Not far enough ...

Love of money endangering game: Pele

Pele, Brazil's greatest footballer, said he believed high salaries and greedy players were a danger to the modern game.

See the whole story here, courtesy of Reuters.

Kicking Back's comments: He is right on several fronts, but does not go far enough. Love of money is also driving THE games caretakers in some cases to do not what is for the good of the game, but for what is good for a very privileged few.

Gone are the days of cheering for a home team made of folks from your hometown. Note this is not an issue unique to soccer at all. Big name talent, here today, gone tomorrow, for another city and a bigger paycheck.

One place you do see "homegrown" heroes is in refereeing. These few folks that make it to "the show" are local heroes to those who take the time to know who they are, and reflect on what they have accomplished.

For me these folks have names like Hasek, Socha, Bratsis, DiPlacido, Dias, Mauro, Resendes, Bennett, Woo and Supple. You don't see these folks trotting off to another city for a bigger paycheck or fancy new sports car. These folks are here to stay in the hometown they helped forge. For me, these are household names that serve as a continued reminder of what can be achieved, right around the block, when you really put your mind to it. Greatness need not change its zip code.

Hometown heroes all, and true defenders of THE game to the last.

34th Annual Needham Invitational

It's that time of year again folks ... youth soccer tournaments!

One of my first and best experiences with youth soccer was at a Memorial Day Tournament. It was an incredible experience for me. Mild spring days, freshly cut grass, groups of referees, and good youth competition. You just could not go wrong.

It hearkens me back to my patch collection ... that I still have yet to do something with. Amazing memories.

The other day, I received the below email from the Needham Invitational Tournament. One that I have attended many times, and one that rivals the best youth tournaments in the US.

The folks who put on this tourney are top shelf, as is the tourney itself. If you have the time, I can make no stronger recommendation than to participate as a referee, assessor, volunteer, or spectator. It is an experience you will never forget.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The largest and the most prestigious tournament in New England the Needham Invitational Soccer Tournament which is held Memorial Day weekend May 27,28, 29, and 30. It is on its way of becoming the one of largest tournament in US.

1. Over 600 teams
2. Over 40 fields
3. Over 400 referees

The player participation includes teams from throughout the United States and Canada. Referees are drawn throughout United States including Virginia, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, and this year we will have referees from Switzerland, England, Canada.

Aside from the fields and the players, the success of any tournament is measured by quality and commitment of referees. Last year over 70% of Massachusetts grades seven and under referees were at this tournament. Including assessors from all over New England, Baltimore and Washington DC.

The Needham tournament committee is also announcing we will Continue the mentoring program throughout the tournament special referee and assistant referee clinics will be added to the program including Academy to be announced in near future.

Additionally the Needham referee committee this year has added several new features to its program.

A- Centralized assigning. All Referees will be assigned out of two locations Waltham, Medfield.
B- Each site will have assigned referee Marshall to help support every referee
C- Food and water will be provided on every main site
D- We will implement a bonus program not only for high school students but also college students.
E- We will provide tournament T-shirts and other memorabilia.
F- One of the most competitive payment structure for referees and ARs in Massachusetts

Our objective is not only to appropriately covered the games but most importantly to use the tournament to develop referees to their highest level possible, by appropriately assigning them with other experience referees that could mentor and develop the individual. 

Reminder: you must be certified referee in order to referee in Needham tournament if you are out of state referee please send your reference’s lakoghlanian@fgxicom

Please go to the website below and sign in. Reminder if you have already signed up you do not need to do anything.

http://www.needhamtournamentreferees.org

Respectfully,
Needham referee committee

I'm with Sepp on this one

English FA could have sanctioned Rooney, says Blatter

NEWPORT, Wales (Reuters) - The English FA would have been within its rights to sanction Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney following an elbowing incident last week, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Saturday.

The FA said it could not retrospectively take action against Rooney for elbowing Wigan Athletics' James McCarthy in the back of the head in a Premier League match because, under FIFA rules, as referee Mark Clattenburg had already given a foul against the England man for obstruction, they could take no further action. ...

See the complete story here, courtesy of Reuters.

Kicking Back Comments: For my money Sepp has this one exactly right. There is no reason that a league should not jump in to further sanction a player, even if that player was already dealt with by the match referee. The FA's move to not further sanction Rooney for delivering an elbow to McCarthy is deplorable. Then to further compound the story by saying that they were really just protecting the integrity of the decision of Mark Clattenburg is just cowardice on the part of the FA.

Granted, no referee likes to have such a situation occur that the league has to step in and take further action. In my day it happened to me personally a couple of times. When I got over myself that I should have seen the whole incident and dealt with it differently ... the bigger picture prevailed. That picture was it was better to get it right than to just let it go.

As referees we certainly try to get it right all the time. But alas, sometimes we miss ... not often but we do. At the professional and international level while there is great scrutiny of referees, there is also great opportunity for leagues to stamp out the type of behavior Roo engaged in here. Leagues can also mete out much harsher punishment that a referee ever could, and really put some bite into a sanction.

I'm with Sepp, and say let them. Adding onto a particular sanction to further enforce a point started by a referee does nothing but drive that point home to the owner of the actions, and other players who may consider the same in the future.

Chuck slams FIFA ... again.

Fifa member Chuck Blazer slams World Cup organisation

A Fifa executive member has attacked the number of South American and African places for the 2014 World Cup.

Chuck Blazer, secretary-general of Concacaf, is angry North America, Central America and the Caribbean have not been given an extra spot in Brazil. ...

Full story continues here, courtesy of the BBC.

Kicking Back Comments: Where is the fury over the lack of referee's from the region in 2010? I have to say though, he does seem to want to mix it up a bit with his own ilk ... that is, at least in the press.

Our Neighbor to the North

Kicking Back's Comments: In an unsurprising (but good for CONCACAF) move by FIFA, Canada has been selected to host the 2015 Women's World Cup. It was disappointing that where there were seven bidders originally, only Canada remained after Zimbabwe dropped out on March 1st, making FIFA's decision a Hobson's Choice. 


While our FIFA Women's panel is not very large, it is led by one of the best (IMHO) woman international referees, Kari Seitz. I am interested to see, who will be picked for this prestigious tournament, and equally interested to see if Pia's salary goes up in 2015, her World Cup Year.


FIFA passes off to Canada

FIFA HAS KICKED the ball into Canada’s corner. Now it’s up to Canadian soccer to do something with it.

Thursday’s announcement that Canada will host the 2015 Women’s World Cup was hardly unexpected since the Canadian Soccer Association was the sole bidder remaining from the seven that originally showed interest, but its selection will have a ripple effect across the country. ...

See the full story here, courtesy of ChronicalHerald.ca.

Hold that line!

Law-makers set to continue goal-line testing

Soccer's law-making body is expected to approve more experiments with goal-line technology systems on Saturday, but there is still a long way to go before any hi-tech device helps a referee make a decision.

A year after goal-line technology was rejected by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the item is back on the agenda following tests carried out at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich under the auspices of the Swiss-based technology research institute EMPA.

Although all 10 systems trialed failed FIFA's stringent tests last month, there has been a notable shift in the board's attitude towards using a hi-tech system. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Yahoo Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: *Yawn.* You mean to say that FIFA (IFAB) can't make a clear decision. Shocking. Now I have already gone on record as saying that I don't like the goal like technology idea as THE game is human ... however it would appear that technology is getting in the way of making this work. I say that both from reading the story, and also from a recently retired FIFA AR who saw the tech in action and stated that it just does not work well.

No money for you?

The other day I opined in "Show me the money!!", that if the Federation spent the kind of money they pay their coaches, to pay a small group of referees ... truly professional referees ... we may increase our chances of getting through to a World Cup (and advancing) soon. While this is only one aspect of the problem, it is one significant aspect. A second is the "right" appointments to be seen and taken seriously at the international level, and a third is the political will & backing to help FIFA and CONCACAF make the right choice.

Even more striking that this topic (which is fodder for another day), was the difference in pay between the coaches of National teams in the US.

Take a look at Bradley's base pay of $449,025. This dwarfs Sundhage's base salary of $207,667. Some may say this has to do with it being a World Cup year ... but ... that would seem to be well compensated for in the bonus Bradley obtained, $345,000. While not explicit for World Cup performance, it would stand to reason it is.

Why such a difference in base salary? They are both National teams? They both represent the US? Why?

Is the women's game "less valuable" than the men's? US Soccer may seem to think so.

Now, truth be told, I am a capitalist at heart and have no issue if one is better than another at negotiating a salary. If that is really only the issue Pia needs some big help. My suspicion is that there is more in play here and the range of salary is not as great. I openly admit I could be wrong ... but such a wide gulf gives me pause.

It is odd to me too on another level. I would think that while US Soccer is trying to gain international acclaim for the mens program, it has international acclaim for the womens program. Remember the US WNT has placed in the top 3 for every single World Cup, and two of those they were Champions. This is compared to the MNT with the closest was 3rd place in 1930 ... and not all that close since (an exception being 1994 IMHO).

I would think that is worth something to US Soccer. Certainly pay bonuses on performance in World Cup years, but pay a base worthy of assuring the US continues its foothold in the women's game. Alternatively, reduce the men's base salary and pay out a larger bonus on performance ... where it really counts.

Can't blame the referee here ...

Federation to take organizers before FIFA over botched tourney

The Nigeria Football Federation has threatened to take the organizers of the Green Bowl Soccer Tournament to FIFA for failing to notify it of the tourney's postponement. The Super Eagles were already in the United Sates before receiving news of the postponement of the tourney also known as the 2011 United States' President's Holiday Celebration Soccer Tournament. While describing the fiasco as an embarrassment to the country, NFF president, Aminu Maigari lambasted the tourney's main organizer, US-based Nigerian licensed agent, Pius Oleh and instructed the NFF secretariat to make a detailed report of the fiasco to football's world governing body, FIFA.

"This is untenable. How can he tell us that there was a ticketing problem after our team had travelled that long distance to play? How can he tell us that he did not know there was a problem until our national team arrived in America?" demanded Maigari. ...

See the full story here, courtesy of Next.com.

Will it still be Qatar in 2022?

With unrest washing over the Middle East, these are uncertain times for us all. Apparently Qatar is no exception, as this story indicates: Facebook page calls for removal of Qatar's Emir.

Funny enough, part of the FIFA technical report recounted political support for THE game in the US as a reason for not bringing it over here.

FIFA's observation seems a bit hollow in the face of what is happening in that part of the world currently.

I wonder if Sepp is having second thoughts about 2022 now?

U-20 player punches himself

Thanks to Ed Rae for spotting this unusual attempt at trickery.

Read the brief story and view the clip. Is there something out of balance here? The Chilean player Carrasco was feigning being punched in an effort to get his opponent dismissed from the game. Should Carrasco therefore be dismissed for this act?
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/article/33668/

I guess they can afford to pay them that much

Soccer is China's No. 1 spectator sport

Soccer is regarded as the No. 1 spectator sport in China. Large crowds attend live games and large audiences tune in for televised games for both local Chinese teams and famous foreign ones. By one count 3.5 million of China’s roughly 600 million soccer fans regularly attend soccer matches at local stadiums. Soccer Boy is one of the country's top comics.

Soccer is the first sport to find some commercial success. The players are highly paid. Many earn over 1 million yuan ($146,000) a year, a considerable sum in China. At home and in restaurants and tea houses, men spend a lot of time sitting around radios or televisions tuning in to soccer matches. The matches themselves can be quite rowdy. ...

See the full story here, courtesy of whatsonxiamen.com.

Show me the money!!

U.S. coach Bob Bradley underpaid compared to peers

How much money do you think U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley makes? How about U.S. women’s coach Pia Sundhage?

You might be surprised to find out. ...

See the full article here, courtesy of NJ.com

Kicking Back Comments: This is interesting to me, and thinking selfishly it certainly translates to the referees. Lets face it, refereeing is a great hobby, but is not a way to make a career. While we have 2 or 3 referees that are actually employed by MLS and make ~$50K/year, it's hardly a living wage for these folks who have young families. For the others, fees are on a match by match basis and based on availability.

Mr. Bradley's $850K is certainly well earned and allows him to focus on what he needs for player development. What about the referees? I would opine that $50K does not cut it to allow a referee to just worry about their responsibilities as a referee only.

Is it worth commissioning a small group of referees, make them employee's of MLS (or other referee company), and pay them a "higher than average" wage?

What do we think US Soccer would get if we found 6 referees, and pay them each $150K/year and all they did was train and referee? Understanding that this pool would not be enough to service all MLS games ... would we get some top class folks? After all this is about what Mr. Bradley makes today.

US Soccer is spending a fair amount of money to make sure we try to get a team into international play, and maybe a World Cup. Why not spend the money and work hard to increase US Soccer's chance to send a referee?

Embrace the chaos

There are times in my recent refereeing past, and times in my current assessing present, and instructional future where I sought (or seek) to understand the style of play the teams are going to employ for the day to calculate possible problem areas.

For example, and please note I am overgeneralizing here, if I had a South American styled team, I would expect more individual ball possession than a Western European team which would likely provide long ball from the back 1/3 to the front 1/3. This combination at times could be problematic at these competing styles clashed.

More homogeneous styled teams would lead to a more balanced approach in play style and consequently, refereeing style.

So what style do US players have, and how does a referee react to them when faced with a more classic style as that listed above?

This article is intended to comment on the first part of the question only as the second part will take up volumes of a book I am currently contemplating and would certainly leak parts here from.

For those who did not know Claudio Reyna has been named the Youth Technical Director for U.S. Soccer recently and has been charged with figuring out this very question. What style does the US play?

In this article from ESPN, Reyna is suggesting to publish a curriculum to begin to standardize some common elements that the US Youth can work on. On the surface this may make some sense, but it certainly has its flaws ... and critics. From the article (sic):

"A curriculum's not going to make us any better," Arena said. "If that was the case, we'd all publish curriculums. This country, I've always said, is too large, too different to have one style of play. If he [Reyna] can get that accomplished, more credit to him."

 And from Steve Nicol who is never at a loss for words ...

"It depends on what you mean by 'try to establish a style of play,'" said New England coach Steve Nicol, the Liverpool legend who has mastered the art of scouting and developing players from college campuses. "We all want to pass the ball, and we all want to play good, open attacking football. If we can develop players to have that ability, the style will evolve on its own. What we'll have is players who can play the game properly."

So it would seem that Claudio has his work cut out for him.

On the other side of the flipping coin there are (2) issues.

First, what does a US referee do in such a case where players do not have a defined style?

My brief answer is study the individual team, and coach, and frankly be ready for anything. At the end of the day all the preparation in the world can be destroyed by a random event or player that is having a real terrible day. After all, all of us are not only involved in THE game, but also in the greater game of life and stuff happens in life that can disrupt those "expected" patters of how a match should play out on paper.

Second is in the form of a question. As the citizens of the US are culturally diverse, and among them are not only players but referees, how does US Soccer remedy this issue among its referees, who like its players, may be seeing THE game through their cultural identity, in a search for consistency among its referees?

Players have Claudio fighting the fight ...

"Soccer: Your game for life"

Must time is spent from many of us discussing either the youth game, or the professional and international game. There are times it can be easy to forget the space in between where there are tens of thousands of players in the US, and no doubt millions across the globe.

This space is where the adult players reside.

It is my opinion that no referee is ready for "the big time" unless they have a healthy diet of "adult" matches under their belt. I place adult in quotes because I am referring to chronological age only and not behavior patters as frankly some of the most childish behavior I have seen has been during these matches. Which is exactly why it is critical for referees to get experience in them.

Much is said about US Youth Soccer and AYSO, the youth organizations in the US that support THE game, and rightly so as these are huge mechanisms that keep the youth engaged and excited about THE game. This is no small feat as soccer is the most played sport in the US for the youth.

In "the gap" as it were (which is really funny as this "gap" is the largest chronological span in a players life) is the adult game. Here, the USASA has purview as the keeper of the adult game, with the (very appropriate) tagline "Soccer - your game for life."

While I think we hear less about these folks, they play a vital role in preserving continuity in THE game. After all, where does one play after U-19? Here is where the USASA provides a venue for competition after ones "youth."

As you would expect, there is a critical need for referees to service THE game at this level. As you also would expect, there is a referee committee made up of some of the best and brightest administrators to assure referees are well represented and THE game is cared for. A listing of these folks is here.

You may note a familiar name.

Indeed, Massachusetts SRA, Andy Weiss has been named as the Region I referee administrator for the USASA. Please join me in congratulating him to his, additional, new post.

I am confident he will be the guardian of THE adult game for the USASA, as he has done throughout his career for Massachusetts.

Man and Machine

Any fellow geeks or just pop culture followers have likely been watching the Man v. Machine battle on Jeopardy! with the "Jeopardy! Challenge." This is really fascinating stuff on a bunch of levels for me.

A brief video is below for those interested.



Well that got me thinking ... Not that long ago I ran across the Robo Cup, where technology meets soccer. A video from IEEE (which I am also a member of) is below for those interetsed.



I continue to be blown away by the technology curve we are on, and what is yet to come. Of course rumors that Sepp Blatter is creating a cyber division of FIFA must be false.

Take a peek, its worth the time.

Already one foot out the door ... and being pushed?

The other day we posted about the (re)birth of the NASL.As was clear from those stories, they have only a one year lease on life to be sanctioned by US Soccer. At the end of 2011 they would, it would appear, need to re-apply and have the "provisional" removed if the league were to survive.

Interestingly enough, there was another signifigant rub as reported here by MLS Talk. From the article:

Earning their provisional sanctioning back, the NASL lost the right to participate in the 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

 ... and the reason why you may ask, and I quote Sunil Gulati:

... it’s simply too late to include them. The timing doesn’t work. There is no place in the structure; they’re not going to be included.

Really?

For me that one borders on even passing the "sniff test". I understand the provisional status as there has to be concern over the business viability of such a league. Take for example the WUSA. Great league, and had all the hallmarks about staying around for the long haul. End result ... no fiscal discipline and wound up folding after just a few years. That was a fairly dramatic blow to US Soccer and promotion of the womens game here in the US. Further, while I am glad the WPS is now playing, I am equally fearful of the same result and would be concerned that to have that phoenix rise from the ashes a 3rd time in such a short span, would be too much to ask.

For my money including teams from the NASL in the Open Cup is a spectacular opportunity this year for US Soccer. It would allow US Soccer to "build some buzz" around its new 2nd division without "getting hurt" if the league does not make it. Also, the teams would benefit themselves from the same opportunity.

Imagine a final between a MLS and NASL team? What better advertisement for a viable 2nd division!

What are the odds?

Fifa investigates possible match fixing after seven goals - all penalties - are scored in two friendly internationals

The credibility of friendly international matches and Fifa’s ability to adequately regulate them is facing a fresh challenge after serious suspicions of match fixing were raised over two games held on Wednesday last week in Turkey.

Fifa confirmed to Telegraph Sport on Tuesday that it was examining whether there were suspicious betting patterns surrounding Bolivia’s 2-1 defeat of Latvia and the 2-2 draw between Estonia and Bulgaria.

The games were played consecutively on neutral territory at the Mardan Stadium in Antalya. All seven goals were penalties, an outcome described by one bookmaking source as “freakishly unlikely”. One of the penalties was ordered to be retaken after the first kick was missed. ...

See the complete story here, courtesy of The Telegraph.

Kicking Back's Comments: While I rail against FIFA for its corruption, this incident, if proven true, will bear the same fruit. It is unconscionable that one who is charged with care for THE game could act in such a manner. While I am willing to wait for the inquiry to complete to cast that stone, it is difficult to believe that every single goal was scored by a legitimate penalty (in regular time mind you). While I do believe in the "black swan" or "outliers", experience tells me otherwise here.

If shown to be true, this referee, the assistants and 4th official should not be allowed to referee again, ever, for any association. Any promoter should face a similar fate via what ever legal mechanisms exist.

The Outrage!

FIFA Executive Committee Member Lashes Out at World Cup Bidding Process

Outspoken FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer has lashed out at FIFA’s handling of the process last December that led to Qatar’s winning of its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, while at the same time praising the Gulf state’s successful bid campaign.

In an interview with World Soccer Magazine’s March edition quoted by World Football Insider, Blazer charged that the recommendations of FIFA’s five man inspection team “were ignored completely” and said that there was a lack of willingness in the executive committee to discuss deficiencies raised in their reports.

See the full story here, from the bleacher report.

Kicking Back Comments: Chuck, where were you when we needed you? While I'm sure you kept the hope alive for the US at least through the 1st round of voting, where was all this outrage when the pressure was on FIFA to delay the vote? Why wait until now to rail against the seemingly corrupt body you are a part of? Was it conscience as this interview hit too close to home with accusations about what payoffs were being made? Was it after receiving permission from FIFA as questions still swirl about how odd a result it is for Qatar to host 2022? Was it just because the USA was dismissed out of hand based on the inspection reports as you stated? Why Chuck? Why speak up now when it is plainly too late?

Upgrade Kudos

As we have done here in the past, I would like to congratulate Russell Legault, who has recently been upgraded to Grade 7 (Referee 1st Class).

Well done!

Don't forget ...

Card available at Greeting Card Universe

So I have to be honest here. This particular article gave me a bunch of trouble as it went from the history of Valentine's Day, to if the US will ever love THE game, and how so many in the US, especially the youth already do as it is claimed to be the most popular youth sport in the US.

I scrapped all of this and will save it for another time.

Now it may sound goofy to some, but as the card indicates above, the true testament to affection is loving someone even MORE than soccer. I caught this post on Big Soccer from 2009 stating the authors "first and only love" was the LA Galaxy. While I am sure meant in jest, there was some truth in these somewhere I'll bet.

THE game can be all consuming at times, especially with those (like me at a point in my life) that are so singularly focused working toward a particular goal while ignoring things that are important along the way.

My advice, for what it is worth ... In the vernacular of the day ...

Stop and smell the roses to appreciate all you have, which includes the friends we make through THE game. You only go around once, and while THE game in all her majesty is life changing ... it is only a game. What you choose to do with these life experiences is what really counts.

Happy Valentine's Day!