The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Maldini thinks Seedorf will not save AC Milan, only major investment will Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:31 AM PDT Milan currently sit 12th in Serie A, 40 points behind leaders Juventus, and with 10 games remaining look out of contention for one of the two Europa League qualifying spots. The seven-time European champions, like city rivals Inter this season, could miss out on Europe altogether next season. Maldini, who won five Champions League trophies and seven Serie A titles as captain of the Rossoneri, finds it hard to accept. He believes Milan's prospects won't improve unless the club establishes a longer-term strategy that will allow them to compete with Juventus and, further afield, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. "I feel a mixture of anger and disappointment," Maldini, who retired from Milan in 2009, told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday. "Not so much for the results, because we've finished 10th or 11th before, but more for the fact that everything we worked hard to build over 10 years is disappearing." Maldini, 45, believes a 2012 summer exodus of players, including the sale of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to Paris Saint Germain, was the start of the club's slide to mediocrity. He hit out at the leadership of club CEO Adriano Galliani, who is credited with orchestrating the recruitment of some of the club's biggest stars over the best part of 30, success-laden years. "Some might think I'm biting the hands that fed me, but it's not the case. I'm part of the fabric of this club and I have two kids who play in the youth sector," added Maldini. "But Milan can no longer compete with the likes of Juventus, and are no longer among the top 10 in Europe. "Juventus have understood what it takes and restructured by establishing a solid group of Italians who know how to achieve success. "In 2007, when we won the Champions League, I told Galliani I don't think we were the best side in Europe. "I understood then that without major investment we would start to slide. That was the first step, but the sale of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva was a blow. "Galliani is a great leader, but he's unable to understand the players. He runs things by himself, and that's no longer possible. "Before, we had a strong group of players that held sway over the dressing room. And, as well as Galliani, there was a synergy of people with the right knowledge. "With the departure of so many players who had that winning mentality, that has collapsed. "I don't think the fans just want to see Milan winning. They want to see a long-term project." Milan in January hired Clarence Seedorf to steer the club out of the mire after sacking Massimiliano Allegri. Maldini believes Seedorf, who spent 10 golden years at the club before being part of the 2012 summer exodus, has been handed a poisoned chalice. In 1997 Milan finished 11th under Oscar Tabarez and, after bringing back Fabio Capello, improved to 10th in 1998, leading to the latter's sacking. When they brought Alberto Zaccheroni on board, Milan reclaimed the title in 1999. Asked if Seedorf could orchestrate a similar turnaround, Malini was dismissive. "Milan are light years away from that. To rebuild the squad, it's going to take a lot of investment. "This season, the results weren't going well, but I didn't believe bringing in a new coach would help matters much. "He (Seedorf) has great courage and character, but even a coach like (Pep) Guardiola (of Bayern Munich) would not have been enough." – AFP, March 18, 2014. |
| Former FIFA vice-president paid millions for Qatar World Cup vote, says newspaper Posted: 18 Mar 2014 03:51 AM PDT A former senior official of FIFA and his family were paid almost US$2 million (RM6.5 million) from a Qatari firm liked to the Gulf state's successful bid for the 2022 World Cup finals, according to a report in Tuesday's edition of Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper. The Telegraph said Jack Warner, the former vice-president of FIFA, appeared to have been personally paid US$1.2 million (RM3.9 million) from a company controlled by a former Qatari official shortly after the controversial decision to award the country the tournament. Payments totalling almost US$750,000 (RM2.4 million) were made to Mr Warner's sons, according to documents seen by the Telegraph. A further US$400,000 (RM1.3 million) was paid to one of his employees. The Telegraph also said a company owned by Mohamed Bin Hammam, the then FIFA executive member for Qatar, appeared to pay US$1.2 million (RM3.9 million) to Mr Warner in 2011. Bin Hammam, who launched an abortive challenge against incumbent FIFA president Sepp Blatter, resigned from his FIFA and Asian Football Confederation posts in 2012, shortly before he was banned for life from football administration by the global governing body's ethics committee. Warner was one of the most experienced members of the executive committee until he stood down in 2011, and served as vice-president of FIFA for 14 years. He was one of the 22 people who decided to award Russia the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the 2022 tournament. Six weeks before the December 2010 vote in Zurich that decided the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, an official was caught in an undercover investigation agreeing to sell his vote. A second member of the same committee was recorded asking for £1.5 million (RM8.1 million) for a sports academy. Both officials were suspended, meaning that 22 people voted instead of the usual 24. The decision to give the World Cup to Qatar, a country with little football history, provoked widespread condemnation, particularly over health concerns for players forced to play in the desert nation's stifling summer heat. Such was the backlash, football chiefs are considering moving the tournament to the European winter for the first time, even though this could have a severe adverse knock-on effect on some of the sport's major domestic competitions such as the lucrative English Premier League. There was a particularly bitter reaction to the process in England, the birthplace of modern-day football, after the country's bid to stage the 2018 finals garnered a mere two votes and was eliminated in the first ballot. Giving evidence to a subsequent British parliamentary inquiry, Lord David Triesman, the English bid's former chairman, named Warner as one of four FIFA executive committee members who had asked for business deals and favours when negotiating their support In June 2011, Trinidad-based Warner resigned from all football posts after he was accused of facilitating bribes to members of the Caribbean football union (CONCACAF) on behalf of Bin Hammam, who was standing against Blatter. A FIFA ethics committee found there was "compelling" evidence Warner was "an accessory to corruption". The Telegraph said Warner and his family had declined to comment on their report, but a spokesman for Qatar's 2022 World Cup organising committee told the paper: "The 2022 bid committee strictly adhered to FIFA's bidding regulations in compliance with their code of ethics. "The supreme committee for delivery and legacy and the individuals involved in the 2022 bid committee are unaware of any allegations surrounding business dealings between private individuals." – AFP, March 18, 2014. |
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