The 2010 World Cup: Some Random Thoughts

By Bernard Asubonteng (Atlanta, GA)

Besides its Afro-uniqueness and other cultural nuances, the just-ended 2010 FIFA World Cup (WC) ever held on African soil was successful in many fronts. More so, the soccer event highlighted and raised many eye-opening lessons, although lots of them may appear to be as old as Methuselah of the biblical fame.

Let us start from this angle: to all the so-called football/soccer experts, pundits, analysts, including all the soccer talking-heads worldwide, let me say this once again: unlike the dim past when football was in its rudimentary stages, contemporary soccer has perceptibly undergone tactical metamorphosis to such an extent that you make a fool out of yourself by constantly making an emphatic predictions with regard to an outcome of a given soccer contest. Not only does modern football depend on well-rehearsed tactics, but more so it has come to rest on dynamics of some outside forces, most of them beyond the cure of our comprehension. Many of us simply call this incomprehensible marvel luck. Don’t ask me, because I can’t explain what that means; but, this mystery many soccer followers call luck, happens, and it can be a game changer within a split seconds too. Soccer nowadays does not follow logic or a steady trajectory vis-à-vis end results. We witness this phenomenon many a time as the WC progressed in South Africa.

Yes, on theory, on paper, or on statistics, some national teams may seem to be better or the best (whatever that means), but all these past glorious attributes amount to nothing. To me, an outcome of a given match, at a given time, and at a given place, should determine which team is currently better or the best not on the past glories. Modern soccer thrives on the prevailing conditions and circumstances. Ignore the baseless, clueless, anachronistic, and European-cum-South American-inclined FIFA ranking system! The rankings are completely out of touch with realities on the grounds. We will visit this ranking system later on.

During that crucial 90 minutes of modern-day football anything can happen on the field, resulting in an outcome far different from what the so-called experts want or expect to happen. So as you hear some of these commentators-turn-experts sitting in an air-conditioned press boxes, claiming to know the likely outcome of a match even before the referee blows his whistle for the contest to begin, you wonder if these people are not really bias and soccer buffoons.

For example, Brazil is considered by many as the “favorite” to win a match involving any team they play against. Even before the 2010 World Cup tournament begins, many of the soccer analysts were expecting Brazil and Spain match-up in the grand finale.

But, what happened when Brazil played the Netherlands in the quarter finals? One of the two goals against Brazil was an-own-goal; they also lost a player through red card, and in the end eliminated by the so-called underdogs—Netherlands. It is obvious now that one or two teams can never dominate the world soccer as it used to be. Spain won the 2010 World Cup; but, they would be the last to say it was an easy victory. I’m not a fan of the FIFA president Blatter, but he was somewhat right to say after the World Cup tournament that “What we did learn from this World Cup was that there are no more small national teams. Football has developed everywhere…” I will quickly add that it shouldn’t have taken this particular event to learn that “football has developed everywhere.” Indeed, soccer development has been going on for a long, long time. The fact is the so-called big national teams with the tacit support of FIFA, including their Euro-centered soccer experts don’t want to bring themselves to believe and accept the reality of the rapidly changing face of the 21st century soccer.

Another interesting occurrence the 2010 WC strongly highlighted on was that present-day soccer is mainly about discipline, self-confidence, creativity, persistency, and above all, teamwork. The former French and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry said it better: “In team sports, it’s always a matter of having a great team. It’s not about individuals.” He is right. In Africa in particular, and elsewhere, many soccer observers were predicting and expecting Ivory Coast to cruise, at least, to the quarter finals because of their relatively “big names” squad, but we all know the Ivoriens’ dismal story now. Similarly, the French national team as well as the Argentine’s paraded big name soccer players but also the circumstances under which they get booted out of tournament leave much to be desired.

“Big-names” may have its psychological undertones, but believe it or not in contemporary football, they are irrelevant as the just-ended tournament had re-emphasized. Spain’s eventual success is predicated more on TEAMWORK than on individual players. The emphasis is on teamwork. Our own team--Ghana Black Stars—went to the WC with no stand-out big name(s) but heaven knows what would have happened if a little luck had descended upon the team during their quarter finals against Uruguay in Soccer City. Germany too approached the 2010 WC with teamwork and discipline rather than Michael Ballacks of this world and yet performed exceptionally well.

Keep in mind no one is trying to belittle Ballack’s skills as a professional player. He is the captain and very important to the German national team, no question about. But in the same vein, soccer has reached a level whereby no one player or two are so indispensable that a team cannot do without them. The subtext of our story is simple: in the era in which a team used to revolve around one dominant player is quickly fading away into the trashcan of history. In its place, tactical teamwork and discipline hold sway.

This brings us to the question of indiscipline. No doubt, besides corruption and poor organization, indiscipline is the other major factor holding back African football. In most cases, as soon as some of these African players start calling themselves “professionals,” you can’t tell them nothing any more for them to understand. Many of them start behaving as if they’re larger than life itself. I’m not picking on anyone; I’m just telling it the way I see it. Football talents are plentiful in Africa, but many of our players’ thought process is so hollow that these guys fail to realize self-discipline is the heartbeat that propels talent into success. Indeed, success and discipline are two water-tight bedfellows.

Discipline not only cushions us against excesses, also it nurtures success in our endeavors. Imagine you have lots of money but you’re not disciplined in the ways you spend the money? Remember, discipline here is not only about lack of respect for other people. It encompasses a whole range of qualities such as following agreed-upon rules, paying attention to details in whatever undertaking you set yourself to do, being sensitive to other people’s feelings, showing some moderation in life, keeping promises and the like. In the nutshell, discipline is the window through which we see and learn about people’s overall character and demeanor.

Honestly, I’ve never been an admirer of Ghana Football Association (GFA) for a long time because of most of the body’s poor decisions and mismanagement. However, I’ve to admit that the current GFA position, with regard to stamping out indiscipline, especially among the players of the national team, deserves applause. Without favor,

Ghana FA must keep reminding all the players representing Ghana that no one is indispensable or bigger than the nation. All of us as individual Ghanaians will pass away one day but Ghana will still be there for the posterity yet unborn.

Additionally, one other bright spot that is showing on GFA’s radar screen is the level of independence it has given to the coach (Milo) of the Ghana national team. I guess GFA, unlike many other African football associations seems to have learned the hard way that it does not pay to expensively hire a (foreign) team manager (coach) and keep micromanaging him. Africa football associations must realize that you can’t put a square peg in a round hole and make it work! If a player is not performing well, it doesn’t pay to pressure a coach to let him play, anyway.

In modern football management you hire competent coaches, you give them all the necessary resources and logistical support, including independence to run the team as they see fit. This also means the coaches should be given freehand to invite or not invite a player. The coaches also need to be empowered to stamp out on any sign of insubordination and indiscipline within the camp without pressure from “above.”

While all these are going on, the recruiters/FA, without hesitation, must lay down their goals and expectations for the recruits/coaches. So, at the end of the day, if your (FA) goals are not met then you hold the coaches responsible for the failure. Just like the present-day football associations deserve autonomy within the government superstructure, so do the football coaches need non-interference from their hirers (FA) while performing their duties. This does not mean coaches are above reproach. Once you hire a coach you have to trust him. However, there is nothing wrong for the people to insist on the verification of the coach’s performance every now and then. Thus, the media should play an active role as gatekeepers or watch-dogs. Indeed the press and fans alike should also offer constructive criticisms, making sure all provable case of nepotism and corrupt practices within the sports set-up are brought to the full glare of the public.

Almost all Africans are passionate about football; we really love football than any other sport. I wish our football federations truly understand these passions we have for soccer over the years so they would stop paying lip-service only to developing and modernizing football in Africa. The rampant corruption in Africa football, that is stifling innovation and far-reaching soccer organization, has to stop and give way to a new thinking and rebirth. After all, the South Africans’ top-notched organization and success in hosting the 2010 WC have shown that irrespective of the prejudicial perceptions about the continent, Africa can actually rub shoulders with the rest of the world in every sphere of human endeavor if we try to transcend limits instead of accepting limits and mediocrities.

The continent needs more world-class stadiums; well-organized youth soccer/sports academies; and above all, well-qualified and corrupt-free football referees. I can bet my last dollar that most of the referees in Africa are another reason the continent’s local soccer lacks any bite. By accepting bribes from the home teams, many of these match officials suck the air of competitiveness and creativity out of local soccer matches. Is there any wonder that with all these talented footballers in Africa, we still lag behind in serious soccer development on continental level?

If I’m not mistaken, Koman Coulibaly is regarded as one of the best referees in Africa, but check this out: in October 8, 2005, he handled Cameroon’s final 2006 World Cup qualifier against Egypt in which he ruled a disputed stoppage-time penalty in favor of Cameroon, while the game was tied 1-1. Cameroon could not convert the resultant penalty, which would have allowed them to be at the finals in Germany. Recently, in June 18, 2010, Coulibaly was at the center of the Group C match between U.S.A. and Slovenia. In the 86th minute, he called a foul against the U.S. in which Edu (U.S. player) had already kicked the ball into the net. As of now, many independent media accounts say Coulibaly (a finance inspector in Mali) has not been able to give any convincing reason(s) behind his controversial call-out. In fact there are other instances of Coulibaly’s highly disputed calls that time and space will not allow us to talk about here. No one is perfect; however, if a mistake becomes a pattern then serious self-introspection is called for. Whether it is nervousness, lack of self-confidence or what, this kind of decision-making process does not augur well for soccer development in our motherland.

Now before I wrap up, let me talk a little bit about the FIFA monthly rankings. This is not the first time I’m commenting on this FIFA baloney. To say the least, the ranking system stinks to the core. If you look and conduct a pragmatic analysis of how the points are awarded resulting in which country ranks first, second…and so on, you find out that FIFA’s assumptions by which national teams are ranked are nothing but flawed. They do not have any realistic basis. In fact the rankings run counter to all that is modern in soccer.

FIFA keeps saying the World Cup event held every four years supersedes all soccer games under its umbrella. Yet, in most cases after the tournament some teams that performed abysmally get higher rankings/rating than others who performed superbly. In addition, there are some teams too who couldn’t even make it to the Cup finals and still rank higher than some of those teams who participated. Ask FIFA why, and they will shamelessly explain that for example, if country A has (say) 1200 points and country B with 500 points beats the former (A), team B will still be ranked lower because team A will only lose 300 points, bringing down team A points to 900, while team B gains 800-- still smaller than 900 points. Listen, FIFA: some of us have had enough of your bull-crap! Reality is reality; there is no way around it no matter how you try to rationalize it. At least, the whole two months following the World Cup competition, the 32 national teams should be ranked first in the order of their performances. The World Cup finals are supposed to be the “mother of all” football events across the globe…and the bias FIFA knows this! I never believe in the idiotic FIFA rankings, whether it is about individual player or a national team. The ranking is a joke.

Bernard Asubonteng is Atlanta-based writer; he can be reached at b.asubonteng@gmail.com