The Word on the Street

28 Jun 2006

Pessotto tragedy overshadows Buffon's World Cup

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has admitted he is struggling to concentrate on the World Cup following the apparent suicide attempt of his Juventus team-mate Gianluca Pessotto.

"I'm finding it difficult at the moment, almost impossible, to talk about football or matches and all the emotions that you're supposed to feel at a World Cup," said Buffon.

"My thoughts go out to Luca, my friend and companion of many battles, and to his wife and children."

Former Juventus and Italy defender Pessotto is in a serious but not life-threatening condition after jumping from his Turin office window on Tuesday.

Argentina, Italy, England and Brazil are favourites

Argentina, Brazil, England and Italy are the favourites to reach the World Cup semi-finals, according to English bookmakers on Wednesday.

Argentina are rated at 6-4 to beat hosts Germany with Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and William Hill.

Italy are 8-13 on to beat World Cup debutants Ukraine, with Oleg Blokhin's side 9-2 to shock the 1982 winners.

England are marginal favourites at 10-11 on to get revenge on Portugal for their defeat against Luiz Felipe Scolari's side at Euro 2004.

Reigning world champions Brazil are 4-5 on to beat France, who are 7-2 to repeat their 1998 final triumph over the South Americans.

William Hill make Brazil firm favourites to retain their trophy at 9-4, followed by Argentina (7-2), Germany (9-2) and England (11-2).

Ukraine are 50-1 outsiders, while Portugal are 16-1, France 11-1 and Italy 13-2.

Adidas football sales top 1.2 billion euros

Adidas, the German maker of sportswear and equipment, said Wednesday it had already sold 1.2 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) worth of football products this year owing to the ongoing World Cup.

"We did not only match our targets but more or less exceeded all of them," Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer said.

"There is still upside potential depending on how teams will perform," he added.

Football-related sales were expected to stabilise at slightly above 1.0 billion euros in 2007 before rising again in 2008, when the football European Championships take place, Hainer told reporters.

"There is no doubt that Adidas is the winner of this World Cup."

Adidas said it has already sold a record three million replica jerseys in the wake of the football event, including 1.5 million jerseys of the German national team.

At the previous World Cup in 2002, the company sold 1.5 million federation jerseys and 250,000 German jerseys.

Viduka considers Australia retirement

Australia captain Mark Viduka admitted on Wednesday that he is considering retirement from international football.

Middlesbrough striker Viduka, 30, played a key role as his country reached the last 16 of the World Cup before being knocked out by a last-minute penalty against Italy on Monday.

But the former Celtic and Leeds star believes that defeat could signal the break-up of Australia's squad and he hinted he may join the exodus.

The team's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink has already agreed to join Russia after the finals and Viduka claimed family ties may hold the key to his decision if he does quit.

"I haven't seen much of my kids in the last six months, they don't know who their dad is anymore and that is very hard to take. I love being with my family and I love being with the Socceroos as well.

"I'm going to have a chat with my friends and family, and maybe to myself a bit, and see where it takes me."

Brazilians seek revenge against France

"Revenge!" bellowed newspapers on Wednesday in Brazil eight years after France trumped world superpower Brazil 3-0 to win the World Cup on home soil.

"Revenge Saturday," ran the front-page headline in the country's leading newspaper Rio O Globo above photographs of Ronaldo's history-making 15th World Cup goal and French captain Zinedine Zidane finding the back of the net.

"Look out, it will be your turn soon," declared popular daily O Dia before adding: "Even if the players deny it, a climate of revenge is expected to account for the defeat of '98."

But while sports newspapers Lance and Jornal dos Sports went further with cries of "Vengeance" and "Thirst for vengeance", others pointed out that Brazil failed to convince against the Black Stars on Tuesday.

"Brazil won 3-0 but ... even Parreira (coach Carlos Parreira) didn't like it," Folha de Sao Paulo reported, pointing out Zidane's goal had resuscitated the fortunes of a French outfit that many had all but written off.

Euphoria foiling racists says German minister

The happy scenes of fans from around the world watching the World Cup together in Germany has snubbed out any hopes right-wing extremists had of disrupting the tournament, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Wednesday.

A former German government spokesman attracted worldwide media coverage shortly before the World Cup by claiming that dark-skinned foreign visitors risked attack in eastern Germany.

Schaeuble said: "We were not concerned. We were prepared to prevent this phenomenon but the neo-Nazis haven't been able to use the World Cup to spread their ideas because of the euphoria and the atmosphere surrounding the event.

"The World Cup is a wonderful antidote to racism and in favour of integration.

"We will soon have to return to everyday life, but I am convinced that the positive effects will remain," he added.

Ecuador team to receive presidential award

Ecuador's squad are to receive a special award for their World Cup showing next Monday from President Alfredo Palacio after their battling run to the second phase, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Coach Luis Fernando Suarez and his 23 players are to be given a state reception at the presidential palace, secretary of state for communication, Enrique Proano, said.

"President Palacio will decorate the players and then host a lunch for them and their families," Proano said.

Ecuador beat Poland and Costa Rica before losing to Germany in the group stage from which they qualified for the first time on only their second appearance in the finals after 2002.

In the second round a David Beckham freekick for England undid their hopes of further progress as they went out 1-0.

World Cup sends Thai electricity bills soaring

Football-mad Thais are spending millions of dollars more on electricity this month as they stay up through the night to watch World Cup matches, the nation's biggest utility said Wednesday.

In the first 19 days of the World Cup, Thailand spent an extra 304.4 million baht (7.9 million dollars) on power compared to average use during the year, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand said.

EGAT said it noticed a similar spike during the last World Cup in 2002, which was held in Asia, when Thailand consumed an extra 171.6 million baht (4.48 million dollars) of electricity through round two of the tournament.

The company said it believed the most-watched match so far was the second-round clash between Germany and Sweden, when electricity use spiked to the highest level of the month.

Ecuador team to receive presidentlal award

Ecuador's squad are to receive a special award for their World Cup showing next Monday from President Alfredo Palacio after their battling run to the second phase, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Coach Luis Fernando Suarez and his 23 players are to be given a state reception at the presidential palace, secretary of state for communication, Enrique Proano, said.

"President Palacio will decorate the players and then host a lunch for them and their families," Proano said.

Ecuador beat Poland and Costa Rica before losing to Germany in the group stage from which they qualified for the first time on only their second appearance in the finals after 2002.

In the second round a David Beckham freekick for England undid their hopes of further progress as they went out 1-0.

Malaysian police nab 18 men over illegal bets

Malaysian police have busted a major gambling syndicate and arrested 18 men for taking illegal bets on World Cup football matches, a report said Wednesday.

The syndicate located their operations next to a pig sty south of the capital Kuala Lumpur to escape police detection, the Star newspaper said.

Following a week-long surveillance, police raided the hideout on Monday while the Italy and Australia game was in progress and seized electronic items including laptops, digital recorders and handphones.

"Our initial investigations revealed that the group involved could have raked in 30 million ringgit (8.3 million dollars)," said Kamarudin Mohamad Din, criminal investigations deputy chief in central Selangor state.

The gang netted an average of one million ringgit from each game, he said, adding that bets were placed through the Internet.

Police said that since the World Cup began on June 9, they have conducted 22 raids and arrested 56 bookies in Selangor, Malaysia's most industrialised state.

Palmero link for Aussie star Bresciano

Marco Bresciano may become the first of the Socceroos to cash in on Australia's great World Cup performance.

The 26-year-old midfielder is being linked with a move from cash-strapped Parma to Palmero in Italy's Serie A.

Parma director general Gabriele Zamagna has confirmed he is negotiating with the Sicilian club over the sale of Bresciano.

"Between us and the Rosanero club there is contact," Zamagna was reported as saying Wednesday. "But there's still nothing concrete. We will see in the next few days.

"Palermo has a good squad, but it is still too soon to speak about potential players being inserted into the negotiations."

"There's nothing confirmed yet, there's talk, but we have to see what happens, weigh up my options and decide after," Bresciano said after Australia's last-kick 1-0 loss to Italy in the second round last Monday.

Pessotto was depressed: wife

Work depression drove former Italy international Gianluca Pessotto to try to commit suicide, his wife said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the 35-year-old Juventus team manager, who was appointed to the post only last month, climbed onto the window sill of his office, holding a set of rosary beads, and jumped off.

He was treated at the scene and then rushed by ambulance to the Le Molinette hospital suffering from multiple fractures.

But according to his wife Reana, the stress of his new job at the Turin club, who are due to face a sports tribunal Thursday over the match-fixing scandal that has engulfed Italian football, drove him to try to kill himself.

"He was stressed and depressed for some time," his wife Reana said. "He became very fragile: he went into a dark depression due to his new role at the heart of Juventus which was not what he had hoped it would be at the beginning."

Press hail vintage France

The French press on Wednesday hailed their national team's achievement in rolling back the years and qualifying for the World Cup quarter-finals with a thrilling come-from-behind win over Spain.

Newspapers hailed the return of the much-maligned 'Captain Fantastic' Zinedine Zidane who orchestrated the 3-1 victory at the age of 34, eight years after leading France to the 1998 title.

"Giant!" screamed le Parisien with a full-page picture of a grinning Zidane after scoring the third goal in Hanover.

"Les Bleus are back: like the best moments of 1998, the French team brilliantly qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals.

"Happiness!" said sports daily L'Equipe. France were "impressive and dominant, like in their glory years", it added.

"We must take a moment to reflect on what happened yesterday in Hanover in one of those marvellous reminders of yesteryear.

Spanish fans 'shameful' behaviour inspired France

France say the way Spanish fans whistled during the playing of their national anthem the Marseillaise before Tuesday's last 16 game only served to give them added incentive to win the match

"When they whistled at our national anthem they didn't understand that it would only make us even more motivated," said Juventus defender Lilian Thuram.

Striker Thierry Henry described the rival supporters' behaviour as shameful.

"I've never seen that before in the World Cup. It's shameful that their supporters reacted like that during the Marseillaise.

"Our fans didn't behave the same way when their anthem was played."

Goals from Frank Ribery, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane earned France an emphatic 3-1 win and a date with Brazil in the quarter-finals in Frankfurt on Saturday.

Sex, sleep and a good diet says Cannavaro

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has put his excellent World Cup form down to a good diet, plenty of sleep and a healthy sex life.

The 32-year-old Juventus defender was outstanding in their hard-fought 1-0 second round win over Australia on Monday, which earned them a place in the quarter-finals.

"Eating well, getting plenty of sleep and having sex - all of these things are important," says Cannavaro.

"You body needs the right fuel to keep going. I don't smoke and I don't drink alcohol, I've never liked it. I live a normal, healthy life.

"I've been disciplined for many years and that has served me well."

Asked how often he has sex, Cannavaro replied: "Whenever I want to, it helps me."

Spanish media aghast as French end dream

Spain's media reacted with sadness and frustration on Tuesday after the national side bowed out to France to miss out on a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

France came from behind to win 3-1, aided by former Real Madrid favourite Zinedine Zidane, and send packing a Spanish side of which much had been expected this summer.

"A casa (home). The dream is over," said Marca sports magazine in a blunt assessment.

"This time we couldn't even reach the quarters and we are going home - as usual," sighed Marca.

AS sports magazine said on its website that "France imposed her greater experience and sent the Spanish packing in a very tactical match which did not really catch fire and in which Spain did not play at its best."

El Mundo daily's website noted the "deep Spanish pain which was consummated in the final few minutes."

For the electronic edition of El Pais newspaper the headline read simply:

"Spain, eliminated."

Merkel praises Klinsmann, hopes he stays

German Chancellor Angela Merkel heaped praise on national coach Jurgen Klinsmann in an interview published on Wednesday and predicted Germany would reach the World Cup semi-finals

"He has done a wonderful job of preparing the 'Mannschaft' (team) for the World Cup. I hope he carries on like this for a long time to come," said Merkel.

"I am confident that we will survive the quarter-finals," she added, hinting Germany will beat Argentina when they meet in Berlin on Friday.

Merkel has charmed the public by turning into a committed, excitable football fan who has been in the stand for every one of Germany's matches.

She described the whole first half of the country's match against Sweden, which saw striker Lukas Podolski score two goals in less than 12 minutes, as her favourite World Cup moment so far.

"It was perhaps the best first half we have seen in the World Cup. It was a joy to see the way they played," she said.

Del Piero and Zambrotta fly out to visit Pessotto

Italy players Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluca Zambrotta flew back to Turin on Tuesday to visit Gianluca Pessotto in hospital after the former international's apparent suicide attempt.

Juventus team-mates Del Piero and Zambrotta were accompanied by the national team's assistant coach Ciro Ferrara as they took a private jet back to the northern Italian city.

The three of them, who all played with Pessotto at Juventus, were due to fly back to Germany on Tuesday evening.

Earlier Tuesday, a press conference with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro was cut short after news about Pessotto, who is believed to have been suffering from depression, came filtering through.

Pessotto, who became team manager of scandal-hit Serie A club Juventus after retiring in May, was in a serious condition after jumping from his Turin office window on Tuesday.

Deco hails Big Phil the family man

Portugal midfielder Deco on Tuesday hailed the family spirit that coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has engendered in the Portuguese squad.

Speaking ahead of the quarter-final against England in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday in which he will not be able to play after picking up two yellow cards, Deco also called the coach who snubbed the England job a "friend" to the players.

"Scolari is a great trainer," the Brazil-born Barcelona player said. "His career speaks volumes for him. He has the results... he is a winner.

"The ambiance he creates around the squad is also very good. He's very strong-minded but a friend of the players and we like him. We feel like a family."

Minister to blame for Dutch exit says Cruyff

Dutch legend Johan Cruyff knows who is at fault for the Netherlands' elimination - the country's Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk.

Her ministry refused to naturalise FC Feyenoord striker Salomon Kalou who was born in Ivory Coast. The striker who has just been snapped up by English big spenders Chelsea would have been selected if he had a Dutch passport.

"A minister is supposed to serve the interests of their country, and she clearly has not," Cruyff said in De Telegraaf newspaper on Tuesday.

"If a great player of the calibre of Kalou was available and the manager of my club turned him away, he would have to face the consequences. The same applies for Verdonk," said the man who led his country to the 1974 final in which they lost to West Germany.

Serbian coach confirms exit

Ilija Petkovic confirmed Tuesday that he was giving up his post as Serbia's football coach after his team's humiliating exit from the World Cup.

"My contract with the (Serbian Football) Association expired today and I cease to be coach," Petkovic said here.

"For three years I was looking for players that would beat Argentina, but there were no such ones here, or there were but I did not know how to find them," he said in his first press conference since the team returned from Germany.

Serbia-Montenegro were eliminated from the World Cup with the worst record in the group stage of the competition, having lost 1-0 to the Netherlands, 6-0 at the hands of Argentina and 3-2 to Ivory Coast.

Blatter blamed for 'catastrophic' refereeing

A leading French referee has slammed the "catastrophic" officiating at the World Cup and blamed FIFA President Sepp Blatter for putting politics before football in choosing referees.

"They have selected the best teams from each continent, but not the best referees," said Bernard Saules, the president of the French national union of referees (UNAF).

"It has been a catastrophe from the start. FIFA and Mr Blatter have introduced some political shenanigans into the choice of the referees to keep this or that country happy, and this is the result," he told AFP.

Cech in Premiership fitness race

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech faces a race against time to be fit for the start of the new English Premiership season in August after undergoing shoulder surgery.

The Czech Republic international went under the knife on Monday following his country's World Cup exit in the group stages.

Chelsea described the 24-year-old's operation as routine.

"The operation was to clear up some minor problems outstanding from last season and he will be working with the Chelsea medical staff to be fit as soon as possible," said a statement on the club's website.

Petr Travnicek, the player's media spokesman, added: "The operation was successful and lasted more than two hours.

"Petr will have a rest and intensive rehabilitation in the following weeks."

Germans predict win over Argentina

A staggering 87 percent of Germans believe the hosts will overcome Argentina in Friday's quarter-final in Berlin, a survey says.

After winning their first four games, German confidence is sky high and a survey conducted by sports agency SID, covering 1,000 German citizens, revealed that close to 90 percent of the country expect a win over Argentina.

Close to 53 percent predicted a fourth World Cup win for Germany at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on July 9.

That is in stark contrast to the pre-tournament pessimism with just 9 percent believing in a German title win after their 4-1 defeat to Italy in March.