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Weekend Football
23 November 2007
by Jerrad Peters

THE long road to the next World Cup begins in earnest on Sunday. At 1500hrs GMT, a 90-minute television presentation will see the participating FIFA nations grouped into their qualifying brackets. The exercise will be conducted by FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valike in Durban, South Africa. Of course, in many parts of the world, the process is already well underway.

Oceana, the winner of which faces the 5th-seeded Asian side in a home and away play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup, kicked-off their qualification campaign in August. The South Pacific Games, which serves as the first of two qualifying rounds, was held in Apia, Samoa and was won by New Caledonia on 08 September. The second and final round is the OFC Nations' Cup. Held between 17 October 2007 and 10 September 2008, the series of matches produce a winner which will face an Asian opponent in 2009.

The Asian Football Confederation held their first round draw on 06 August. Australia, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Iran were exempt from the initial stage which grouped the remaining 38 nations into 19 home and away ties. The winners will join the five aforementioned countries in the next round. Guam, however, withdrew from its matchup against Indonesia and Bhutan did likewise against Kuwait. Palestine could not attain permits for its players to leave the Gaza Strip -- rendering Singapore winners by an automatic 3-0 forfeiture.

CONMEBOL has also started its marathon campaign to South Africa. The South American format is relatively straightforward. The 20 participants play a home and away series against each opponent in the Confederation. Through four rounds, Paraguay top the table and are followed by Argentina, Brazil, and Columbia. The fifth-place team, currently Venezuela, will play the fourth-ranked CONCACAF nation in a playoff in 2009.

The remaining federations, namely Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America/Caribbean, will be drawn into their groups this weekend. Europe will produce 13 participants, Africa will send five, Asia will qualify 4.5, and North America/Caribbean will generate 3.5.

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has issued a verbal lecture to club manager Rafael Benitez. The Texas businessman, who bought the team in a joint bid with George Gillett last year, lashed out at the Spaniard over his perceived preoccupation with player acquisitions and transfers. "It is really time for Rafa to quit talking about new players and to coach the players we have," stated Hicks, Thursday. "This is the message we gave to Rafa recently; and I think he must have grown a bit frustrated about this." Benitez, who has seen his squad struggle through the first four months of the season, is desperate to sign at least new players in the January transfer period. Atop his list is Ezequiel Garay. The 21-year-old Argentinean is comfortable at both right-back and centre-half positions and has scored 9-goals in 38-appearances for La Liga's Racing Santander. He moved to Europe from Newell's Old Boys in 2005. The second player is Heerenveen's Alfonso Alves. The 26-year-old Brazilian has a sensational goalscoring record in the Eredivisie. Through 45-matches, he has tallied 47-times. Benitez is scheduled to meet with Hicks and Gillett on 16 December. He was recently linked with the managerial position at Bayern Munich. And, even more absurd, was his self-promotion regarding the vacant England job.

Martin O'Neill, meanwhile, has pulled out of the running for Steve McClaren's former position. The Aston Villa manager clarified his position, Friday morning, and pledged his immediate future to the Premier League outfit. He did, however, state that he would have accepted the job in 2006 had the FA not passed him over in favor of McClaren. "I know where the speculation has arisen from," stated O'Neill, "because I was involved in the interview process last time." He continued, "I am here now and I'm committed to Aston Villa Football Club. This is what I want to do. We're just starting and I want to complete this job."

The Northern Irishman's ommission leaves just a handful of candidates who have admitted to being interested in the England vacancy. Harry Redknapp is one. The current Portsmouth manager has made a success of himself at Fratton Park and may be looking for a change as early as the summer. The FA, if they are shrewd about it, will not begin the hiring process until after the 2007-2008 season anyway. Fabio Capello, the former AS Roma, Juventus, and Real Madrid boss has also admitted an interest. The 61-year-old, however, does not speak a word of English and may be discounted if the FA decide, once again, to consider only British applicants. Still, you cannot second-guess his record. Marcello Lippi, unemployed since resigning the Italy post after winning the 2006 World Cup, has been somewhat coy when questioned about his willingness to take on the assignment -- raising speculation that he would consider the offer.

Werder Bremen will be without two of its starters against Energie Cottbus on Saturday. After a training-ground bust-up, manager Thomas Schaaf suspended Boubacar Sanogo and Carlos Alberto for three days.