Mourinho’s Notebook - January 30
You Feeling Lucky?
The African Cup of Nations has been a really competitive competition this year. Aside from the game between Cameroon and Ivory Coast that saw an incredible 61 fouls committed, that is. So competitive that after Guinea and Mali drew 1-1 in their final group game, they could not be separated for the single quarter final spot they were playing for.
That Cameroon vs Ivory Coast game ended 1-0 to the Coasters, the only game in Group D that didn’t end in a 1-1 draw. Had Cameroon come up with an equaliser, then all four teams would have been tied with equal points, goal difference, goals and head to head records. As it was, the Ivory Coast went through and Guinea and Mali were left to draw lots. Yep, draw lots. That’s what it took to separate them.
Neither manager was happy with the official course of action. An official from each team were present for the draw, which saw them select ping-pong sized balls from a bowl. Mali drew first to see who finished third and it was their own ball selected. Guinea picked theirs to confirm a showdown with Ghana in the quarters.
Say What?
British broadcasting regulator Ofcom (The Office of Communication) has released a report that pretty much destroys the quality of subtitling in their realm of televisual surveyance. Live subtitling software is to blame for faux pas such as confusing the word ‘toddlers’ for ‘ayatollahs’, ‘Princess Leia’ for ‘Present Cesc lay ya’ and this little blunder.
Subtitles are pretty crucial for those hard of hearing and the report has found that these people are getting a severely bad deal from broadcasters.
Yo, but what’s this got to do with footy? Well here are a couple of soccer-ey hilarities.
Arsenal player has been fouled by a zebra (Arsenal player has been fouled by Evra)
Janet jazz, jazz jam (Adnan Januzaj)
The full report is here if you care enough to read it.
Ofcom have also been in the sports news this week with the Premier League trying to stop the sale of their broadcasting rights for the meanwhile in order to ensure that its viewers get the best possible deal. Aww, how lovely.
Meet The Challengers For Sepp Blatter’s FIFA Presidency
Luis Figo: Portuguese football legend. Seems like a nice chap, wants to clean up FIFA.
Jerome Champagne: French diplomat, spent 10 years at FIFA before being banished by Blatter. Still buds with Blatter though. Doesn’t seem to have anything interesting to say.
David Ginola: Former Spurs winger, he’s a Frenchman who loves football. Also wants to clean up football. Already withdrawn his name from contention.
Michael Van Praag: Head of the Dutch FA. He’s worried about FIFA’s trustworthiness and credibility. Appears an honest fella at least.
Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein: The current vice-president. He’s only 39, but the English FA like him. He wants more emphasis on football, less on administrative controversies. Can’t argue with that. He’s the third son of the late King Hussein of Jordan.
No Bajner No Party
League One side Nottingham County have been driven to drastic measures, banning all interaction on their Facebook page from the nation of Hungary after Hungarians spammed them crazy. The reason was the announcement of Hungarian striker Balint Bajner as a new signing. Bajner comes from Championship Ipswich, where he basically never played. Here’s former teammate and New Zealand international Tommy Smith getting in on it all too.
Nah, but seriously, they really did get spammed from Hungary.
Is This The Most Tasteless Banner In History?
Seriously. Anderlecht’s Steven Defour returned to play his old club Standard Liege on the weekend, and the opposition fans unveiled this subtle flag, reading ‘Red or Dead’ and featuring a cartoon image of a demonic looking figure in a hockey mask holding Defour’s decapitated head.
Defour was booed and jeered every touch of the ball and he eventually snapped, hoofing the ball into the crowd towards the abusive fans. For which Defour picked up a second yellow card and was sent off. Anderlecht lost 2-0, to rub it in some more.