SAO PAULO // The only way Brazil, as hosts, favourites and five-time champions, could be considered more likely to win the World Cup this summer is if they started each game with a lead. At last summer’s Confederations Cup, that often appeared the case. Such was the ferocity with which Brazilian fans recited their national anthem last year, it affected the whole flow of the game. The team in canary yellow enjoyed an obvious edge, the opposition side seemed to shrink and at least one referee – Howard Webb – said he felt “really moved”. The result was that in three of Brazil’s five matches, including the final against world champions Spain, they opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes. To continue reading, click here. |
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NOTE: In light of recent allegations surrounding Qatar's bid for the 2022 World Cup, ISWAS revisits a candid interview with Mohamed Bin Hammam from 2009. The Qatari was the president of the Asian Football Confederation, as well as being close allies with Fifa president Sepp Blatter. In July 2011, he was banned from football for life.
"I played as centre forward, but really I was just pretending to play," he reveals exclusively to Emirates Business. "I played that position until I was 16 or 17, but always without any skill – of that I can assure you."
Bin Hammam's presence was always admired more on the terraces than the turf. Most weekends he would brave the harsh humidity of the Middle East to watch his local side, Al Rayyan, compete against the likes of Al Sadd and Al Esteqlal in the Qatari League.
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Gary MeenaghanSports scribbler. Pedant with prose. Alliteration addict. Omnivore. Archives
June 2015
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