The Word on the Street
17 Jun 2006Australian bosses urged to give fans day off
Australian bosses came under pressure Saturday to give bleary-eyed Socceroos fans a day off work next week after Australia's early morning World Cup clash with Brazil.
With football fever gripping the nation, thousands of fans are expected to flood the streets of Sydney and other major cities for the match, scheduled to kick off at 2 am local time on Monday (1600 GMT Sunday).
ABL State Chamber, Australia's largest business lobby group, said companies should be flexible and allow staff to take a rostered day off or a day's leave.
Regional manager Mary Doherty said doing so could foster goodwill between employees and management and boost workplace morale.
"The World Cup has really brought a sense of camaraderie," she told AFP. people have united under the flag of green and gold."
Beckham is a model modern dad
England football captain David Beckham is an ideal role model for modern fatherhood, the leader of the world's Anglicans said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday.
English midfielder David Beckham gestures as he celebrates his team's victory over Trinidad and Tobago in their opening round Group B World Cup football match at Nuremberg's Franken Stadium, 15 June 2006. England won the match 2-0. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS
Doctor Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, praised father-of-three Beckham for "taking... fathering seriously".
Beckham's family have been with the Real Madrid midfielder as he tries to lead England to glory at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The 31-year-old is father to sons Brooklyn, seven, Romeo, three, and one-year-old Cruz.
Church of England leader Williams said modern parents had never been less in control of their children and did not want to take time over things.
"We don't have very much patience with the idea that to be a human being you have got some growing to do and that needs patience, that needs a stable background, it just needs time," the 56-year-old said.
Becks is the problem for Ardiles
Osvaldo Ardiles, coach of the Racing Club, gives instructions to his players during the match where his team beat Huracan 3-1, in Buenos Aires 28 July 2002. AFP PHOTO/Marcelo CAPECE-NA
David Beckham is a reason why England have not shone in two laboured wins to date, according to Argentine 1978 world champion Osvaldo Ardiles.
"David Beckham is one of the problems for England," opined the former Tottenham star. "He does so little. No one should have the right to play," said Ardiles, who moved to London outfit Tottenham after the 78 World Cup.
Perhaps Ardiles is unaware Beckham has provided the decisive pass for all three of their goals so far in the World Cup.
Croatian journalist receives death threat
A local journalist has received death threats due to his report on a World Cup ticketing fraud in which he said some 1,000 Croatians living in Germany were cheated, his daily said Saturday.
"Stipe Pudja, editor of the Vecernji List daily foreign edition who lives in Frankfurt, has received text messages in which he is threatened with death," the paper said in a statement. His family in Croatia was also threatened, it added.
Pudja's report, published earlier this week, was on a World Cup ticketing fraud affair in which it claimed at least 1,000 Croatians living in Germany are believed to have been cheated, the statement said.
The fraud was carried out by people who were presenting themselves as officials of Croatia's national football association and were taking money for World Cup tickets which they never delivered, the Vecernji List reported.
In the article, the journalists mentioned notably Kreso Kraljevic from Zagreb, who allegedly took money from at least 200 people, and from whose mobile phone the threatening text messages were sent.
Man U's a stroll in the Park
South Korea's star midfielder Park Ji-Sung is loving everything about playing for glamour club Manchester United - except the English weather.
"I am very satisfied with the team and life there. Everything except the weather," said Park, who has been keen to speak English with the foreign media at the World Cup.
"I am getting to be a better player since I went there. I am satisfied with my first season but it is not enough, I have to improve (further)."
"I need to improve a lot of things (about my game)," said the modest 25-year-old. "I am not a superstar, not world class. I am happy when I hear people call me world class, but I need to try to become a better player."
Maradona fined for speeding
Argentinian legend Diego Maradona was fined by German police for speeding as he drove back to his hotel after watching his nation thrash Serbia and Montenegro in the World Cup, a report said on Saturday.
The 1986 World Cup winner had to pay 200 euros (250 dollars) on the spot after being stopped for travelling at 120 kilometres an hour (74 miles per hour) on a stretch of road limited to 80 km/h in Gelsenkirchen on Friday, Bild newspaper said in its online edition.
Maradona, 45, who has battled against drugs and his ballooning weight in recent years, has been an enthusiastic supporter at both of Argentina's matches, accompanied by an entourage including his daughter Giannina.
Argentina qualified for the last 16 after crushing the Serbs 6-0 in Gelsenkirchen.
Serbia and Mont. humiliated - Press
Serbia-Montenegro's 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Argentina at the World Cup was received as a national catastrophe at home Saturday, with newspapers slamming the side across their front pages.
"Defeated and humiliated," read the headline in the influential Politika daily.
"They disgraced Serbia," read a banner headline.
"Only five minutes were needed to spoil the mood of tens of thousands Serbia-Montenegro's football fans, a half of hour to get them into depression and 90 minutes to leave them feeling outraged," the daily said.
Almost all Belgrade-based newspapers published photos of desperate or tearful fans watching the game at squares and open cafes in the capital.
"We have only ourselves to blame for what happened yesterday, regardless of the strength of the former world champions" Argentina, the sport daily Sportski Zurnal said.
Trousers off for Dutch fans
FIFA confirmed on Saturday they had ordered hundreds of Dutch fans to take off their trousers before entering the stadium for their country's World Cup match against Ivory Coast on Friday.
The fans at the match in Stuttgart were wearing dungarees in the orange of the Dutch team bearing the logo of a Dutch beer company which is not one of the World Cup official sponsors.
FIFA said the clothing was an attempt at so-called ambush marketing.
"Anyone can wear whatever they want, but if a company tries to carry out ambush marketing, FIFA must prevent that happening," said FIFA communications director Markus Siegler.
"In common with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and UEFA, we do not tell individual supporters what to wear, but I will remind you that FIFA has already won a court case against a beer manufacturer who tried this sort of thing."
American beer Budweiser and Germany's Bitburger are the only beers allowed to be sold in the 12 World Cup stadiums.
US must raise its game - Rice
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice doesn't know much about non-American football. But she does know the US side better raise its game if it hopes to stay in the World Cup hunt.
Asked at a news conference with visiting Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema about Saturday's match between Italy and the United States, Rice tried to play the good diplomat.
"I learned a long time ago not to hold strong opinions or predictions about something about which I have so little expertise, as soccer, or European football," she told reporters.
"Obviously, I would like to see the United States do well," she said. "But even I, a pure novice in watching soccer, knows that they will have to play a lot better than they did."
Violent storms sweep Germany
Violent storms swept across Germany, causing millions of euros of damage and leaving several people injured by hailstones "as big as tennis balls," authorities said Saturday.
A major mopping up operation was underway in the eastern state of Saxony, where tens of thousands of vehicles were damaged in the storms Friday evening.
Six people were hurt when they were hit on the head in Leipzig by huge hailstones. Throughout the region, thousands of windows were smashed, and firemen worked all night pumping water out of flooded cellars.
Other casualties included a man falling off his roof while trying to carry out repairs, a woman hurt when her mobile home collapsed and a man injured when his boat sank.
Tens of thousands of football fans nationwide were drenched when the storms broke while they were watching the football on giant screens outside.