John Duerden hopes that the Indonesian FA may soon have a less corrupt president2010 was a bad year for Indonesian football. It started with a 2-1 loss at home to Oman in an Asian Cup qualifier, the high point of which was a pitch invasion by a spectator. The fan, scarf around left wrist, got hold of the ball and ran half the length of the pitch only to see his shot saved by Ali Al Habsi.
It’s been a funny season for the A-League with financial chaos tempered by a record-breaking climax. Robert Forsaith explains“What a fantastic game, what a fantastic spectacle for the A-League. The game has been crying out for something positive this year.” That was the verdict on the final match of the season from Graham Arnold, the coach whose side Central Coast had just been beaten in a penalty shootout.
Ian Plenderleith gets the feeling all the best goals have already been scored and all the best songs have already been writtenWhen you hit middle age, it’s almost impossible not to fall into the trap of yearning for the days when things were different. Not necessarily better, just different. When nearly every house had just one telephone and one TV. When you played football in the same field every day with the other kids in the village using cowpats for goalposts (really). When a new album by the Jam was not just a new album by the Jam, but a significant event in your life that you looked forward to for weeks in advance. When a live football match on television was something very special that happened no more than a handful of times per year.
Grasshoppers Zürich have been forced to share the home of their city rivals, which isn’t fit for purpose. Paul Knott fears the worstOne of the great names, literally, of European football is at risk of disappearing. The record 27 times champions of Switzerland, Grasshopper Club Zürich (GCZ), are in debt, struggling on the field and without a home of their own.
Champions League competition can be mixed blessing and James Baxter sympathises with a team thrashed by MarseilleWhen MŠK Žilina’s first ever Champions League group stage campaign finally drew to an end last December, debate in Slovakia as to its merits and otherwise was already long underway. The general consensus was that the failure to pick up points was disappointing and the 7-0 home defeat by Marseille humiliating but also that the team had played good football in spells and learned several lessons.