World Cup Corner

Reuters - Barcelona’s gifted Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho was elected the first FIFPro world player of the year on Monday from a poll of 38,000 professional players in 40 countries.

The members of the players’ world association also voted in a secret ballot to choose the 2004-05 season’s best team from a shortlist of 55 top names.

‘It’s a great honour to receive another one of these big prizes and this one is extra special because it’s voted for by my fellow players,’ said Ronaldinho, who was voted FIFA’s Player of the Year in December.

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Reuters - Manchester United captain Roy Keane will miss Ireland’s do-or-die World Cup qualifier away to Switzerland next month after breaking a bone in his foot.

The midfielder injured his left foot during United’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday with the club saying on their official website that he was expected to be out for two months.

Keane may, therefore, have played his last match for his country since he had said he would retire from international football after the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany or before if Ireland failed to qualify.

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For a long time African football has been reliant on foreign coaches. Known as ‘Mister’ or ‘Monsieur’, depending on the origin of their employers, these football men have come from Europe to pass on their knowledge of the game.

This qualifying ciclus there has been the emergence of some ambitious young African coaches. FIFAworldcup.com takes a look at three men aiming to take their countries to next summer’s finals.

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As the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany qualifying competition approaches its climax, football fans around the world are busy working out what results are needed for their teams to make it to Germany next summer.

It does not matter if we are talking about the European, African or South American qualifying zones – if you look at the tables you will see a number of teams equal on points. So how is it decided that one team is ranked above another in the league system? Who makes the rules?

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On Tuesday morning the Korean Football Association announced that Dick Advocaat would be the new coach of their national team, three weeks after his fellow countryman Jo Bonfrere resigned from the post.

Dick Advocaat is the third Dutch coach in charge of Taeguk Warriors following Guus Hiddink and Jo Bonfrere. He was chosen ahead of Berti Vogts and Phillipe Troussier for the vacant position.

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Iaquinta gives Udinese dream debut. A hat-trick gave Udinese Calcio a perfect start to their debut UEFA Champions League campaign with a convincing win against Panathinaikos FC at the Friuli stadium.

The Italian international scored once in the first half and twice in the second to put Serse Cosmi’s side top of Group C after one game. Cosmi made one change from the team that overcame AS Roma in Serie A on Sunday, reverting from the three-pronged attack deployed at the Stadio Olimpico to a 4-4-2 formation with midfielder Vidigal included at the expense of forward Davide Di Michele.

Other results from Wednesday September 14, 2005:

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Olympique Lyonnais started their UEFA Champions League campaign in superb fashion as an impressive first-half display earned a 3-0 Group F success against Real Madrid CF.

Three first-half goals in quick succession helped Lyon sink the nine-times European champions and strongly suggest they could make an impact in Europe after leaving the showcase club competition in the quarter-finals the last two seasons.

Other results from Tuesday September 13, 2005:

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The 2006 FIFA World Cup picture is slowly coming into focus. Ten nations have now qualified for next summer’s finals. Only the Africa and Oceania zones, with Australia still to face off against a South American opponent, have yet to produce a representative for the Final Draw.

The final two match days on 8 and 12 October are set to reveal the identity of the next teams to qualify – and the next to falter.

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UEFA Champions League group stage kicks off tomorrow night, with five sides making their debuts in the competition proper and 12 former European Champion Clubs’ Cup winners also in action.

The group stage runs until early December, with the top two in each section progressing to the knockout phase and the third-placed team entering the UEFA Cup Round of 32. The Champions League final takes place at the Stade de France, Paris on 17 May 2006.

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Although the USA and Mexico always start as favourites to take two of the CONCACAF berths at any FIFA World Cup™ finals, the manner in which the regional powerhouses got the job done this time around was noteworthy. Both Bruce Arena’s and Ricardo Lavolpe’s sides were ruthlessly effective in the ‘Hexagonal’ final phase, where six wins, one draw and one defeat apiece had them home and dry with time and games to spare.

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