NATIONAL TEAM - SWITZERLAND - 2014 WORLD CUP - Goodbye, Ottmar Hitzfeld. All the best and take care.

Hitzfeld has made a positive impression wherever he has been stationed and his name is still regularly chanted in the stands at Bayern Munich.

“He put together a really good team that will last for many years to come,” Granit Xhaka told FIFA.com, before Josip Drmic added: “He’s done a great job.” 

2 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 19 - LAST SIXTEEN - ARGENTINA VS SWITZERLAND 1:0

LAST SIXTEEN
1st July 2014

Argentina vs Switzerland 1:0

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 19 - LAST SIXTEEN - BELGIUM VS USA 2:1

LAST SIXTEEN
1st July 2014

Belgium vs USA 2:1

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - ARGENTINA - KEY PLAYER - ‪LIONEL MESSI - PROFILE

Lionel Andrés Messi; born 24 June 1987, is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. 

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - USA - KEY PLAYER - ‪JERMAINE JONES - PROFILE

Jermaine Junior Jones, born 3 November 1981, is a German-American footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Turkish club Beşiktaş. He has previously played for Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen, Blackburn Rovers and Schalke 04. He was born in Germany and represented them at U21 and senior level.

1 Jul 2014
NATIONAL TEAM - NIGERIA - COACH - STEPHEN KESHI RESIGNS AFTER EXIT

He becomes the sixth manager to leave his job during the World Cup, following the departures of Honduras's Luis Suarez, Iran's Carlos Queiroz, Japan's Alberto Zaccheroni, Italy's Cesare Prandelli and Ivory Coast's Sabri Lamouchi.

Keshi, who captained Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup finals, was previously in charge of Mali and Togo.

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 18 - LAST SIXTEEN - FRANCE vs NIGERIA 2:0

LAST SIXTEEN
30th June 2014

France vs Nigeria 2:0

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 18 - LAST SIXTEEN - GERMANY vs ALGERIA 2:1

LAST SIXTEEN
30th June 2014

Germany vs Algeria 2:1

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - GERMANY - KEY PLAYER - THOMAS MUELLER‬ - PROFILE

Müller's role can be described as an attacking all-rounder, a player able to play in a variety of forward positions. He can play in any of the attacking midfield roles but usually plays in the center for Bayern Munich, and on the right for Germany.

He has been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion. Müller has been praised for his maturity, pace, technique, awareness and positioning.

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - FRANCE - KEY PLAYER - ‪KARIM BENZEMA - PROFILE

He has been named French Player of the Year twice for his performances in 2011 and 2012. Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards. 

Benzema has earned over 65 caps and represented France at three major international tournaments; the 2008 and 2012 editions of the UEFA European Football Championship and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

30 Jun 2014

STARS IN EUROPE - CONGO -TORPEDO MOSCOW GOT PARTIAL FAN BAN OVER RACISM AT SAMBA

‪FC DYNAMO MOSCOW

On Tuesday it was revealed that ex-Blackburn captain Christopher Samba, 30, asked not to play in the second half of Monday's Moscow derby because of the chants.

Russian Football Union (RFU) ruled on Thursday Torpedo must shut the 'fan's sector' for their next league match.

However, all other parts of the Saturn Stadium will remain open.

The 'fans' sector' is the part of the arena where the most active fans of the home team sit. 

There are no restrictions in place to prevent those supporters from buying tickets to sit elsewhere in the stadium.

Away fans will not be affected.

After the RFU's ruling, head of the disciplinary committee Artur Grigoryants said: 

"There was a note in the delegate's report that throughout the first half there were chants directed at FC Dynamo player Christopher Samba.

"The delegate has confirmed it once again at the meeting. 

The referee of the match has also informed the committee that Samba told him about chanting during the first corner kick.

"Samba has also sent a letter to the disciplinary committee where he confirmed the chanting and that he appealed to the referee during the game."

On Tuesday, Dynamo vice-president Gennady Soloviev revealed: "Samba felt offended with Torpedo fans and didn't want to go on the pitch for the second half... that's why he was replaced."

Dynamo won the game 3:1 and manager Stanislav Cherchesov said afterwards that Samba had been substituted because of a calf injury.

The defender spent six years at Blackburn, making 185 appearances between 2006 and 2012. 

The Congo international left for Anzhi Makhachkala but returned to England in January 2013 to play 10 games in a loan spell with QPR.

It is the second racist incident involving Samba after a fan in Moscow threw a banana at him in March 2012 while the defender was playing for Makhachkala. 

Samba picked up the banana and threw it back into the stands.

Russia, which will host the 2018 World Cup, has had several instances of racism in the sport in recent years.

Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos was racially abused twice in Russia while also playing for Anzhi. Both incidents happened in 2011 - in St Petersburg and Samara, which are World Cup host cities.

St Petersburg is also among the cities that have been selected to host Euro 2020 matches, including a quarter-final.

In October 2013 Russian champions CSKA Moscow were punished by European governing body Uefa with the partial closure of their stadium in a Champions League match, following racist chanting directed at Manchester City's Yaya Toure.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said at a handover ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, before the World Cup final in July, that he hoped the World Cup would help Russia in its fight against racism.

"Fifa President Sepp Blatter puts a lot of personal effort into addressing social issues, and we hope that the preparations for the World Cup in Russia will also contribute to tasks such as fighting drugs, racism and other challenges we face today," Putin said.

 

26 Sep 2014
(BBC Russian Service by Rafael Saakov)

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