World Cup 2002 Is All Set to Draw FIFA’s Attention
The focus of the soccer world switches to Tokyo on Tuesday when the preliminary draw for the 2002 World Cup is held at the city’s glittering International Forum.
A record 197 countries will be taking part.
Of FIFA’s 203 member nations, only six--Afghanistan, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, North Korea and Papua New Guinea--will not be participating in the 2002 tournament.
France, as defending champion, and Japan and South Korea, as co-hosts, automatically qualify for the 32-team finals. Tuesday’s draw will divide the remaining 194 countries into groups for regional qualifying play.
“This is the very first event of the 2002 World Cup finals,” said Yasuhiko Endoh, general secretary of the Japanese Organizing Committee (JAWOC). “It is the kick-off event. . . . After this, the World Cup will be truly underway.”
Among those participating in the 90-minute draw ceremony to be overseen by Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s president, will be Brazil’s Pele, France’s Michel Platini and Mexico’s Hugo Sanchez, as well as Aime Jacquet, who coached France to its 1998 World Cup victory.
Also involved will be sumo wrestler Konishiki, tennis player Kimiko Date, Asia’s young-player-of-the-year Shinji Ono of Japan and South Korean striker Ahn Jung-Hwan.
Qualifying play will begin March 1 and end in November 2001, with the finals set for June 1-30, 2002. The U.S. will begin its qualifying campaign in October, after the Major League Soccer season has ended.
FAMILIAR SQUABBLES
The first ball has yet to be kicked in anger, but already the 2002 World Cup is beset by all-too-familiar problems. As usual, money is the root cause.
First, there is the matter of tickets. About
3 million will be available for the 64 games in the finals and FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, has proposed that half of them should be split evenly between Japan and South Korea.
That, said the Japanese, is insufficient.
“That figure will not be enough for us and I will be asking FIFA for a bigger allocation,” JAWOC’s Endoh told Reuters news service.
An argument also is brewing over television.
ISL Worldwide, FIFA’s Swiss marketing arm, and the German company Kirch acquired the TV rights for $960 million and expect to profit by selling those rights to television companies worldwide.
But some companies are balking at the asking price. For instance, ISL offered the rights to televise Tuesday’s draw and the 2002 finals to the Japanese Consortium for $244.2 million, but the consortium has offered only $97.7 million.
The squabble continues and Blatter had to step in to assure that the draw would be televised in Japan.
AS FOR 2006 . . .
On Monday, FIFA officials have an important decision to make in Tokyo: Its Executive Committee must decide how the vote for the 2006 World Cup will be managed on July 6.
That could go a long way toward determining whether the 2006 tournament is awarded to Brazil, England, Germany, Morocco or South Africa.
If the Executive Committee decides that a simple majority vote of its 24 members is preferred, South Africa would become the favorite. But if a round-by-round system is chosen, with the lowest vote getter eliminated in each round until a straight vote is held between two finalists, England and Germany are better poised to win.
Brazil and Morocco are considered outsiders, especially in light of Friday’s revelations that Brazil had fielded overage players while winning last month’s FIFA under-17 World Championship in New Zealand.
Brazil, the only nation to have taken part in every World Cup since the first in 1930, faces a possible two-year ban from international competition, including the Sydney Olympics and 2002 World Cup, if found guilty.
Ricardo Texeira, president of the Brazilian soccer federation (CBF), has demanded a life-ban on the three players involved. The three are said to have submitted false identity papers, passports and birth certificates to the CBF.
Mexico and Nigeria were banned after their federations fielded overage players in FIFA competitions. FIFA said it “is launching a thorough investigation into the case.”
USA YOUNGSTERS
Among those who ventured to New Zealand for the U-17 championship was longtime Soccer America magazine columnist Paul Gardner, who gave glowing reviews to two youngsters with Los Angeles connections, Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley.
Donovan, of Redlands, won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player. Now under contract to Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, he ended his U-17 national team career with 36 goals in 42 matches.
But Gardner was even more impressed by Beasley, who won the Silver Ball as runner-up in the voting as the U.S. finished fourth, after losing on penalty kicks to Australia in the semifinals.
“An exuberantly unclassifiable presence,” is what he called the 17-year-old Beasley, who in August became the youngest player to sign with MLS and was assigned to the Galaxy.
“His speed, of course, you soon notice that,” Gardner wrote. “But speed is straightforward stuff, and it is the least interesting of his talents. His ability to instantly control a ball, to turn and spin away from an opponent and hit full stride immediately is remarkable. His dribbling has an unruly quality to it--maybe that’s exactly what makes it so unsettling to opponents.
“And there’s daring inventiveness too. That vital goal against Mexico [in a 3-2 U.S. victory] was fashioned in a flash by some rare soccer instinct, a gift that we don’t see too often. Beasley may well end up being the most talked-about player of this tournament.”
Galaxy fans will have to wait until next spring to judge for themselves.
SPOTLIGHT ON UCLA
Midfielder Sasha Victorine of UCLA is one of five finalists for the Hermann Trophy, awarded annually to the top collegiate soccer player in the nation.
Victorine, of Corona, scored a career-high 11 goals and had eight assists in the regular season and has helped the Bruins advance to this weekend’s NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
The only UCLA player to win the award was goalkeeper Brad Friedel, now playing for Liverpool in England.
The other four Hermann Trophy candidates are goalkeeper Adin Brown of William & Mary, defender Nick Garcia and forward Aleksey Korol of Indiana, and forward Ali Curtis of Duke.
The winner will be announced Saturday in Charlotte, N.C., site of the 1999 Men’s College Cup.
U.S. CUP 2000
U.S. Soccer announced that Ireland, Mexico and South Africa will be the U.S. opponents in Nike U.S. Cup 2000, set for June 3-11 at sites to be announced.
In six previous tournaments, the U.S. has a record of 7-7-3 in games against Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, England, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru and Portugal.
The Americans won the tournament in 1992 and 1995, but Mexico has won the last three.
South Africa will be making its first appearance in the United States, with a return trip by the U.S. team quite likely, especially if South Africa is awarded the 2006 World Cup next July.
Said U.S. Coach Bruce Arena, “Ireland had some success in Euro [2000] qualifying and is always a tough opponent. Our first matchup against South Africa will be a good test against one of Africa’s strongest teams. And we’re always up for games against Mexico.”
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Join the Club
Winners of the Toyota/Intercontinental Cup for the world club championship. Championship was a two-game series from 1960-72 and 1974-79. (*-Aggregate):
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Year Winner (Country) Runner-up (Country) Score 1999 Manchester United (England) Palmeiras (Brazil) 1-0 1998 Real Madrid (Spain) Vasco da Gama (Brazil) 2-1 1997 Borussia Dortmund (Germany) Cruzeiro (Brazil) 2-0 1996 Juventus (Italy) River Plate (Argentina) 1-0 1995 Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) Gremio (Brazil) 0-0 (4-3, penalty kicks) 1994 Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) AC Milan (Italy) 2-0 1993 Sao Paulo (Brazil) AC Milan (Italy) 3-2 1992 Sao Paulo (Brazil) Barcelona (Spain) 3-1 1991 Red Star Belgrade (Yugoslavia) Coco Colo (Chile) 3-0 1990 AC Milan (Italy) Olimpia (Paraguay) 3-0 1989 AC Milan (Italy) Atletico Nacional (Colombia) 1-0 (OT) 1988 Nacional (Uruguay) PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 1-1(7-6, penalty kicks) 1987 FC Porto (Portugal) Penarol (Uruguay) 2-1 (OT) 1986 River Plate (Argentina) Steau Bucharest (Romania) 1-0 1985 Juventus (Italy) Argentinos Juniors (Argentina) 2-2 (4-2, penalty kicks) 1984 Independiente (Argentina) Liverpool (England) 1-0 1983 Gremio (Brazil) Hamburg SV (West Germany) 2-1 1982 Penarol (Uruguay) Aston Villa (England) 2-0 1981 Flamengo (Brazil) Liverpool (England) 3-0 1980 Nacional (Uruguay) Nottingham Forest (England) 1-0 1979 Olimpia (Paraguay) Malmo FF (Sweden) 3-1* 1978 Not played 1977 Boca Juniors (Argentina) Borussia Moenchengladbach (W. Germany) 5-2* 1976 Bayern Munich (West Germany) Cruzeiro (Brazil) 2-0* 1975 Not played 1974 Atletico Madrid (Spain) Independiente (Argentina) 2-1* 1973 Independiente (Argentina) Juventus (Italy) 1-0 1972 Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) Independiente (Argentina) 4-1* 1971 Nacional (Uruguay) Panathinaikos (Greece) 3-2* 1970 Feyenoord (Netherlands) Estudiantes (Argentina) 3-2* 1969 AC Milan (Italy) Estudiantes (Argentina) 4-2* 1968 Estudiantes (Argentina) Manchester United (England) 2-1* 1967 Racing Club (Argentina) Celtic (Scotland) 1-0 (after 2-2 aggregate) 1966 Penarol (Uruguay) Real Madrid (Spain) 4-0* 1965 Inter Milan (Italy) Independiente (Argentina) 3-0* 1964 Inter Milan (Italy) Independiente (Argentina) 3-1* 1963 Santos (Brazil) AC Milan (Italy) 1-0 (after 4-4 aggregate) 1962 Santos (Brazil) Benfica (Portugal) 8-4* 1961 Penarol (Uruguay) Benfica (Portugal) 7-2* 1960 Real Madrid (Spain) Penarol (Uruguay) 5-1*
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