By Davidde Corran
October 21st 2009 @ 2:20am
Related coverage
What cost are we willing to pay for a World Cup?
Australia's Harry Kewell (left) competes for the ball with Eljero Elia of the Netherlands during the Socceroos v Netherlands soccer match at the Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Oct. 10, 2009. The teams drew 0-0. AAP Image/Paul Miller
Agendas. Surely they’re the one thing a journalist shouldn’t have. Yet, so many do. It was a topic of conversation between a bunch of Australian and foreign journalists in Cairo recently.
Sitting around a table at an Egyptian restaurant the day after the Young Socceroos had made their exit from the U20 World Cup, the point was made to me that so many of the old guard of football journalists in Australia have agendas because “you can’t be around for as long as they have and not pick up a few”.
It’s an understandable reason, but to me, not a justifiable one. It may be idealism but I believe that as a journalist, once a reader feels you’ve compromised yourself, even fleetingly, they will forever think of you as such.
That’s why it was a surprise to find that an article on Football Federation Australia’s new World Cup ‘strategist’ was running as the lead piece on The World Game, a site which I contribute to, on Saturday.
On the surface it would seem reasonable to be excited by any case where “England’s loss (becomes) Australia’s gain” unless you know about Peter Hargitay, the man at the centre of all of this.
I’ve been aware of the Hungarian for quite some time but he really splashed onto the Asian Football scene earlier this year during the Asian Football Confederation’s messy and controversial elections. Despite that, it was only last week that I met him and it was a meeting that was as intriguing as one might have expected.
So who is Hargitay?
Well you can read about him on this site and this piece but here are a couple key facts about him.
In 1984 a chemical factory in Bhopal, India released 40 tonnes of the highly toxic chemical methyl isocyanate into the air.
It caused the deaths of at least 3,000 people in the following hours and days. The figures of how many people eventually lost their lives due to this incident will never be known but at least another 15,000 people died from related illnesses.
It was the worst industrial accident in human history.
The company responsible for the disaster was Union Carbide and the spin-doctor they hired shortly afterwards was Peter Harigtay.
Following his time with Union Carbide, Hargitay moved on to work with Marc Rich, a man who is famous for two things: being at the top of the US Justice Department’s Most Wanted International Fugitives list and breaking UN sanctions against the South African government that was enforcing a policy of apartheid.
Towards the end of their campaign to host the 2010 World Cup, South Africa broke out Nelson Mandela as their trump card. Meanwhile we’ve got a man linked with those who put the former South African president in jail in the first place.
So all this has had me thinking, what price are we willing to pay for the right to host a World Cup? And I’m not just talking about the $45 million of taxpayer’s money.
It’s a question I’d like you to ask yourself. Are you happy to be represented on the global stage by a man who has worked for a negligent company that killed thousands?
Are you comfortable with your money going to a man who as recently as three years ago had to move his offices from London to the legal safe haven of Cyprus (not Zurich as the article on The World Game purports – that is only where a branch is) to avoid paying the US$2 million dollars a court order found he was responsible of owing.
These questions are important because with our World Cup bid it’s the path we are now heading down.
The corridors of global sport politics are messy and few walk away from them with clean consciences and pure reputations.
We’ve started our journey through these very corridors and at the least we must understand that the price we will pay wont just be in dollars and cents.
I’m genuinely curious to know how you feel about it.
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albe said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:05am | Report comment
there’s plenty of these so-called ‘masters of the universe’ strutting the world stage tbh. Not keen on any of them personally. Don’t think Harigtay is that far removed from the rest of em.
)
Yes he’s an apologist for one of the worst industrial accidents in history. We can also say the same for people who continue to back western imperialism in the mid east, with its accompanying human ‘collateral damage’. The top echelons of the world are full of these cretins, aka soulless spin doctors. (There’s my 2c
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:52am | Report comment
I can’t say I’ve heard of Hargitay until now but its an interesting read Davidde.
Firstly regarding the move of his business to Cyprus. How many celebrities and business people move for tax purposes?
Considering some of the ridiculous tax rates some countries impose on the rich (and believe me I’m a long way off being in that top tax bracket) it’s understandable that they do move abroad but let’s look at “Aussie Guus”. He was embroiled in a tax scandal and prosecutors wanted him to receive 10 months in jail but we still love mentioning what a great job he did as manager of Aus even though he was found guilty of these charges. So what’s the difference between Hiddink and Hargitay?
I can understand why people move for tax reasons but as for moving for the law. Well what about Roman Polanski? The man that gave us The Pianist, one of the most brilliant films of all time. He remained in exile in France to escape charges of sexual abuse in the USA but his career was allowed to flourish afterwards. If you’ve seen The Pianist you’ve supported an alleged Sex Offender, that’s how simplistic you are making this with Hargitay.
I won’t compare “crimes” here as that is futile but Hargitay, as you put it Davidde come in as a “Spin Doctor” for this massive chemical mishap. He wasn’t responsible for it happening and it wasn’t his actions that caused it, he was employed to do damage control after the fact.
Anyone who has ever heard lectures on the issue or worked in a related area will know how ruthless and ridiculous the business can be. A plane crashes and 200 people die, the first thing the airport and the airline does is worry about its image in the hope it doesn’t cut into it’s bottom line, they offer every assistance they can to those affected and publicise their good work as much as possible. Hargitay is just in a line of work that requires people to make other peoples stuff ups not look so bad, some people won’t like it.
And what about this company that has killed thousands that employed him? There are armies that have unnecessarily killed thousands, Australian soldiers were employed in them but do we condemn them like this? What about tainted beef at burger joints, how many hundreds or thousands has that killed over the years? Or the children who get worked to the bone to make our shoes, many of whom die due to the neglect they are put through?
The list of company scandals goes on and on and on, companies are negligent as they try to cut corners to make a profit, Hargitay, at least from what you’ve written was merely the “Spin Doctor” to use your term once again. He wasn’t culpable and if he is good at putting a spin on things, then why wouldn’t we want him on board? Let’s face it, Kevin Dudd isn’t going to get us a WC.
It’s a tad ironic that you mention “agendas” and then word the article the way you did, as you noted; “once a reader feels you’ve compromised yourself, even fleetingly, they will forever think of you as such.” – Well Davidde, I can’t help but feel you’ve got it in for Hargitay, in your 715 words you didn’t manage to tell us one good or neutral thing about the man who is “representing” us, surely there must be some reason other than his work for Union Carbide that he has been employed to bring us the World Cup?
Art Sapphire said | October 21st 2009 @ 8:29am | Report comment
Just the response I expected from you Freud. You must be attracted to men without principles.
You need to remember that this is a sporting website. Using decription like “pathetic soul” to decribe another posters is an admission of defeat. I suggest you hire Mr Hargitay, he might be able to come up with some spin for you
True Tah said | October 21st 2009 @ 7:17pm | Report comment
Freud,
you lost me when you tried defending wealthy people paying taxes, and justifying their moves to lower tax jurisdictions. If you’re in that situation where you are in the top tax bracket, then you are pretty well off.
Whats next? Defending James Hardie’s move to Netherlands?
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 7:25pm | Report comment
Read on TT, you’ll see I have founded my claims.
VInce said | October 21st 2009 @ 6:43am | Report comment
Whilst we would all prefer the world to be a squeaky clean and 100% above board place, unfortunately reality says it is not and FIFA (as well as the IOC) are just as grubby as the Politicians, Used Car Salesmen, Real Estate Agents etc.
This bloke may very well be extremely good at dealing in the murky underbelly that is international football politics and that by definition means he probably has a few skeletons (and knows where other peoples are buried) in the cupboard.
There are lots of rumours and innuendo surrounding how Obama got to where he is (relate to when he was in Chicago) but no one seems to mind all that as the greater good is apparently served by having him in place.
We could take a pointless moral position in saying that we will only deal with 100% shiny clean people for our WC Bidss but then we should demand that of our politicians as well as the world operates on quid pro quo and that is just life.
The Answer said | October 21st 2009 @ 7:19am | Report comment
Great article David, you are right to point out that most football journalists in Australia have their own agenda, in my own opinion most are just cheer leaders for Frank Lowy so it nice to get some critical analysis on the decisions at the top.
We are right to question whether the employment of Haritgay is a correct one, especially on the taxpayers coin.
I’d argue that any bid won with the likes of Haritgay on board is a tainted one, but it will no doubt be drowned out by the cheers if we win.
However, if we get beat let’s hear no complaints from the likes of Vince above about it not being fair or it being a dodgy system as we’ve already sold our soul to the grubs at Fifa.
Apologists like Vince always seem to pop up and claim its the real world, what a pity Saddam isn’t around to buy more wheat.
As an aside, I’d recommend “FOUL!” By Andrew Jennings for anyone interested in Fifa dealings.
Keep up the good work Davidde, I doubt we’ll read similar pieces elsewhere.
VInce said | October 21st 2009 @ 8:41am | Report comment
The Answer, I am a realist not an apologist.
Living in an agricultural area as I do, I have seen first hand the damage ideology such as ‘let’s reduce our tariffs and everyone else will follow’ causes . The rest of the world said thank you very much and have continued to subsidise their exports into Australia destroying farming communities here- did you know if you take brazilian OJ concentrate and add 75% australian water it is deemed an Australian Product?
We all know that the process of politics (FIFA, IOC, Canberra) is corrupt but being mindlessly idealistic about it won’t change the game now will it?
The Answer said | October 21st 2009 @ 7:04pm | Report comment
Yeah the rural sector have never received a thing from the Australian government.
Is it mindless idealistically not to have a crook on the payroll?
Art Sapphire said | October 21st 2009 @ 8:44am | Report comment
Excellent piece Davidde and thanks for the links. Just the sort of stuff we need to debate on this forum.
On an ethical level it would be hard to even shake hands with the man.
Personally speaking, there is no way I could even contemplate representing a company like Union Carbide after the disastrous legacy they left the people of Bhopal. Yet, for great financial reward, Hargitay accepted the job of denying natural justice to the poor victims of the disaster. People like these have no scruples. These are the people who would have worked on behalf of the Nazis if the rewards were there.
To have this man helping our bid is indeed troubling, but its also an insight into the corruption infested, sleaze ridden way football is run. My love is for the game not for the adminstrators.
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 3:16pm | Report comment
Why would it, “On an ethical level it would be hard to even shake hands with the man”? As I said above, “If you’ve seen The Pianist you’ve supported an alleged Sex Offender”. So that leaves us in the dilemma,watch one of the greatest films of all time or ignore its existance because of some charges that are 30 years old which the victim wants dropped anyway: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/6237442/Roman-Polanskis-victim-is-mother-who-wants-charges-dropped.html
Don’t forget, Hargitay came in to do a job. People don’t like getting parking tickets but it’s someones job, it doesnt mean they are evil for doing it.
I’d suggest that Hargitay was handsomely rewarded for the Bhopal incident but that’s the kind of thing one can build a career off of, just like Aloisi and that penalty, it’s not just money, it’s reputation, one thing that goes well for you can open a lot of doors in life. Hargitay just happens to be in a line of work which is seen as unethical but what his actual crime was apart from spinning things for Union Carbide, well both Davidde and yourself have failed to mention this.
“These are the people who would have worked on behalf of the Nazis if the rewards were there.” – Art, do you realise what the punishment was if you went against the Nazi’s? People didn’t exactly have moral dilemma’s under their reign, it was a case of kill or be killed, you were with the Nazi’s or you were wanted by the Nazi’s.
Right up to the Stasi. I’ve heard figures that as many as 1 in 7 East Germans was an informant for them, countless people disappeared during the DDR’s existence. You weren’t given choices, these weren’t “fad’s”, these were regimes, dictatorships based on fear and intolerance. To claim people do bad things for money is only half right and if you want to use the Nazi’s as an example then please get your facts straight.
“To have this man helping our bid is indeed troubling, but its also an insight into the corruption infested, sleaze ridden way football is run. My love is for the game not for the adminstrators.” – There I’ll agree with you. That’s how it is. At least Lowy isn’t naive enough to think otherwise and has made a move that may upset some people but if we get a WC, no-one will be complaining.
Art Sapphire said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:06pm | Report comment
You don’t understand the point I was to make,Freud. There were people who voluntarily acted on behalf of the Nazis for financial reasons. These were people who facilitated business for them from outside Germany. They were under no duress to work for the Nazis, they quite gladly gave their services for their own gain. They operated in a moral vacuum.
What I am implying is that Mr Hargitay is the kind of bloke who would have gladly done PR for the Nazis back in the day.
I suggest you read some of the other stuff he has been up to from the link Davidde provided.
http://transparencyinsport.org/Peter_Hargitay_Spindoctor_to_the_world/spindoctor_to_the_world%28page1%29.html
I also want the WC to come to Australia but its interesting who we have chosen to get into bed with in order to enhance our prospects.
GazGoldCoast said | October 21st 2009 @ 9:03am | Report comment
Gotta assume Haritgay is a Lowy appointment, which says it all really. I mean, you wanna talk sleaze, just take a dig around Frank’s back yard…
Look at the investigations into shady deals with senior Israeli politicians, look at the US Congressional investigations into tax evasion, look at his $50 million settlement with the ATO a while back and his more recent claims that his Aussie taxes are being sent to mysterious Israeli “charities” which he refuses to name, look at his vehement opposition to awarding the Sydney peace prize to a Palestinian woman, Hanan Ashwari, look at his friendship with US developer Larry Silverstein, with whom he did a very interesting real estate deal on the World Trade Center just a short time before September 11th, 2001.
And yet, curiously, Frank Lowy is widely applauded as a great Aussie sporting hero, the man who “saved” football, yadda yadda. And it’s not just the football press that give him nothing but accolades, even the mainstream corporate media is incredibly reluctant to criticize him. Who wants an enemy like that, right?
What’s the old saying: “Send a crook to catch a thief.”
We football fans just want to enjoy our game, and if you start thinking about this stuff too much it can spoil your whole experience. So here I am on the Gold Coast trying not to think about Clive Palmer’s right-wing political agenda and his massive coal mines, which help spew crap into our atmosphere…
They say money is the root of all evil. And there’s a lot of money in football these days. Probably way too much.
True Tah said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:06pm | Report comment
Whilst Frank is a businessman before anything else, I dont think its fair to taint his name by dragging up his dark side, although I will point out that futbol heads have a habit of looking at Frank Lowy through rose coloured glasses.
On the whole a brave piece Davidde, it took some balls to put this together and well written.
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:45pm | Report comment
Why isn’t it fair to drag up Lowy’s dark side as you put it but it’s ok for Davidde to give us nothing but an insight into Hargitay’s?
At least we know what Lowy has done for the game, Davidde has bought a relatively inconspicuous character working behind the scenes to our attention and has not managed to mention one positive or neutral thing about him, he has actually done some good work in the past which hasn’t yet been mentioned.
albe said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:07pm | Report comment
spot on Gaz, though it doesn’t spoil it for me… i’ve always been conflicted about many of the people u mention above. Miles away from them in politics, but i tend to now accept football is as diverse as wider society. We can’t keep the game purely for those who just agree with us.
I totally support what Lowy has done for the game even though i can’t stand his position on Palestine.
Pippinu said | October 21st 2009 @ 9:03am | Report comment
Davidde
congrats for having the guts to write a piece like this.
Whether we like it or not, it has to be out in the open, one way or the other.
The $45 mill of government money is peanuts – but it’s still public money – so I suspect there might be a few politicians of either persuasion who will be interested in how it is spent (and rightly so).
That’s quite timely – because Senate Estimates is on as we speak (where the expenditure of public money is very closely scrutinised).
It’s equally true that world sport, and the bidding for world sporting events is grubby business at the best of times.
Midfielder said | October 21st 2009 @ 9:04am | Report comment
Davidde
I cannot see the connections between journalist having agendas & the appointment of Peter Hargitay….
I can see as you write a question mark over his character …. Singo is an Australian colourful character and does work for the Labour party … should they not use him … because of his pass reputation…
Peter Hargitay is painted by yourself as a very undesirable character TBH I have no idea about him ….but based on your article I would not have him home for dinner … but the head of FIFA & AFC use his services…
Lawyers defend criminals some of the worst kind …
I guess I am trying to say I agree there is a line in the sand that needs to be drawn… however given that FIFA & AFC use his services so has England … at that level he appears Ok …
I just think your article could have been better saying what kinda rules should there be rather than talk about a person who looks to work for many people …
ish said | October 21st 2009 @ 9:07am | Report comment
some people have no morals, this doesnt mean they are bad people, hartigay might for all we know be a great dad or something. Hartigay seems like the guy that takes your coin for a job and he doesnt care about what the job is as long as he gets enough. In a way this can be useful and in all fairness if australia get the world cup i will have no qualms what so ever about hartigay’s involvement.
FIFA is a dodgey organization, sometimes you need some1 who can deal with dodgey people to get it done.
danny said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:02pm | Report comment
i agree with this take on things. hargitay reminds me of (a less photogenic version of) aaron eckhart’s character in ‘thank you for smoking’ (an excellent film, by the way). amoral, or at least of flexible morals, and blessed with an ability to argue strongly a point that most people disagree with.
if he’s committed crimes, i’m not particularly happy with that. but if he’s just of questionable ethics… well, that i can deal with.
Spiro Zavos said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:08am | Report comment
Let’s create a hypothetical scenario to try explain what to me is the strange decision of the Rudd Government to pay Australian Football around $45 million to try to win the Football World Cup tournament for Australia in 2018. I say ’strange’ because there is no evidence that Australia has much of a chance to win the right to stage what is the greatest sporting show on earth.
The hypothetical scenario – and remember it is only a scenario – is that Kevin Rudd has his eyes on becoming the Secretary-General of the UN, after his longish stint as Prime Minister of Australia finishes.
This sort of ambition is not outrageous. After all the dour, uncharismatic and non-Mandarin speaking Helen Clarke got herself a job, the second biggest in the UN, running their refugees programs. Rudd is in every way a much bigger political figure, even now, on the world stage than Clarke.
Australia’s bid to host the Football World Cup puts Rudd, as Prime Minister of Australia, at the very heart of world politics, with the African, South American, Asian, Eastern Europe, European and Middle Eastern blocs all in the play. The contacts made, the deals done and the sheer size of the stage involved with a World Football Cup bid (which leaves the Olympics or Rugby World Cup a long way in the distance) makes the bid a bully pulpit for a politician from a middle-ranking country to get himself known to the political power brokers all around the world.
It is in order, I believe, for Frank Lowy and the Rudd Government, to give the nation a run-down on what the basis for the $45 million costing was made, how the money is being spent and on whom.
Which brings us to the Davidde Corran’s well-made point about the appropriateness of appointing Peter Hargitay as the strategist for the Australian bid.
whiskeymac said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:37am | Report comment
Hargitay has the same charactersitcs as Mr Rudd, (to quote Sir Humphrey aganin) the oft admired enviable intellectual suppleness and moral maneuverability.
BigAl said | October 21st 2009 @ 11:12am | Report comment
I’m afraid Spiros I don’t think I agree with a word you have said !
First of all I think you are hugely over estimating the international political value of holding a World Cup -or any such international sporting event i.e Olympics etc. They are really only import politically internally – i.e help political leaders get re-elected.
Second, I am always a bit dubious when I see dollar amounts quoted when concerning politics and/or sport – doubley so when combined !!
The 45 mill. quoted re. this ‘bid’ should be taken with the same grain of salt that the 250 mill. that David Beckham was going to earn playing for Galaxy . . . and the 100 mill. per fight that Mike Tyson earned !
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:49pm | Report comment
BigAl, it would appear you don’t know much about the workings of government or of administrative bodies.
Look at FIFA, it’s a gents club, its not a governing body of football as if it were Blatter would have been ousted already, he remains in place because of the friends he has.
The same goes for hosting these events, you’ve gotta scratch a lot of backs and make a lot of friends to get the deal done.
Pippinu said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:24am | Report comment
Spiros
Interesting take.
I had always thought that Lowy must have pulled the wool over Rudd’s eyes to make him think we were any chance at all for 2018 (2022 is a little bit different).
Lowy too would have known that 2018 was impossible, but he would have seen the possibilities of getting plenty of coverage for the sport, and most importantly, getting plenty of investment for sporting infrastructure – I saw that as the true objective.
But with your take, Rudd has not been naive at all – but very clever politically (for his own personal ambitions – talking hypothetically of course).
Now this is the most interesting aspect of your view point.
It might help explain why absolutely no one is moving on guaranteeing the billlions of dollars necessary to build and upgrade stadiums.
It was never on Rudds’ agenda!!
In other words – Lowy didn’t pull the wool over Rudd’s eyes – Rudd pulled the wool over Lowy’s eyes!!
(for the relatively small investment of $45 million)
whiskeymac said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:31am | Report comment
good article, interesting debate. it seems that simulation in sport occurs as much on the pitch as in the boardroom.
Fifa, not unlike the olympics and am usre just about any organisation – sporting or political – is full of behind the scene deals. How did Sepp beat Johannsen in 98? allegedly last minute pay off deals to certain delegates… Jack Warner dodgy travel agent deals directly linked to his FIFA position etc
because we arent in Kansas anymore maybe the reality is that to win the “right” to have a world cup the compromise of having clean hands will have to be made. Sir Humphrey wasnt available but he gives some direction ont he reality (substituing government for FFA…FIFA…Olympic or whoever you like):
Sir Humphrey: My job is to carry out government policy.
Hacker: Even if you think it’s wrong?
Sir Humphrey: Well, almost all government policy is wrong, but…frightfully well carried out.
agga78 said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:31am | Report comment
The formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne costs Victorian taxpayers $40 million every year and our federal government is only spending $45 million for a chance at the world cup, that is a very small amount for a chance at the biggest sporting event in the world compared to car race which gives Victoria really no enconomic benefit at all. If this man is paid $10 million and he helps us get the world cup, then I don’t care what he has done in the past, remember the supreme leader at Fifa Mr Blatter could not lie straight in bed, so he will appreicate a like minded individual.
AndyRoo said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:37am | Report comment
There are less people running for 2018
It seems the competition is England and the US
The US hosted it very recently (94) and we are in a better TV market. For 2018 we are the only serious Asian bid.
That would mean 3 cups in a row outside Europe but this is no longer a colonial game and no longer is Europe the only money making market. But sure there is a pull for Europe but having a world cup in Australia which is pretty much a certainty to be a successful world cup (un segregated crowds) would be very attractive to someone like Blatter.
20 year later people will talk about him bringing the world cup to the final Continents (Africa and Australia). Another European world cup…big deal, his powerbase isn’t UEFA anyway.
I really feel we are just a few English hooligan stories away from being the favorite for 2018. For 2022 a lot more countries will be realistic contenders and from then 2026 plus our chances look smaller and smaller. China will start to come on board as a realistic contender in Asia, the middle Easter countries are eyeing it up. 30 years from now India may want it…. We are all small potatoes to them and that’s just our confederation.
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:52pm | Report comment
I don’t know about being a few hooligans away from a WC but you’re certainly on the right track. Right now Australia may not look that attractive but Australia has some very unique advantages, the largest being it’s the only continent yet to host the WC.
Do not underestimate this fact. Blatter will be thinking of his legacy and this is exactly the sort of thing he would want to be remembered for, “bringing the game to all corners of the world”.
AndyRoo said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:59pm | Report comment
The hooligan line was a bit of a throw away (representing random issues that could arise) but England are hardly popular amongst their own confederation (not entirely their own fault) and have had constant issues with UEFA.
Their still the favorite for mine but I don’t see it as the lay down lazaire that everyone in the Australian media seems to think. THe EPL being so succesful actualy hurts them somewhat in that it puts a few noses out of joint.
True Tah said | October 21st 2009 @ 6:15pm | Report comment
Freud of Football
Australia is a large country with a population of 20m, whilst relatively wealthy, I think Blatter would be look at the much more lucrative market of the US/China/India than us. The reality is we are a small player on the world stage.
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 6:23pm | Report comment
Indeed we are. But Australia is also a contintent and the last to host a WC. Money isn’t the issue here, Blatter’s pockets will no doubt be lined from all corners during the bidding process.
I think that Australia has a chance because Blatter has his personal agenda, he wants to be remembered for having done great things for the game and everyone knows what effect the WC in the USA had, conquering the final frontier and expanding the game in a country which could actually be successful on the world stage in the future is exactly how Blatter would want to be written into the history books.
Thank god we have someone like Lowy who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, if Rudd was in charge of the bid we’d have no hope.
True Tah said | October 21st 2009 @ 7:09pm | Report comment
What do you mean by “conquering the final frontier”? Is Australia the final frontier, and what do you mean by conquer? Wipe out the AFL and NRL? I know you are an AFL fan, so perhaps conquering is a little bit over the top.
I honestly think the “final frontier” would be the subcontinent, where cricket dominates professional sport, and whilst Im sure many Indian men have Manchester United jerseys, the local game is in dissarray. Australia has made the final 16 of a world cup and has a successful professional tournament, which I suspect has reached its zenith in terms of popularity.
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 7:23pm | Report comment
Australia is the last continent not to have held the WC, how can that not be final frontier? They’ve spread the game to every other corner of the globe except Australia.
Of course it doesn’t mean wiping out AFL and the NRL, that isn’t football’s intention (at least publically, I’m sure there are plenty at the FFA that would love to see the day that football is number one and either one of these leagues needs government support to stay afloat) but it will course a boom in popularity in the game.
Having lived in America a few years back I was surprised at how popular “soccer” (a term they will forever use) actually is there. It is what most of the kids were playing in their free time, many played indoor as well in the winter but many schools still don’t offer it.
Point is, the only reason it is so popular there is the WC in 94. The stadiums were packed and they caught the bug, it is now extremely popular there and the MLS is a much better league than the A-League but they have this history, Australia can too.
constantine said | October 21st 2009 @ 8:16pm | Report comment
why does it always have to involve wiping out afl and nrl. no buddy thats not what we mean, he means that he wants the sport to have been held in all reaches of the globe. the sport already has infected pretty much most of the planet, some can say its the ‘humans sport’ lol, now australia can be part of the love and thrill of the game too. eitherway, you can pretty much guess that i think having a world cup here will be the greatest sporting festival australia has ever seen, and yes, ever seen. nothing compares to it on the planet (literally) and it would be amazing for the country
AndyRoo said | October 21st 2009 @ 8:18pm | Report comment
fifa loves to talk about how many countries are members and they received big kudos for deciding to have the World Cup in Africa, something the olympics hasn’t done. With the olympics going to Rio that will make them equal on five continenets apiece.
Having a World Cup in australia will give Fifa the chance to slap themselves on the back. seems unimportant to us but after a certain amount of time in power the honchos like to do something that they can hang there hat on.
Nothing to do with the NRL and AFL, the olympics didn’t hurt those sports did they?
Pippinu said | October 21st 2009 @ 8:21pm | Report comment
But I sort of take TT’s point – we’re hardly a final frontier in the sense that the US or India is (or even China for that matter).
AndyRoo said | October 21st 2009 @ 8:25pm | Report comment
Pip
fifa will wan’t to be able to say they have held their event on every continent before the IOC has.
GazGoldCoast said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:39am | Report comment
Spiros and Pip,
The idea that Rudd needs a WC bid in order to hobnob with the global political elites is just crazy talk. He’s already meeting with NATO, the G20, ASEAN, etc.
Lowy is the guy doing the hobnobbing, and he’s the one whose personal agenda is best served by that $45 million donation to FIFA. Think of that money like a donation to a political campaign – it doesn’t buy you anything except a wink and a nudge. Everyone knows FIFA’s selection process is a charade, which is the only reason why Lowy’s bid might have a chance. But even if it fails, Frank Lowy will come out of it smelling like roses.
He might even end up sitting next to Sepp on FIFA’s board.
Pippinu said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:57am | Report comment
Gaz
you might be right.
I do note that the sorts of leaders Rudd will get to meet during a WC bid are not the sort that he will meet via these other forums you have mentioned.
Art Sapphire said | October 21st 2009 @ 10:57am | Report comment
So what is this sleazeball Hargitay going to spin to help our bid.
Oh, I know, he will be able to convince FIFA that Australia has 12 compliant stadiums ready to host the World Cup.
He received a fortune trying to convince the world that it wasn’t Union Carbide’s fault, the blame laid with the victims of Bhopal as they could have chosen somewhere else to live.
Gee, with skills like that he can build stadium out of mere figments of our collective imaginations.
Freud of Football said | October 21st 2009 @ 4:55pm | Report comment
Well he supposedly is in pretty close with some of the bigwigs. This is the sort of thing we need, someone who can call in a few favours, maybe knows a few things about people that they don’t want to be public knowledge, that’s how football politics work, it isn’t sending a bottle of wine over to Blatter with a card saying “Best wishes from the Australia WC Bid”
Wilba said | October 21st 2009 @ 11:25am | Report comment
Spiro, I wouldn’t quite be that cynical about a UN job 15 years down the track but I get where you are coming from.
On an interesting tangent the Lowy Institute for International Policy (Yes named after Frank) has been talking about the importance of Football as a means to strengthen Australia’s diplomacy in Asia. This is an extension of the ‘soft power’ concept. If you type football into the search engine you have 20 different articles or events since 2005. http://www.lowyinstitute.org/
I see K Rudd’s support for football as meeting his foreign policy objectives; remember he was a diplomat in China and shadow minister for foreign affairs when in opposition. This is where he would have developed strong links with the Lowy institute and possibly Frank Lowy himself.
When KRudd got in, his government actually cut federal funding for most sport except football. I think the football diplomacy angle makes sense to him and the $45m for Australia to strut on the world stage is justifiable because it meets numerous policy objectives. Possibly even the one that Spiro was alluding to.
Gibbo said | October 21st 2009 @ 3:38pm | Report comment
a good read. very much an ‘ends justifying means’ debate.
Deng Xioping said “black cat / white cat – so long as she catches mice.”
we all know the WC host will be decided through shady deals. I (i guess kinda cynically) say, let the dealers do their work while we hope and pray Australia (ie. rudd, lowry and, it seems, hargitay) get the deal done.
Forza Australia WC 2018/2022
constantine said | October 21st 2009 @ 5:58pm | Report comment
theres 2 sides to every story, lowy knows what he is doing and he lowy appoints somebody then there is a good reason.
Mariska said | October 22nd 2009 @ 12:01am | Report comment
No one has asked why Lowy needs Hargitay? To do what? To introduce him to Jack Warner? To meet Sepp Bltter? Lowy is on the committee of the 2010 World Cup. So too are most of the FIFA Executive Committee. Lowy needs no introductions.
This is about two possible things. Lowy needs someone to pay the bribes. Hargitay is your man. Or is Lowy buying into FIFA’s inner circle with Australian money? If Lowy hires Hargitay, just like Blatter and Bin Hammam did then does that make Frank one of the boys too?
And whatever happened to that tax money Frank owes the Australian government?
Joey Gaetani said | October 22nd 2009 @ 6:17am | Report comment
I have just stumbled across this site/Davidde Corrans article and I’m quite astonished by the collective ignorance displayed not only by the author himself but also by its readers.
Davidde, how on earth do people feel comfortable with calling you a ‘journalist’ when all you did is simply regurgitate (in parts even verbatim) the utter nonsense a lunatic, discredited, disrespected, “journalist” with an agenda has invented. You say ‘you can read all about him/facts on Jennings’ site’. How can you honestly be comfortable with repeating and refering to what a wholly discredited (multiply convicted, gun for hire – see his deal with Sheik Salman) journalist publishes on his website ? I take it that you also believe every entry on wikipedia ? And every article published in ‘The Sun’ ? Great.
How is what you write fact ? Its so utterly compromised and one-sided I’m amazed nobody picked up on that.
Agendas, anyone ?
So, Hargitay may have had some ‘interesting/controversial’ clients in his past. Fair enough. But, lets assume the below;
- what if he was employed by Union Carbide 2 years before the Bhopal catastrophy as a financial PR consultant (not for crisis management) ? What if, 2 weeks after Bhopal, he quit the assignment because he was unhappy with Carbides conduct regarding Bhopal ?
- Do your readers know that Marc Rich was wanted by the US Government for tax evasion ? Not murder, not rape, not paedophilia. Tax evasion. Alleged tax evasion. He was and is free to live anywhere in the world as its only the twisted US system that puts people to jail for 300 years for filing wrong tax declarations. Also, how about you mention that Marc Rich was pardoned by Bill Clinton ? Furthermore, it may have escaped your oh-so factual “copy & paste” ‘journalism’ that Hargitay is married to a black woman since decades and has a child with said woman. Clearly he must be a hardcore racist & pro-apartheid in that case.
- What if what Hall & Jennings write regarding Miami & Jamaica is so utterly selective and one-sided that viewed from only their angle it clearly makes Hargitay look like a criminal ? Did Hall & Jennings ever choose to include the fact that both governments sent him a official governmental letter of apology ? Did they ever choose to mention that he received massive amounts of money from said governments for false detention ? Funny that. Its not a headline grabber, is it ?
The story looks slightly different now, does it not ?
Why are you readers not more critical of what you read ? Why is what Corran, Hall and Jennings write gobbled up as gospel ?
Because its‘anti establishment’ ? Because FIFA is corrupt anyway so anyone associated with FIFA is corrupt ? Because a hungarian refugee like Lowy built an empire and made billions of dollars from nothing, on his own, and therefore must clearly be corrupt ?
Or is it maybe that these three journalists are jealous, utterly sad underachievers with a chip on their shoulder and all they want is to be relevant somehow, no matter how.
And any route to relevance/fame will do, no matter how unfounded, bias and ignorant the crap they write is.
And finally, I’m amazed that you Australians have adopted that classic (and very odd) trait the english have of self depreciation and self-dismantling. Well done. How about supporting what your country is doing ? Boring ? Yeah, I guess its more exciting to take people down.
If the posters here would represent the australia I know and have lived in for two thirds of my life, I’d be ashamed.
Freud of Football said | October 22nd 2009 @ 8:31am | Report comment
I’m happy to be in the minority here as I’ve only seen a few criticisms and others have been full of praise for this piece “being so courageous” and while I find the above words too harsh, I tend to agree with them in principle.
Davidde, I can honestly say without needing to kiss any arse I have found your articles to be quite insightful, in fact I’ve preferred your recent stuff to the same boring stuff Jesse Fink writes (Lucas Neill this, Nicky Carle that) but you really have put your credibility on the line by mentioning agendas and then writing such a one-sided argument.
There are clearly two sides here and for a fair portrayal we, the readers of this article, should have received both without having to search the web for the rest of the facts. That we didn’t is typical of the Australian media that unfortunately many people here on The Roar see and read on a daily basis, biased and self-serving and with little regard for the whole truth, putting one side out there and hoping the other is never mentioned.
That Hargitay’s “dark side” was focused on, that his misdeed in the Bhopal incident was working in the PR department after the fact (you managed to call him a “Spin Doctor”) and that strikingly similar cases ala “Aussie Guus” Hiddink’s tax evasion have not been mentioned tells me far too many people will buy whatever you sell them if you put a name on it.
Hargitay’s ethics aside, the article has given us no insight into what his purpose is and has simply “regurgitated” tidbits from other sources. I’d be genuinely interested to see a neutral perspective on the issue. If you are going to take a side then at least open your eyes to the hypocrisy of what you’ve written and don’t mention agenda’s in the same space as that where you put someone’s past under the microscope and only found dirt.
dasilva said | October 22nd 2009 @ 10:39am | Report comment
I think the difference is that hiddink face up to the charges and tried to defend himself in court. Was convicted, found guilty and Hididnk then paid his fines and was given a suspended jail sentence. Therefore hiddink didn’t try to escape the justice system
Hargitay alledgedly according to this article moved to another country to avoid paying for the court order the money owed to by the government.
Both party committed wrong doing. One ran away from it and the other faced up to it.
Art Sapphire said | October 22nd 2009 @ 9:47am | Report comment
Two points I would like to make.
1. Its irrelevant that Hargitay has a black wife, no one here has accused him of racism. He looks like a person who operates in a moral vacuum. Now, you might find nothing wrong with that, but many people do feel uncomfortable about him helping Australia’s bid for the WC.
2. Here is another bit of information for the Roar readers in regards to Marc Rich.
All this cut and pasting must drive you nuts
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2009/01/16/holder/
“Meanwhile the fugitive financier, as he is still known, has never returned from his lair in Zug, Switzerland, to the United States. (The mainstream press never mentions that, either.) In other words, he has never used the pardon — perhaps because he would first have to pay up tens of millions of dollars he owes in back taxes, a condition set by Clinton.”
Now maybe to you Joey, avoiding tens of millions dollars in taxes is as serious as a kid stealing a lollipop from the candy store, but for ethical people this a serious breach of “social” responsibilty.
People like Hargitay and Rich just have connections that see to it that they don’t end up in the wrong place.
Anyway – good to see someone sticking up for the “dark side”
But, Joey, tell us how did you get to stumble across this website?
Gaz said | October 22nd 2009 @ 9:48am | Report comment
… and who is Joey Gaetani, just out of interest?
Art Sapphire said | October 22nd 2009 @ 10:00am | Report comment
For anyone interested – Mr Rich’s PR Machine see to it that nothing gets missed.
Check out these retractions.
Keep up the good work Joey
http://www.marcrich.ch/mrh_corrections.php?id=26
Sunday Independent (IRL)
CORRECTION APPENDED
In our edition of 18th June we incorrectly suggested that American billionaire, Mr. Rich, had spent over a decade “on the run” and that he had “escaped jail” following an alleged Presidential pardon for “fraud” conviction in the US. It has been pointed out to us by Mr. Rich’s attorney, and we fully accept, that Mr. Rich was never tried or convicted for fraud and consequently was never “on the run” and never “escaped jail”. We apologise unreservedly to Mr. Rich for our error”.
(Published on June 25, 2006)
The Evening Standard
MARC RICH
In an article on 3 October 2005, we reported that Marc Rich was convicted in the US of racketeering, tax evasion and other offences. In fact, he was charged but never convicted – and was subsequently pardoned. We apologise for the error.
(Published on October 20, 2005)
Gaz said | October 22nd 2009 @ 10:56am | Report comment
I’m just wondering if Joey Gaetani is connected to the dynastic family of the same name, who socialize with people like Marc Rich, Ivana Trump and the Kashoggis (another lovely bunch).
“It was the perfect hors d’oeuvre for the evening: A desiccated core dressed in cloying sweetness, at once irresistible and slightly lethal. Mr. Gaetani stood at the bar of Mortimer’s. Even though this was his crowd, he did not seem to be relishing the new attention coming his way. He had been in this situation once before. Several years ago, Mr. Gaetani had come to the defense of the model Carré Otis at a time when she was having relationship troubles with the actor Mickey Rourke. Mr. Rourke had crashed Vogue magazine’s 100th-anniversary party in 1992, which Ms. Otis attended. When things got ugly between them, Mr. Gaetani stepped in to aid Ms. Otis. Two years later, Mr. Gaetani, an accomplished pugilist, challenged Mr. Rourke to a boxing match. Alas, the gossip columnists were denied the opportunity of seeing the socialite punch out the lights of the actor, although Mr. Gaetani did assert that when Mr. Rourke “hears my name, he quivers like a dog in a storm.” Perhaps Mr. Gaetani remembered this moment in the limelight as The Transom asked him what had brought him and Ivana together. “The Red Cross Ball in the South of France,” he almost mumbled…”
http://www.observer.com/node/39723
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20133628,00.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11400916@N07/2202086310/
Just asking….
Art Sapphire said | October 22nd 2009 @ 11:54am | Report comment
Thanks for the links Gaz.
Reading about the lifestyles of the rich and infamous is a pleasant distraction after being bogged down in all this sports opinion.
Art Sapphire said | October 22nd 2009 @ 12:21pm | Report comment
Gaz – it looks like the man who threatened to knock out Mickey Rourke died a few years ago when he crashed his ferrari.
http://imagine-contact.com/usenet/fetchMsg.php?id=111002
TEARS were being shed yesterday as word spread that Count Roffredo
Lovatelli Gaetani – the handsome former boxer who dated a string of
beautiful women, including Ivana Trump – was dead. The 50ish Ferrari
dealer drove off the road in a rented car as he was driving solo
Thursday night toward Argiano, his ancestral home in Tuscany, one of
the oldest castles in Italy. He’ll be buried there by his family, which
produced two popes. Roffredo’s brother Christofero died years ago when
his parachute didn’t open. He is survived by two brothers, Gelazio and
Luca. His longtime girlfriend, Svetlana, was home in Lithuania when she
learned of his death. Taki Theodoracopulos – who famously boxed
Roffredo for three rounds in the 1980s (and lost by decision) at an
Upper East Side match attended by Claus von Bulow and Reinaldo Herrera
- was mourning in Paris. Roffredo, who used to go sailing with Gianni
Agnelli, was also good friends with Giuseppe Cipriani, Sylvia Martins,
Laura Steinberg, Ramona Ridge and Silvano Marchetto.
Gaz said | October 22nd 2009 @ 12:51pm | Report comment
Art, I wasn’t suggesting it was the same guy, but perhaps part of the dynasty?
Hmmn, car crash eh? You should always check the brakes carefully on those rented cars.
Mariska said | October 23rd 2009 @ 12:34am | Report comment
Wow – Peter Hargitay reads The Roar!
Mariska said | October 23rd 2009 @ 9:14am | Report comment
Looks like Peter Hargitay, the kinf of spin, doesn’t like being bowled a good old Aussie googly. It’s a very Australian trait to question things and also cut through the crap to find out what is really going on out there. We’re straight talkers, that is when we’re not star struck or brown nosing.
Jennings is NOT discredited and is in fact one of the few journalists who does not bow down to FIFA or the IOC. Neither organization is confortable with him asking questions about their corruptibility.
Hall was one of the few people to take on the old corrupt Soccer Australia and report the terrible gongs on there. His reports helped get the Crawford enquiry up. Guess hwta came out of that? Lowy and the FFA and Hargitay’s latest pay day. How ironic.
If Hargitay (and Joey Gaetani) are not happy for some quetions to be asked about where out money is being spent then maybe he can take his consultancy to another country that doesn’t care.
Davidde Corran said | October 22nd 2009 @ 8:59am | Report comment
Freud, the only astonishing thing is how easily it seems to be to misunderstand the difference between a news article and an opinion piece on a site dedicated to opinions.
The article on The World Game is a news article and that is why it’s approach is noteworthy. This is an opinion piece. No agendas masked by the pretense of unbiased reporting, simply opinion like all the comments which have followed it. That didn’t stop me from double checking my facts with reliable sources though.
In the meantime I think the debate on here has been insightful and for one I’m glad there is a variety of opinions on such an important issue.
Freud of Football said | October 22nd 2009 @ 5:08pm | Report comment
Davidde, you like everyone else are entitled to your opinion and while The Roar is dedicated to opinion pieces, it’s not as though this is the only forum for such journalism, all the journo’s you mentioned manage to get their agenda’s out there somehow and “opinion pieces” are the ideal vehicle for this.
However to claim that your piece was your own opinion is nonsense and anyone who believes it hasn’t read your article properly. Here is the basic structure of your piece:
*Intro – Speaking negatively of agenda’s, leading into the topic of the piece on TWG and your opinion on that
*Pre-Body – this is how you lead in: “So who is Hargitay? Well you can read about him on this site and this piece but here are a couple key facts about him. “
*Body – negative facts about Hargitay
*Conclusion – you ask the readers for their opinions
So you fill us up with some negative “key facts” about Hargitay and then tell everyone that you’re “genuinely curious to know how [we] feel about it.” You haven’t given us your opinion on anything other than that you think journo’s shouldn’t have agendas, you have “regurgitated” some facts – all of which were negative -, asked a few rhetorical questions to excuse writing the piece and then asked Roarers to draw their conclusions from that.
I urge everyone to re-read the article, no-one can possibly agree with this statement Davidde: “No agendas masked by the pretense of unbiased reporting, simply opinion”.
How is it unbiased to use terms like “Spin Doctor”? The term “Spin” itself is a pejorative term by definition, a “Spin Doctor” therefore is also a negative term for someone whose job it is to “spin” things in a positive light.
That you double-checked your facts with reliable sources I would expect of someone who makes a living from writing but you only put one very negative set of facts out there and then put your own “spin” on them (which is different from giving us an opinion) for us to read and allowed us to base our opinion on them.
Gaz said | October 22nd 2009 @ 9:08am | Report comment
You know, Hitler did some nice watercolours too. But it’s funny how nobody ever mentions that, isn’t it? Biased reporting!!! That’s what I say it is!!!
Sigh…
whiskeymac said | October 22nd 2009 @ 9:28am | Report comment
Gaz, true… but sadly his watercolours weren’t good enough for him to make a living from .
Freud of Football said | October 22nd 2009 @ 3:03pm | Report comment
Actually, Hitler did quite a few “good” things which are still visible in Germany today but his legacy will forever be the genocide of Jews.
whiskeymac said | October 22nd 2009 @ 9:09am | Report comment
some thoughts on a good post by Gaetani
There are many instances of big corporations behaving immorally – Ford with their “Pinto’s” in the 70s; Nestle etc. Carbide’s was particulary bad. Being tainted by association might be unfair in that respect. Spin doctoring (thinking of such alumini from Goebells to the fictitious “thankyou for smoking” have a hired morality that politicians and business crave.
Re Marc Rich – why is tax evasion acceptable? Whie collar crime still has amassive detriment to society even if there is no identifiable victim such as in rape or theft. It is serious enough for disciplinary action for example in the legal profession, and if the US deems it to be an indictible offence, does it still not go towards character? Just because Clinton pardoned him (the same impeachable president?) doesnt mean much. Ford pardoned Nixon. So what is a pardon? It’s a na dministrative action which you apply for. According to the US Dept of justice:
“you should bear in mind that a presidential pardon is ordinarily a sign of forgiveness and is granted in recognition of the applicant’s acceptance of responsibility for the crime and established good conduct for a significant period of time after conviction or release from confinement. A pardon is not a sign of vindication and does not connote or establish innocence. ”
So let’s not attach a lot of wieght to the pardon.
lastly, for me a good post or a good article is one that generates discussion and at times thought provoking. As such Davvides has been good, as has your post, but delusions of expecting pullitzer standard and researched commentary is a bit much. ultimatley what you stumbled across is a forum where people waste a few minutes from work to smack up their thoughts on sport and occassionally issues like this, connected to sport. dont judge so harshly, no one is claiming to be Walter Cronkite. In any event, and not to dismiss an overarching need for journalistic integrity or the ability of people to think/research for themselves, but I am not sure Walter and his peers would care to muse 1000 words every other day on Pim using a dour 4-2-3-1 or an exciting 4-3-3. Especially now he is dead anyway. (dont they play Rugby in heaven anyway?)
Freud of Football said | October 22nd 2009 @ 3:06pm | Report comment
Roman Polanski anyone? I’ve mentioned his name a few times and it seems either no-one knows him or no-one cares. Why is his alleged sexual assault from 30-odd years ago acceptable? If it isn’t, why have most of us seen “The Pianist”?
List off Hargitay’s crimes and I don’t mean doing his job, being a “Spin-Doctor” for a company responsible for the worst chemical mishap ever.
Art Sapphire said | October 22nd 2009 @ 3:27pm | Report comment
I advise Mr Polanksi to contact Mr Hargitay and Mr Rich and see if they can get the Irsaeli lobby to persuade President Obama to give him a pardon. The Israeli lobby did the job for Mr Rich
Freud – The Pianist is as a very good piece of fillm making.
But, Polanksi’s best film is Chinatown.
Freud of Football said | October 22nd 2009 @ 4:32pm | Report comment
Matter of opinion.
Art Sapphire said | October 22nd 2009 @ 4:58pm | Report comment
Ofcourse it is Freud. Just like everything else. That’s why there is no point getting your knickers in a twist about things. Anyway, I went to http://www.imdb.com and got the following results
Chinatown – User rating 8.5
70,028 IMDb users have given a weighted average vote of 8.5 / 10
The Pianist – User rating 8.5
115,239 IMDb users have given a weighted average vote of 8.5 / 10
So there you go both excellent film according to the hoi polloi
Freud of Football said | October 22nd 2009 @ 5:11pm | Report comment
Indeed they both are. So Art, you support a child abuser who makes good films. What is your problem with Hargitay, a PR man with some excellent contacts working on our World Cup bid?
md said | October 22nd 2009 @ 9:14am | Report comment
Davidde – this is an interesting article.
I would say that more damage has been done to local football by Australian journo’s pushing their ‘mates’ agendas, than could possibly be done by one hired PR type. Mike Cockerill still hasn’t recovered the demise of of his beloved Kosmina regime at Sydney. SBS happily push the coaching credentials of any of their favoured insiders and equally denegrate anyone who doesn’t pay them due homage. Whilst the sadist in me is really looking forward to seeing how they treat Postecoglou, their lack of balance damages the local game.
As to your question: What price the world cup? Frankly any price that doesn’t compromise our sovereignty or economic prospects is likely to be the answer. That’s the nature of the beast at a global level. There’s no doubt that hosting the world cup will significantly change Australia for the better – not just our football industry, the entire country. There will be many uncomfortable compromises – there always are (there certainly were for the Olympics), but on balance, hiring Blatter’s confidant is a smart move and if it gets us one of the two world cups on offer, then it will be 100% worth it.
Cheers
md
AndyRoo said | October 22nd 2009 @ 9:57am | Report comment
I also am interested to see how they treat Ange
I can’t remember his exact quotes but Foster seemed to be somewhat positive towards Ange when commenting on the Bne Roar match.
Perhas Foz is aware that the video of him having a go at Ange about “results” makes him look stupid when he now praises the current regime. Especially as Ange used the same excuse “lack of technique” that the Dutch use.
Ange was coping it for having a draw with a Chinese team “someone we should never lose too” according to Foz and yet we still do at various levels and recently with our supposed best ever crop of young players technique wise (the current u16’s) we drew at home with someone far further down on the totem pole than China.
dasilva said | October 22nd 2009 @ 10:28am | Report comment
Ange was coping it for having a draw with a Chinese team “someone we should never lose too”
No, I australia ldid lose to the Chinese team. There was nothing factually wrong with that statement
It was australia who drew to Laos and were eliminated and hence failed to qualify to the U16 Asian Cup that Foster mistakenly said that we lost to. However saying that, Australia really should never draw to Laos and that draw was as good as a defeat.
Ange asked fozz “if we brought in a technical director, would he say the way we develop players is good or not.”
Foster replied direct quote “He would say it’s good enough to beat Laos and good enough to beat China. He would also say it would need serious improvement like we all say. So we agree with you”
So I don’t think there’s much of a contradiction for him blaming about lack of technique to compete at the world stage and yet saying our technique is good enough to beat Asian oppositions. Jan Versleijen’s qualification kind of proved that.
AndyRoo said | October 22nd 2009 @ 10:31am | Report comment
We didn’t qualify for the u16 asian cup..I thought they were talking about the world cup.
Well fair cop Ange that is a very bad result.
dasilva said | October 22nd 2009 @ 10:48am | Report comment
ok the first tournament where we drew to laos was the qualification to the U16 Asian cup (which was a qualifier for U17 world cup). Surprisingly Ange kept his job. Ange then said that the reason why we only drew to Laos was because Australian team had to go to school whilst Laos kids didn’t have to. I’m not too sure that’s the best excuse in the world.
He then led the U20 socceroos in the AFC youth championship. Lost to China in the group stages which meant that Australia finished second in the group and had to face South Korea in the quarter finals instead of Jordan. They lost to South Korea and hence failed to qualify to the World Cup (semi finalist qualify to that tournament)
Really two failures like that and Ange really should get sacked
Now Foster was incredibly rude in that interview and was over the top as usual.
However he was right that ange should have fallen on his own sword after two debacles like that.