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Football / What allyuh think he mean?
« on: October 16, 2005, 05:51:41 AM »
The Sunday Times October 16, 2005
The best has yet to come from Luis’s lot
The World Cup playoffs offer a back-door route to the greatest football show on earth and, incredibly, Spain must again try to tiptoe over the line. By Ian Hawkey
WORLD Cups start in June but modern versions do their best to hint at the parade of nations to come with exotic ties in early November. Some playoffs owe their existence to political manoeuvring, deals within Fifa giving continents an extra half-chance of pushing one of their countries to the finals. Others are simply a punishment.
Spain, who boast the best professional league in the world, are now serial visitors, not good enough to enter via the front door. Australia cannot help knocking at the tradesmen’s entrance; Trinidad & Tobago and Bahrain are enchanted by the prospect.
Trinidad’s senior pro is Dwight Yorke, who might allow the observation that any man who has conquered Jordan should expect to deal with Bahrain. Yorke’s been waiting for this moment since 1990 when T&T lost out in last-gasp circumstances against the United States.
Neither he, nor teammate Russell Latapy — 37 and still talked of with nostalgia in Scottish club football — will have another chance. Nor may Coventry’s Stern John, who became T&T’s leading goalscorer last Wednesday when they secured their playoff option by beating Mexico.
West Ham’s Shaka Hislop played the second half in goal. Brian Lara bellowed his support. The islands beat out songs long into the night for the Soca Warriors, coached by Leo Beenhakker, who was once in charge of Real Madrid and Holland.
This article has been cut by me, but the rest is about Australia and Spain, so not really relevant.
What does he mean in the first paragraph about political manoeuvering and FIFA deals?
And check dah one about Jordan
The best has yet to come from Luis’s lot
The World Cup playoffs offer a back-door route to the greatest football show on earth and, incredibly, Spain must again try to tiptoe over the line. By Ian Hawkey
WORLD Cups start in June but modern versions do their best to hint at the parade of nations to come with exotic ties in early November. Some playoffs owe their existence to political manoeuvring, deals within Fifa giving continents an extra half-chance of pushing one of their countries to the finals. Others are simply a punishment.
Spain, who boast the best professional league in the world, are now serial visitors, not good enough to enter via the front door. Australia cannot help knocking at the tradesmen’s entrance; Trinidad & Tobago and Bahrain are enchanted by the prospect.
Trinidad’s senior pro is Dwight Yorke, who might allow the observation that any man who has conquered Jordan should expect to deal with Bahrain. Yorke’s been waiting for this moment since 1990 when T&T lost out in last-gasp circumstances against the United States.
Neither he, nor teammate Russell Latapy — 37 and still talked of with nostalgia in Scottish club football — will have another chance. Nor may Coventry’s Stern John, who became T&T’s leading goalscorer last Wednesday when they secured their playoff option by beating Mexico.
West Ham’s Shaka Hislop played the second half in goal. Brian Lara bellowed his support. The islands beat out songs long into the night for the Soca Warriors, coached by Leo Beenhakker, who was once in charge of Real Madrid and Holland.
This article has been cut by me, but the rest is about Australia and Spain, so not really relevant.
What does he mean in the first paragraph about political manoeuvering and FIFA deals?
And check dah one about Jordan