bart Simpsons rocking up at the Bernabeu.…

I knew I’d made it as a player when I was playing at the highest level in the country. You say you made it to a certain degree and everyone’s ambitions are to play as a pro in Europe somewhere. It took me until 27 to get to Germany and it was a great experience and a great journey to get there. Your career fluctuates up and down. Every year is a different year depending on your goals. I was happiest when I was out there playing. We had some good times. My stint in Adelaide was amazing because I went through as a 19-year-old kid and won a title in my first year. There were so many Socceroos in the team and Zoran Matić coaching. It was an amazing…

“IT’S A DREAM TO BE IN AN EVENT LIKE THIS. IT’S HUGE FOR US. ALL THESE TEAMS ARE INCREDIBLY STRONG...” Jackson Irvine has enjoyed a remarkable 10 months that has seen him set the English Championship alight. Like compatriot Aaron Mooy, Irvine has been one of the best midfielders in England’s second tier, earning rave reviews for his performances at plucky Burton Albion. Most expected Burton to drop straight back down to League One after securing promotion last year, but the Brewers bucked the trend and a big reason was the man from Melbourne. Irvine missed five games all season for Nigel Clough’s side as he racked up 44 appearances in the tough competition. The club rewarded him by naming him their Player of the Season and the Players’ Player…

WE BELIEVE WE CAN DO SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT. WE CAN DO SOMETHING NO OTHER NEW ZEALAND SIDE HAS EVER DONE... Whipping boys. Sitting ducks. Sacrificial lambs. Cannon fodder. Pick any metaphor you like and apply it to the New Zealand football team. At 112th in the world – over fifty places lower than any other team at the tournament – the All Whites are undoubtedly the rank outsiders of the 2017 Confederations Cup. Just don’t tell them that. “We’re not going there to make up the numbers,” insists coach Anthony Hudson as he puts the final touches on his side’s preparation for their biggest tournament since the 2010 World Cup. “We know the challenge ahead of us but we’re all 100 percent clear on what we want to achieve – me…

THE FANS REMAIN FAITHFUL IN THEIR PLAYERS AND THE TIDE IS SLOWLY TURNING Fixtures: Portugal 19 June 1am, New Zealand 22 June 4am, Russia 25 June 1am In Mexico’s 20 matches (at the time of writing) since coach Juan Carlos Osorio took over in November 2015, the side has won 16 times and lost once. But that defeat haunts El Tri supporters, embarrassed 7-0 by Chile in last year’s Copa America Centenario quarter-finals. It forced deep introspection about where Mexico was headed and what these players could achieve. After all, this is a side which has exited the past six World Cups in the Round of 16. The pressure mounted on Osorio but he kept his job and re-energised the side, albeit with adjusted expectations…

CHERCHESOV GOT THE GIG WITH A GOAL OF GUIDING RUSSIA TO WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS Fixtures: New Zealand 18 June 1am, Portugal 22 June 1am, Mexico 25 June 1am (all times AEST) The next 12 months are meant to be massive for Russia as it hosts the Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup, but there’s serious concerns about the national team’s readiness after their humiliation at France 2016. The Golden Eagles crashed out early at the Euros, bottom of their group, with only one point from their three games, while their fans disgraced the nation with acts of violence. The fallout continued when duo Pavel Mamaev and Aleksandr Kokorin drew criticism from President Vladimir Putin after they reportedly spent €250,000 euros on champagne in a Monte…

RIVALS CAN EXPECT AN EVEN MORE COHESIVE AND CONFIDENT UNIT IN RUSSIA Fixtures: Chile 19 June 4am, Australia 23 June 1am, Germany 26 June 1am After a 15-year wait, and against extraordinary odds, a Cameroon team of largely unknowns clinched the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in February for the fifth time. Rocked by the withdrawal of eight stars, manager Hugo Broos made a virtue of inexperience as his unfancied side swung between youthful bravado and dogged resistance. The list of no shows included Liverpool’s Joel Matip, West Brom’s Allan Nyom, Bordeaux’s Maxime Poundje and (briefly) Ajax keeper Andre Onana. Hearts ace Arnaud Djoum remained pivotal in the final stages of the campaign but the squad upheaval thrust others into the limelight: Slavia Prague’s powerful…

ARFENTINA 2-1 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA WORLD CUP, GROUP STAGE June 15, 2014 I’d had to wait eight years for my second World Cup goal. We wanted to have a great tournament and started off with a win against Bosnia, and I scored our second goal. It all happened very quickly. I picked the ball up near the halfway line and tried to burst towards their penalty area. I played a one-two with Gonzalo Higuain and then shot from the edge of the box. Luckily it all came off. We’d performed brilliantly in qualifying and sealed our place in Brazil with a couple of games to spare, then demonstrated that we were a great team by reaching the final. We didn’t quite manage to win the tournament, but we’d done everything…

MICHEL BASTOS ‘I played with him in the UAE - he was a really nice guy off the pitch and we had some good times together. He played for Lyon during their golden run a few years back, played for Brazil and had a real sweet left foot.’ DAVID BECKHAM ‘I was lucky enough to play against him twice, both times when he was at LA Galaxy. Without a doubt, he was one of the best right-footed players in the world and possibly of all time. He could pick a pass from anywhere and land it wherever you wanted and the presence he had was like no other player I’ve ever shared a pitch with.’ EDEN HAZARD ‘I played against him in a friendly in Sydney – it was pre-season…

Grimsby Town are renowned for their away-day exploits, and inflatables are always a favourite. But after one of the oddest court cases in English legal history, when a steward at Barnet sued after a tap on the head from a tiny shark, blow-ups were banned. Trevor Hewson, Grimsby fan, fought the fun police. “The ban was just comical,” he tells FFT, “so I got on Twitter and suggested taking something mad to the next game there – a tree, or an ironing board. We settled on a mariachi band and it’s spiralled. I got in too deep and realised that I had to do it.” An online fundraiser secured in excess of $2,700, more than enough pesos to hire Beato Burrito for the fixture at The Hive (the rest of…

Russia. At first glance it’s the home of James Bond villains, nuclear weapons and Cold War nostalgia. An interesting host for an international football tournament indeed. Peel back the stereotypes, though, and slowly Russia reveals its true colours. This is a nation of warm-hearted people, delicious food and beautiful cityscapes. While some clichés ring true – the winters are cold and the vodka is plentiful – there is much more to Russia than meets the eye. From 17 June to 2 July, the FIFA circus will roll into town for the 2017 Confederations Cup. With the Socceroos participating by virtue of their status of Asian champions, and still with a chance of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, diehard Australians fan might find themselves well-acquainted with Russia over the next…

“WE WANT TO PROGRESS EVEN MORE – WE WANT TO GO ONE STEP FURTHER, DOMINATE A GAME AND WIN THE GAME” There’s a steeliness and sense of determination about Bailey Wright that is hard to shake. Perhaps it stems from his teenage years, when he was unwanted by Melbourne Victory and had to head overseas to keep his fledging career going. Perhaps it stems from when he was transfer listed by Preston North End boss Graham Westley in 2012, but he forced his way back into contention and won himself a new contract at the club. Whatever the reason, Wright is a tough character who is not short of confidence. He is used to proving people wrong, of upsetting the odds. And while some might inevitably say Australia have once…

STADUIMS SPARTAK STADIUM, MOSCOW FC Spartak Moscow’s home ground, also known as Otkrytiye Arena, is a 45,360-capacity stadium unveiled in 2014. Located to the north-west of central Moscow, the venue also plays host to the Russian national team. Keep an eye out for a monument to the Starostin brothers inside the ground, installed to commemorate four brothers who were instrumental in Spartak Moscow’s early history but later found themselves in Soviet gulags. Spartak Stadium is one of two venues in Moscow to be used during the 2018 World Cup – the other being the famous Luzhniki Stadium. FISHT OLYMPIC STADIUM, SOCHI Named after a nearby mountain, the Fisht Olympic Stadium, capacity 47,659, was constructed for the 2014 Winter Olympics and hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Its white roof matches…

HIS FIRST 18 MONTHS IN THE JOB SPARKED CRITICISM OVER HIS SELECTIONS Fixtures: Russia 18 June 1am, Mexico 22 June 4am, Portugal 25 June 1am The All Whites head for Russia as massive underdogs to get a win, let alone progress out of the group, but there is some hope under impressive 36-year-old Seattle-born English coach, Anthony Hudson. New Zealand’s 1-1 draw with the United States and hard-fought 2-1 loss to Mexico in the US last October showed they can compete which will encourage All Whites fans, who fondly cling on to the memories from the 2010 World Cup when they drew all three of their group matches, including a 1-1 draw with reigning champions Italy. Working against the All Whites is their profligacy in…

FIXTURES Tuesday 20 June, 1am Australia v Germany Olympic Stadium, Sochi Friday 23 June, 1am Cameroon v Australia Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Friday 23 June, 4am Germany v Chile Kazan Arena, Kazan Monday 26 June, 1am Germany v Cameroon Olympic Stadium, Sochi Monday 26 June, 1am Chile v Australia Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow Sunday 25 June, 1am Portugal v New Zealand Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg SEMI FINALS Thursday 29 June, 4am Winner Group A v Runner Up Group B Kazan Arena, Kazan Friday 30 June, 4am Winner Group B v Runner Up Group A Olympic Stadium, Sochi THIRD PLACE PLAY OFF Sunday 2 July, 10pm Loser Semi Final 1 v Loser Semi Final Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow FINAL Monday 3 July, 1am Winner Semi Final 1 v Winner Semi Final 2 Krestovsky…

THIS COULD BE CHILE’S GOLDEN GENERATION’S TIME TO WIN A GLOBAL TITLE Fixtures: Cameroon 19 June 4am, Germany 23 June 4am, Australia 26 June 1am South America’s master marauders have been on an upward trajectory since Marcelo Bielsa took the reins in 2007 and unleashed his brand of ruthless uptempo attack. Less reliant on individual brilliance – although they have that in spades – La Roja hunt in packs, suffocating space and overwhelming opponents. Last year’s 7-0 mauling of Mexico in the Copa America Centenario – a team that was sitting on a record 22 unbeaten streak – was a warning to the world. Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi harbours a less revolutionary spirit than his predecessors, such as Jorge Sampaoli, but still knows a good…

GERD MULLER Bayern Munich, 1964-1979 566 GOALS Much fanfare followed Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski winning the Bundesliga Golden Boot in 2015-16 with 30 goals, a tally nobody had reached in three decades. All year long, Lewandowski’s progress was measured and pundits debated whether or not he – or his rivals, Thomas Muller and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – could finally hit the landmark. Nobody even mentioned the more magical number, though. That’s because it’s a given for German football fans that the league’s single-season goal record will never be broken. No one will match the 40 goals Gerd Muller scored over 34 games in 1971-72. A few of Muller’s records have been bettered over the years, most recently in June 2014 when Miroslav Klose scored the 69th of his 71 Germany…

YOGA This ancient practice involves posture and breathing exercises that improve flexibility. Manchester United stalwart Ryan Giggs credited yoga with helping him play on into his 40s – and a study last year illustrated exactly how it can aid physical performance. Twenty-six participants went through a 10-week yoga programme that featured two sessions each week, and all of them displayed a significant improvement to their flexibility and balance when performing a range of movements after the programme, compared to their efforts prior to the study. Make it a part of your training regime and you might be able to extend your playing days. 1 “Being supple boosts speed, recovery and sharpness of movement, and yoga improves all of these,” said Giggs’ yoga teacher, Sarah Ramsden. 2 “Stiff through your hips?…

“THE FREE-KICK AGAINST ENGLAND? WE’D PRACTISED IT FOR FOUR YEARS! ORTEGA WAS SUPPOSED TO SHOOT, BUT AS IT HAD NEVER WORKED BEFORE, I HAD A GO AND IT WENT STRAIGHT IN FIRST TIME” CLUBS 1992-93 Talleres 1993-95 Banfield 1995-2014 Inter COUNTRY 1994-2011 Argentina In a professional career that spanned more than two decades, Javier Zanetti has seen it all. Even since hanging up his boots in 2014, he’s been pretty busy: setting up a non-profit foundation that helps more than 1,000 kids in Argentina, becoming Inter’s vice-president as well as opening a steak restaurant in Milan. El Gaucho has a long table saved for special guests: then-Inter boss Stefano Pioli, his assistant Walter Samuel and the rest of the Nerazzurri coaching staff are coming over for dinner – and their…

THE LEAD UP The season before we’d had a bad season. The coach got sacked, so then we’ve got a new coach and with us 13 points behind early in the season, there was obviously talk they were going to sack the new coach as well. We started off pretty badly, but then we worked hard and got within a few points of the top. The second last game we caught up with Young Boys and with a better goal difference and a few points lead, we just needed a draw for that last game. That season, I was in a bit more of a mentor role. We had two really good strikers who were Swiss legends, they were playing for Switzerland, they grew up in Basel so they were…

The Confederations Cup can giveth, but it can also taketh away. You can reasonably expect the unexpected, but when reality decides to hit home, it does so with a thump. The Socceroos found all of that out the very first time they were there, in Saudi Arabia in 1997. Played only a fortnight after the worst night in Australian football history, when a place at the 1998 World Cup finals was ripped from the team’s grasp by an Iran side that came from 2-0 down (and 3-1 down on aggregate) to draw 2-2 at the MCG, who could safely predict how Australia would go? Would they be a shell of a team, haunted by the awful consequences of that result, and subsequently perform horribly? Or would they be determined to…

FIXTURES Sunday 18 June, 1am Russia v New Zealand Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Monday 19 June, 1am Portugal v Mexico Kazan Arena, Kazan Thursday 22 June, 1am Russia v Portugal Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow Thursday 22 June, 4am Mexico v New Zealand Olympic Stadium, Sochi Sunday 25 June, 1am Russia v Mexico Kazan Arena, Kazan Sunday 25 June, 1am Portugal v New Zealand Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg SEMI FINALS Thursday 29 June, 4am Winner Group A v Runner Up Group B Kazan Arena, Kazan Friday 30 June, 4am Winner Group B v Runner Up Group A Olympic Stadium, Sochi THIRD PLACE PLAY OFF Sunday 2 July, 10pm Loser Semi Final 1 v Loser Semi Final Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow FINAL Monday 3 July, 1am Winner Semi Final 1 v Winner Semi Final…

PRAGMATIC PORTUGAL ARE WELL-ORGANISED AND HARD TO BREAK DOWN Fixtures: Mexico 19 June 1am, Russia 22 June 1am, New Zealand 25 June 1am They may have only won once in regulation time in seven games at the European Championships. They may have drawn all three of their group games. They may have finished third in their group… but Portugal still go to Russia as European champions. To be fair, for all their fortune at last year’s Euros in France, Fernando Santos’s side rode their luck and then made the most of it. They were pragmatic, solid and unspectacular, but full of spirit and, of course, they possessed Cristiano Ronaldo. It must not be forgotten, however that their star man had to be replaced in the…

RECENT FORM HAS BEEN SPOTTY AND ANGE’S NEW FORMATION HAS RILED CRITICS Fixtures: Germany 20 June 1am, Cameroon 23 June 1am, Chile 26 June 26 1am The Kings of Asia will relish heading in as massive underdogs – the Aussies like nothing more than making donkeys of pundits and pulling out results through sheer force of will. After impressing in playing style, if not results, in a tough 2014 World Cup group, the Socceroos won the 2015 Asian Cup on home soil in just their third attempt. Coach Ange Postecoglou has shaken off the dour defensive tactics of his imported predecessors and instead let the players express their natural attacking instincts. Recent form, however, has been spotty, and in the home straight of a gruelling…

A NEW TRINKET FOR GERMANY’S BULGING TROPHY CABINET IS NOW NO SURE BET... Fixtures: Australia 20 June 20 1am, Chile 23 June 4am, Cameroon 26 June 1am Germany’s decision to field an experimental line up has blown the tournament wide open. Bookies had the reigning World Champions as favourites to win the Cup for the first time, after being bundled out in the group stage of Mexico 1999 and finishing third on home soil six years later. There was every reason for confidence as Die Mannschaft strolled through their early Russia 2018 qualifiers with a perfect five from five win rate - their fastest start ever to a World Cup qualification campaign. Since then manager Joachim Low has made a monkey of the form guide,…

“I loved watching Ronaldinho and Henry, but these days I try to take bits from Pedro and Willian and use them myself” You’ve played off the striker this season – how have you found it? It’s been a good learning curve for me. I’ve mainly played as a winger in my career, but the manager has asked me to play in a more central role this season and it’s something I have enjoyed. If I’m able to play in any position across the front four, it means that I give him more options. What attributes must you have in order to become an effective No.10? You need to be the link man between the midfield and attack. It’s important to stay close to the striker as well and play around…

If you fancy yourself as the next Pep Guardiola but don’t have the time nor money to study for your coaching badges, we’ve got good news – you can train up a future star from your lounge. Tom Byer, world-renowned coach and head technical advisor to the Chinese FA, is the author of Football Starts at Home, with his philosophy educating parents about how they can coach their children as soon as they learn how to walk. “I believe you can start to nurture children’s football skills when they are one or two,” Byer explained at the Soccerex Football Convention. “Kids should not learn to kick the ball first, they should learn how to roll and manipulate it.” Byer’s methods are the result of a 25-year coaching career and he…