Watmore: Capello here for long term

England Football Association chief executive Ian Watmore expects Fabio Capello to remain as England coach until after UEFA Euro 2012. Capello's planning for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ is now in full swing, with assistant Franco Baldini due to head to Angola later this month to see Group C opponents Algeria in action at the African Cup of Nations.

Yet there is already plenty of speculation that Capello will stand down once the Three Lions return from South Africa. Fulham manager Roy Hodgson is widely viewed as a leading contender to replace the Italian, a belief that has only been fuelled by the 62-year-old's decision to sign a new rolling contract with the Craven Cottage club, which includes a release clause.

However, Capello has hinted himself that he has no plans to stand down ahead of the next European Championships, the qualifying draw for which will be held in Warsaw on 7 February. And Watmore is certainly not planning for a succession.

O'Neill unconcerned by Heskey links

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has played down speculation linking Emile Heskey with a move away from Villa Park this month.

The England striker has been tipped as a potential target for his former club, Liverpool. However, O'Neill takes such speculation in his stride and puts it down to the time of year now that the transfer window is open again.

He said: "It isn't of any concern to me at all. It is just the nature of the business. Things have been bubbling up because January is the only opportunity that clubs can bring in players or move players out during the season.

"It doesn't bother me one jot. I cannot go on confirming or denying stories. It just happens. We will be linked with a lot of players in January and a lot of clubs will be linked with some of our players," said O’Neill.


It isn't of any concern to me at all. It is just the nature of the business.
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill


"My own particular view is that in a general sense agents want to satisfy their players and you are going to get a lot of that in the January window."

Source: FIFA.com

Spector's long road home

(FIFA.com) Friday 1 January 2010
Injuries are unavoidable in football. As the modern game becomes even faster and tighter, with less and less time on the ball and space on the pitch, the demands on the body become greater and greater. Every player, at some point, will need to deal with an injury. And while some are luckier, only made to endure niggling muscle strains or painful knocks, others face multiple injuries, one after another, forcing long stretches out of the game, requiring massive doses of mental strength and discipline. USA and West Ham United man Jonathan Spector recently spoke with FIFA.com about his personal experience with big injuries and long, agonising stretches on the sidelines.

Spector, 23, was in fine fettle when the Americans shocked the world to reach the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa last June, but national team fans could have been forgiven for thinking the brawny, blond-haired back was a new member of Bob Bradley’s squad. Missing out on all of 2006 and most of 2008, Spector – once a shining young star for the future – was forced to deal with a seemingly endless succession of cruel injuries that kept him out of action for the majority of the last three seasons for both club and country.

Baffoe: I'm incredibly proud

(FIFA.com) Thursday 31 December 2009
To get things done, you need “doers”, and Anthony Baffoe definitely belongs in that category. The 44-year-old can look back on a storied career, and his experience combined with his engaging personality, way with words and skills in sports management make him the ideal ambassador for African football.

The son of a Ghanaian diplomat, Baffoe grew up near to the former West German capital of Bonn and made a name for himself in the 1980s in the Bundesliga, becoming a real crowd favourite for Cologne and Fortuna Dusseldorf. Baffoe won some 16 caps for the West African nation before hanging up his boots and embarking on a successful career on German television in various sport programmes.

Switzerland hit the big time

Little country – big progress. In footballing terms, this is a fair reflection of what Switzerland managed to achieve in 2009. Their various national teams have obtained some excellent results over the past 12 months, confirming many years of hard work and perhaps even ushering in a new golden era for the Central Europeans.

Qualification for the sport's greatest tournament, a youth team crowned as world champions and appearance in a beach soccer final – what a year Switzerland has had. It is difficult to rank these achievements in terms of importance since all of them were well received by their fans back home, but booking their ticket for their ninth FIFA World Cup™ and their third in a row was positive proof that Swiss football is a force to be reckoned with.

A poor showing for Switzerland in their home tournament – the UEFA EURO 2008 – marked the end of Kobi Kuhn's tenure as coach, but rather than let the team slide into decline, the powers-that-be at the national association took a bold step in handing over the reins to one of the most respected coaches in Europe, Germany's Ottmar Hitzfeld. "The General" proceeded to get off to a catastrophic start, losing to minnows Luxemburg in a South Africa 2010™ qualifier, but the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich coach soon righted the ship and steered his troops to the top of Group 2 in the European zone, taking the direct route to the forthcoming FIFA World Cup.