Albacete

Rayo welcomed another ideological rival as the Ultras of Albacete have traditionally and continue to be strong supporters of Spanish right wing politics. This no more so represented by the signing of Vallecas’ public enemy number one, Roman Zuzulia. To refresh your memories, in January of this year Rayo completed the signing of the Ukranian only for a mass fan campaign and repeated demonstrations at the training ground lead to him being sent back to Real betis. The reason? That he was a vocal supporter of a Ukranian neo-Nazi political group, to which there has been much debate about. The case received widespread international coverage and his presence had been one of the things Rayo fans had spoke about since he completed his move to Albacete.

His abscense coupled with the kick off time meant the stadium was as empty as it had been all season with large empty spaces particularly in the corners. Luckily there is noChinese audiance to cater to in the second division meaning no fine is awaiting the club (See Celta Vigo case). When I ask my friend why the stadium is so empty, he tells me in a tone that portrays the answer is obvious that ‘it’s the hour of siesta’, enough said.

The game truthfully is as poor as Rayo have been at home, controlling the ball and the majority of the play as per usual but creating very little except the goal as the players give the fans present the siesta experiencing they have given up by attending the match. The match finishes 1-1 after Raul de Tomás gets a late equaliser for Rayo following a second half onslaught.

The game and the atmosphere is one of the most disappointing ive experienced this season. Even the post match beer in the Moreno is void of any real life, maybe due to lack of talking points from the match itself.

Flickr / Tom Brogan

Real Zaragoza (away)

I’ve never been to Chicago, nor do I see myself visiting anytime soon. However it is hard to imagine a city more deserving of the title ‘Windy City’ than Zaragoza. From the moment I exit the car until the moment I re-enter it the next day I am lashed with rain so strong that my face is continually squinting  until the following Wednesday. The city is peculiar, a stunning historic centre but such a large sprawling modern mediocre suburb dilutes the beauty of the centre. The day begins with a menu of the day and very nice Aragon red wine which gives a temporary retreat from the wind, however we are soon thrown into full of its powers on the 40 minute walk to the stadium which is accompanied by a few beers for the walk. The work introduces us to another peculiar feature of the city, the absence of people. Perhaps due to the hour but we see about 7 people in total on the walk, while even around the stadium there is little atmosphere that would be reminisce that of a football match.

The match itself is a thriller. Rayo have two clear chances but el Torero (Raul de Tomas) fluffs both which is costly as Zaragoza score from a corner before adding a second through a nicely worked move. The goals do little to dampen us and all of the 300 or so Rayo fans do not stop singing throughout half time while Zaragoza’s never begin. Zaragoza have two sets of ultras which are ideologically separated and this split is visually represented by the two of them being located in opposing ends of the stadium. Despite their political passions, this is not reflected in the support as they fail to generate much noise or passion in the stadium. Rayo begin the second half strongly and score two goals with talisman Oscar Trejo sending our small section even more delirious. As Rayo send more and more forward in search of the victory, Zaragoza rob possession and break to score a decisive third goal. While frustrated the travelling remain in the now deserted stadium singing to the bemused stewards.

Bizarrely as we decide to make our way home, one of the group makes the declaration that he has not brought anything other than his tracksuit bottoms leading to us searching for a shop in the suburbs of Zaragoza at 9pm on a Saturday evening. Slightly tipsy we stumble into what appears to be Zaragoza opera house and are received by hundreds of well dressed manyos (name given to Zaragoza natives) enjoying their pre-show drinks and all simultaniously turning to look at five men in football shirts. The night itself is jovial and the narrow tapas bar filled streets of Zaragoza around the cathedral are well worth a visit but there is no repeat of Cadiz of hundreds of Rayo fans joined by our Cadiz counterparts taking over the streets.

Barcelona B

Due to sickness I was not passed fit to attend the game, which Rayo scraped a 1-0 win courtesy of Oscar Trejo.

The post A season with Rayo Vallecano: November appeared first on chefutbol.

Boedo the place where everything began

Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro was founded in 1908 by a group of young men. Missing a ground in the beginning they had to play on the streets, where they were seen one day by the priest Lorenzo Bartolomé Massa. In order to get the boys off the street, he offered them to chase the ball in the courtyard of his church, if they in exchange would attend service on Sundays. The teammates accepted his offer, and out of gratitude to the priest at the club foundation “San Lorenzo” was included into the clubs name. In 1916 the construction of the stadium at the Avenida de la Plata 1700 was initiated, which later was just referred to as Gasómetro (Gasometer), because of it’s resemblance to the huge gas tanks of the era. As the stadium was enlarged it later became the official home of the Albiceleste, leading it to be dubbed locally as Wembley porteño (Wembley Stadium of Buenos Aires).

Expropriation and relegation

Although San Lorenzo is one of the so called Big Five (Cinco Grandes) of the Argentinian football, this fact did not save the club from losing its ground. Whereas the military junta had been building new stadiums for the WC 1978, it forced El Ciclón as part of an infrastructure project to abandon its home ground. The government planned to build an inner-city expressway, requiring numerous properties, among them the Avenida de La Plata 1700. Logically the club refused at first to give up its home, by which the club incurred the wrath of the governor of Buenos Aires on itself, explicitly from the Airforce Brigadier Osvaldo Andrés Cacciatore. As a consequence, he began to put the club management under pressure, and allegedly threatened to harm the family of at that time president Bonina, as well as to tear down the stadium with bulldozers. The increasing pressure together with high debts finally caused the club leaders to give way, so that the last game in the history of the (Viejo) Gasómetro took place on 2^nd December 1979, unknowingly to the fans attending and the San Lorenzo faithful. Some years later San Lorenzo received a vastly undervalued figure of around 900.000 Pesos compensation for the property. As if the expropriation hadn’t been bad enough, the club was relegated in 1981 as first club of the Big Five, and was left with nothing.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_El_Gas%C3%B3metro#/media/File:VIEJO_GAS%C3%93METRO1212.jpg

2^nd League of records

Without a home the club started its first 2^nd league season in history, and was largely  exposed to mockery of their inner-city rivals,  in whose stadiums San Lorenzo was tenant of from then on. Over the course of the years San Lorenzo played among others in the stadiums of Huracán, Vélez, Deportivo Español, as well as in la Bombonera (Boca) and in the Monumental (River). Nevertheless, the supporters did not lose hope and “converted the misfortune into a huge party”. The Cuervos selling while in the 2^nd division more tickets than every other first division club. The 42 games in 1982 were on average seen by 25.361 visitors per match, Boca Juniors the leader of the first division only welcomed 16.520 per match. Furthermore, they established the argentinian spectator record for a 2^nd division match, when about 75.000 fans attended the game against Tigre in the Monumental. Only during the WC-Match between Argentina and Holland in 1978 had the stadium hosted more spectators. The (Viejo) Gasómetro was finally torn down in 1983, but the planned city motorway was never built. Instead, shortly before the end of the military dictatorship the site was sold to Carrefour for 8 million US$, who built their first supermarket in Argentina on it. Not long ago the development plan had been changed, which previously forbade to build a supermarket on the territory. The wandering between the stadiums should last 14 years, because just on December 16 in 1993 the Nuevo Gasómetro was finished in the borough Bajo Flores, to which the club is not connected at all. Since its inception the fans have longed to return to their ‘rightful’ home.

Adolfo Res and the Subccomisión del Hincha

Adolfo Res is both a lunatic and a dreamer, and a huge fan and historian of the club. He said about San Lorenzo: “It is in our heart, it is always there, and there is no day in life at which we forget San Lorenzo”, and explained that during the Falkland-War he always wore his San Lorenzo shirt under his uniform. He is generally considered as the father of the return to Boedo (Vuelta a Boedo). In 1998 he planned together with his brother to win back the property at the Avenida de La Plata 1700. At the start both delivered speeches in cafes and social centres in Boedo, and in 2003 they launched a radio program about the history of the club, in which was inevitably talked about the expropriation of the Viejo Gasómetro, too. Little by little the movement grew, and numerous fan clubs did share the demand of the brothers. The next big step was made in 2005, when the Subcomisión del Hincha (Fan association) was founded, and the return to the place of origin was organized professionally. Finally, the legislation of the law about the Restitución histórica gave a boost to the movement.

Timetable of the return to Boedo

In 2010 the law about the Restitución histórica was passed, according to which all territories which had been expropriated during the military dictatorship could be rebought by their original owners. The local politician Laura García Tuñon joined the project, and from that day on the job was to convince the parliament of Buenos Aires, that as well the Avenida de La Plata must fall within that law. Still, at the first vote they did not receive a single vote. However, the spark of hope was lightened, and a movement was developing that should become larger than some political movement. In 2011 marched one time 15.000 and one time 35.000 fans to the parliament in order to express their support for the project. But the highlight was the march on March 8^th (Marcha del 8 de Marzo), when between 75.000 and 100.000 people moved in a gigantic caravan from Boedo to Plaza de Mayo in front of the Casa Rosada (Home of the Argentinian President) in the city centre, to demonstrate for their cause. The next highlight took place the 15^th of November 2012, when the Restitución histórica was approved by parliament by 49:0 votes with hundreds of fans inside the hall, and consequently Carrefour was obliged to resell the territory to San Lorenzo.

Only a few days later Carrefour and San Lorenzo agreed on a resale Price of 150 million Peso for 27.525 m², which was celebrated emotionally in a spontaneous demonstration in front of the supermarket. In order to pay the last instalment without taking out a loan, the club launched a campaign, where the fans could buy symbolically a square metre for 2.880 Pesos, and then give it to the club. The campaign turned out to be a huge success, in which participated fans from all over the world, and even from different clubs. After all the last payment was transferred to the French company on 31^st of March 2017, and since then the club is busy with the planning and financing of the new stadium, the Estadio Papa Francisco.

Estadio Papa Francisco – „El Tango hecho realidad“

The new arena will be named Estadio Papa Francisco, because the Argentinian Pope is a huge football fan and an even bigger San Lorenzo fan. One day after the club’s historic first Copa Libertadores title in 2014, the team flew directly to Rome, to present the trophy to the head of church, and to give him a copy. The capacity of the new stadium, that is supposed to be inaugurated in 2019 or 2020 has not been settled yet. While there remain doubts regarding design and construction, the story of a community club returning to its routes through tireless campaigning has its fairy-tale ending.

Documentary in English:

The post San Lorenzo – The return to Boedo appeared first on chefutbol.

The crime

It was almost 18 months ago that FIFA suspended the financing of the two footballing bodies tasked with managing Latin American football (CONMEBOL and CONCACAF). While there were numerous allegations, the principal factor in the decision was a response to FBI arrests and fraud accusations. These accusations targeted the very leaders of the organisations including Jack Werner and Jeffery Webb who at the time were president and ex-President of CONCACAF.  To refresh our memories, The FBI assumed the role as the moral protectors of the beautiful game largely due to the head of American Football’s, Chuck Blazer, admission that he had accepted a number of bribes in the selection of World cup hosts between 1998 and 2011 having been found guilty of another corruption scandal. As part of his admission he agreed to assist in a large scale operation against other CONCACAF and FIFA representatives.  The investigation ended in 39 arrests, 12 of who were from CONCACAF, while it was estimated that 68% of representatives from tat very organisation were corrupt.

The extraordinary and now much covered corruption of CONCACAF officials was unravelled from one particular deal which involved a $100m bribery scheme. The scandal centred around one particular company, Datisa, which since the scandal has completely disappeared from record with no trace of it’s history or existence appearing in any searches. Datisa was a joint project between three media Latin American media companies, Traffic group, Full play and Torneos. The infamous $100m was set to be divided amongst various leaders in exchange for the rights of the 2025, 2019 and 2023 editions of the Copa America. The scheme plus information from Blazer revealed the nature as to how for years officials had devalued the television rights of major sporting events in return for bribes has much hindered the development of football in the region often starving the poorest nations of key sources of funding.

The accused and their sentence

The corruption ran and undoubtedly continues to run into the lower ranks of the game however the major players involved in the television scandal were most of the major Players in North and Central American football as well as numerous media powerhouses.

Chuck Blazer: The man who started the chain of events died earlier this year having cooperated with the FBI to receive a reduced sentence of a lifetime football banning order as well as being stripped of a number of personal assets.

Alfredo Hawit, ex-President of Honduran football, was charged multiple counts of bribery along with racketeering conspiracy amongst other charges. The main charges related to Hawit exercising his influence as President in influencing liscensing contracts in exchange for cash while also having further charges for tampering with evidence and witnesses.

After being detained in Switzerland, Eduardo Li, president of Costa Rican Football, was extradited to the United states and given a life time ban from Football and given a house arrest sentence.

Jeffrey Webb, the man who was supposed to clear up the corruption following the dismissal of corruption kingping Jack Werner, continues to throw lavish parties and shows little sign of being effected by pending trial. Webb will most likely face a houst arrest as well as being stripped of a number of assets in addition to a lifetime ban from the game.

Julio Rocha López plead guilty in an American court to charges or racketeering and wire fraud conspiracy and is awaiting sentence.

Wiki commons/ FBI led FIFA arrests

The aftermath and the reform

The initial response to the scandal was batton down the hatches and continue mentality as Webee succeeded Werner with the television deals appearing just as devalued as prior to the Copa America scandal. However the involvement of European FA’s pressure on FIFA, it has demanded a period of change which in turn is beginning to affect the footballing periphery. Th immediate effect is that the Concacaf powerbase has shifted north with new Canadian president, Victor Montagliani, assuming power. At the very least this makes him more accountable to a fiscally competent law enforcement which  Werner and Webbe never were.

Montagliani has also been entrusted with the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of FIFA Ticketing AG, another area which has been historically abused by its occupier. Thus far the Canadian has talked a good game stressing the importance of footballing values over corporate ones while simultaneously trying to make corporate relations long lasting ones with partners who are prepared to reinvest into the game. This summer’s gold cup for example had nowhere near the amount of scrutiny and corruption claims ass the last one, both on the field and off it.

That being said, there are still many challenges ahead for Montagliani. The first will be preventing regional opposition to him due to the diversity of interests within the orgnisation. While he may lead the organisation, there is nothing to prevent national powers coercing with others to form obstacles and power blocks as these smaller national presidents have for decades been used to receiving a fortune in bribes and other forms due to the corporate culture with CONCACAF. The second is inevitably the strength of the media and sponsors who were implicit within the corruption scandals. These companies bare a significant part of the revenue for the organisation and still have immense structural power at their disposal.  Although the TV licensing for this world cup are resolved, Montagliani will face his first major challenge under the public eye in assuring transparency of merchandising and sponsorship deals.

The post Revisiting the 2015 CONCACAF corruption scandal: The aftermath and the future appeared first on chefutbol.

In June C.D. Castellón suffered a familiar dramatic failure in the promotion for 3^rd league, through a conceded goal in the 96^th minute against Pena Sport de Tafalla, a town of 10,000 inhabitants, The Spanish sports journalist Enrique Ballester summed up the melancholic recent history of the club:

“Sometimes one asks himself, how many more quests football has prepared for C.D. Castellón, which has had enough moral victories, which is tired of untouchable medals, that oblige him to be something that he is not: An epic loser, a subscriber to drama with bad ending. Unimportant trophies which force him to live on, and to stage boredom. He has suffered so much to survive, that he forgot to win.”

 

A veces uno se pregunta cuánto más va a poner a prueba el fútbol al Castellón, cansado de victorias morales, aburrido de medallas intangibles que le obligan a ser algo que no es, un épico perdedor, un desgraciado socio del drama, recompensas vacías que le obligan a sobrevivir, estirando hasta el hastío la pose en escenitas. Tanto ha sufrido por sobrevivir, que ha olvidado ganar. )http://www.levante-emv.com/castello/2017/06/10/cd-castellon-ahoga-tafalla/1578946.html)

The conceded last-minute goal meant the seventh consecutive season in 4^th league (Tercera Division) for the historic club, which has gathered 11 seasons in 1^st division and 41 seasons in 2^nd division (2ª División) in his 95-year long history. Furthermore in 1973 the club reached the Cup Final, but lost 2:0 to Athletic Bilbao. In 2010, C.D. Castellón was relegated to 3^rd division (2ªB) as bottom of the table, and the free-fall has not ceased since. Financially the club came agonisingly close to bankruptcy, that continues to hang like a sword of Damocles over the club, and on the sporting side almost to 5^th division.

Castellnou 2005 SL – Beginning of the end

In 2005 the albinegros acheived promotion to  2^nd division for the final time which coincided with the consortium Castellnou 2005 SL becaming majority shareholder, and in the process redirecting the fate of the club. A transaction that still is affecting the club, that bears features of a business crime novel, is still an ongoing court issue. Castellnou had bought the financially healthy club, with 12.000 sold season tickets, only to accumulate €5.4 million debts within the next six years. After five seasons in 2^nd division, they were relegated to 3^rd division for sporting reasons, and the year after the enforced relegation to 4^th division, due to unpaid salary payments of the players. Both relegations however were promoted by questionable decisions which led to the multiple investigations.

Relegation to 3^rd Division (2ªB)

At the top of Castellnou operated among others FIFA-player agent José Manuel García Osuna, the ex-president of UD Levante Antonio Blasco, as well as the businessman José Laparra (Ex-president). In the summer of 2008 the Club had just come off the back of a very respectable 5th place finish in the second tier (now Liga Adelante). However afterwards the number of dubious transfer decisions increased, respectively many players that had drawn the sale of star players most of whom leaving the club for little money or for free, while lesser performers saw their contracts extended for several years. Key players such as Manuel Arana, Mario Rosas and Pepe Mora left the club, without adequate replacements being signed. As a consequence of this transfer policy the relatively successful coach Paco Herrera shortly after, and in 2009/10 the club were relegated to 3^rd division as bottom of the table. That is why today in particular the ex-shareholder and player agent Osuna is villified, because according to federation statutes it was forbidden for him to exercise both functions at the same time. During his term 20 of his players wore the black and white jersey.

Relegation to 4^th Division (Tercera División)

As aforementioned, relegation was far away from being the lowest point of the tragic fall from grace. Instead of fighting for the instant promotion, the club finished the season 2010/11 on a disappointing 10^th place, before being relegated to 4^th division due to non-payment of staff and player salaries totalling €300.000. In between the players even went on strike, sitting down on the pitch during the match against Benidorm while receiving applause from their own fans who had travelled with them.

The enforced relegation could have probably been avoided, if the club had asked the Comunitat Valenciana (Valencian Government) for financial aid, because in total it stepped in with over €400 million to help other Valencian clubs (e.g. Valencia CF, Hércules Alicante, FC Elche). Despite of concessions made on behalf of the federation the club managers let expire several deadlines to pay the debts which would have averted relegation. Moreover, it came out in the current lawsuit that the club received in the same period a payment totalling €432.000 from U.D. Almería (2^nd instalment of the Ulloa sale), with which the salaries could have been paid and the relegation been prevented. But instead of using the money for salvation, the money went amongst others into companies of which Osuna and Blasco were shareholders, so that 89 years after its foundation the club was close to disappear.

4^th Division – Horror goes on

As if the nightmare in the 3rd division wasn’t bad enough, not even in 4^th division one could they compete for promotion. Instead they were relegation candidates however after after three sacked coaches and almost 40 used players, they managed to fend off relegation to the 5th tier of Spanish football. In September 2012 the businessman David Cruz superseded Castellnou as chairman, whereas a group of small shareholders (Sentimiento Albinegro) brought a charge against the old owners for systematic embezzlement and enrichment.

Current lawsuit – Horror without ending

With the leg process far from over, at present over 20 persons have to stand trial, while the club hopes it will still exist at the end of the process. The findings from trials so far have been that Castellnou systematically diverted money away from the club, by faking invoices or by paying above market price. The most shameless cases were two receipts for sports clothing for €99.660 and €408.325, even though both should have been provided by the then kit supplier Hummels. Further questions were raised by the transfer of the Argentinian Leandro Ulloa, who moved after his time at Castellón via U.D. Almería to Leicester City. In the meantime, it turned out that the albinegros had paid for 100% of the transfer rights, of which they only received 50%. The remaining 50% stayed in the hands of player agent Osuna. The documents of this transfer, as well as all other player contracts from the Castellnou-era have disappeared, which complicates the investigation.

Era Cruz – Horror ending

As Cruz continued as head of the club nothing changed: Salaries were not paid either, the debts increased further, and the club failed again and again in the promotional playoffs for 3^rd division. At the end, the mountain of debt of the 4^th division club accumulated was over €7 million, and it grew €50.000 per month; technically impossible in 4^th division! For this reason, now there are charges of embezzlement, falsification of documents, money laundering and corruption brought against Cruz. Furthermore, he and his Councillors are accused of having deliberately delayed, through lies and deliberate deceit, both the possible sale of the club and a lifesaving capital increase. In addition, last December he fired coach Frank Castelló for “disciplinary reasons”, after an unbeaten run of 16 games and occupying second place in the league. The dismissed coach declared to the press “he had never worked with such a bad president, and that this one did not care at all about the well being of the club”. On 12 June of this year terminated also the second dark chapter.

Fresh start – #AraSí

Before the start of the current, seventh consecutive season in 4^th division a merger of local employers under the name of “Capital Albinegro” took the helm of the club, whereby still being in a transition period. They reached an agreement with Cruz, saying that he temporarily continues to be majority shareholder, but that he hands over management tasks and presidency already. As soon as possible Capital Albinegro wants to do a capital write-down, with the goal that Cruz sells his shares. The only thing that could endanger the fresh start retrospectively is the current lawsuit. Especially if it would come out, that Cruz is not majority shareholder, but possibly still Osuna. Admittedly this is very unlikely, though after so many criminal actions in the case C.D. Castellón, it would be naïve to rule it out.

Siempre sale el sol en Castalia, el resurgir en blanco y negro, ¡¡ya despertó el gigante!!.#PPO pic.twitter.com/lnt1g1LkB7

— kiko Ramírez ?? (@enkikos) September 4, 2017

New president now is Vicente Montesinos, who is supported by the players Pablo Hernández (Leeds United) from distance, and Ángel Dealbert on-site. Further important personalities of the new board are Alfonso Hernández (father of Pablo and new vice-president), Pepe Mascarell (former head of Antena 3 sport desk) and Jordi Bruixola (inter alia former head of communications of Valencia CF and Real Zaragoza). The finances remain tentative the and the balance sheet is far from stable, but it has gone to acheiving a re-newed euphoria among the sorely afflicted supporters. In the first home match of the seasons against Buñol, over 8.000 fans found their way to Nuevo Estadio Castalia, and the club is confident about breaking the season card record in 4^th division established by Real Oviedo (12.700) during the season 2005/06. The reason for this is in first place the trust in the new management. Its priorities, after a financial analysis, are the financial recovery of the club, the payback of all salary debts, the strengthening of the youth departments, and the promotion to 3^rd division. Moreover, against all the odds, in five years the club hope to celebrate it’s centenary, something unimaginable on it’s 90th birthday just five years ago.

The post C.D. Castellón – Is there a light most thought had gone out? appeared first on chefutbol.

Signing of peace agreement. Source: Wiki commons

Any such reconciliation process entails drawing on common interests and goals as a means to an end. Drawing on the popular national interest and fanaticism, one of these could well be football and sport more generally. It is clear from the accounts of numerous journalists and palaeontologists who have spent time in the remote mountains with the FARC that there is a passion for the game amongst the soldiers, both in terms of games between them and the fact that many wear the shirts of famous teams and players. Football of course has a long history of building bridges among fractured groups. From the first British settlers in South America who set up clubs that ended up bridging links between them and locals to the number of movements around Europe aimed at helping the most recent wave of immigration from the various conflicts around Africa.

Conflict between projects

Earlier this year a lot had been made in the media about an agreement under the act “Educación, formación y cultura para la paz y para el posconflicto, Fútbol y Paz” which was supposedly part of an attempt to socialise members whom in many cases have spent their whole lives outside of contact with general public. The act supposedly granted 4 new football teams made up of ex-FARC soldiers entrance to various professional, masculine and feminine, national leagues.

Numerous ex-footballers had been responsible for the founding of the project including Alfonso Cañón, Bonner Mosquera and Faustino Asprilla. The players are not merely there to lend credibility to the project but have had a hands on role in the development of ideas and the integration of the teams into the leagues.

Games were to be played in the recently inaugurated estadio municipal de La Paz in Apulo although the local authorities were still yet to officialise this agreement. It all sounded very promising in practice yet there was one fundamental problem, The Farc and those involved have distanced themselves completely from this project questioning the validity of the source.

A lot has been made of La Paz FC and the validity of the claims about FARC soldiers joining the Colombian professional divisions. The extent to which this is true are debateable however there is substance in two parts of the claim, one that The FARC are interested in reintegration through football and two that eventually there are thought on becoming professional players. Edgar Cortés who is involved in the project as a trainer has assured that the project will take a number of years and initially the idea is to be competitive amongst themselves and then eventually move towards joining the professional leagues. Cortés hasset the more short term goal of training thirty players to play in local Colombian leagues while explaning how the fundamentals of football in term of the tactics and positional play bare likeness to the discipline and tactics of Guerrilla warfare.

Socialisation through Football and the challenges

The joint campaign between The Guardian, El Pais, Le Monde and Der Spiegel outlined numerous case studies in their respective countries where refugees had integrated through football teams into and within communities which had enabled some solace from the hardships of being in a new country but also the learning of new skills in cooperating with local authorities and people to play in the football leagues. This has additionally helped with respect to language which although not an issue for FARC soldiers, it is still noticeable the use of peculiar Marxist structures and vocabulary in their form of communication. Certainly the organisation and cooperation with other social institutions is a skill in which FARC soldiers have long since, if ever had to engage in and would offer a small insight for soldiers of the necessity of cooperation within civil society.

Undoubtedly European integration policies through football offer certain examples however it must be noted the drastic different between the two case studies. While arguments could be made by that immigrants have shaped political discourse and divided European nations in recent years, it would be absurd to argue it is to the same extent to which the FARC have done so within Colombia. It is easy to forget that less than a year ago in the vote over reconciliation, a slim majority voted against government measures to pardon the FARC in exchange for peace which suggests significant voting percentage of Colombians still harbor resentment towards the socialist army. In this respect a perhaps fairer comparison would be a program to socially include returning ISIS converts into a major European Football league. Perhaps a seemingly harsh comparison but such was the divide the FARC created within country it is of equal importance the emphasis on the general public’s acceptance of reintegration programs.

Wiki commons

This is where media attention for Ex-Soldiers where they are discussing and playing football rather than Marxism and with guns could be an effective tool in humanising the ex-members in the eyes of urban Colombia. There have already been examples of rogue arms of the FARC denouncing the peace agreement and returning to arms by attacking military bases, events which are likely to be exaggerated in the media by opponents of President Santos as a means to challenge for office. Thus public image is just as important, the de-stigmatisation of those fighting for the FARC will be equally as vital to the country in order for it to move on as it will be for ex-combatants.

Football and sports programs are not going to resolve more than half a century of civil war and political rift within Colombia but they give an insight into the difficulties and possible solutions in terms of social policy reform necessary to incorporate the Marxist army into the wider Colombian society.

The post Football’s role in the re-integration of FARC soldiers in Colombia appeared first on chefutbol.

I get a beer from the bar on the corner and prompt the Rayo fan next to me to inform me as to why there are so many Osasuna fans to which he responds that they are traditionally a leftist club so there is a shared ideology between them and ‘us’. Although to my knowledge there is no official friendship, clearly there exists something as the mood is jovial and the Osasuna fans are happy to listen to Rayo fans describing their cause against Presa while handing them stickers to wear.

The match starts with Rayo asking more questions offensively until predictably Osasuna score from a corner. Rayo carry on probing after the goal but the lack of a natural centre forward to pose questions by running in behind is again the weakness and they trail at the break. The pacy winger Lass should in theory provide this option in behind however his inability to understand the game of football hinders his ability to do this effectively.

If you recall the last game there had been a number of issues between the stewards and a small section of the home fans. I had wondered mid week if this would have been something the board would look to resolve through communication or through the puzzling approach of non-fan communication which seems to be current club policy.

At half time coincidentally as I was going down to the bathrooms I appeared to stumble across the answer. There was a commotion between a section of the fans and one member of security. I was told that the man had simply been banging on the stand as an impromptu drum to add emphasis to a chant. This of course prompted tens of fans to surround the security demanding he leave to pleas from him saying that he has orders and there’s nothing he can do. Any empathy I had for the humble man simply doing his job was quickly replaced by a slight sense of triumphant euphoria in forcing the retreat of the tyrannical Rayo security. As I made my way up the stand, again coincidentally, there was a similar event on going but this time with 4 police officers in full riot gear who were again outnumbered quickly and forced to retreat. The tension this season has undoubtedly grown and these on going events do nothing to lower tensions and Martin Presa nor the club have done nothing to address the issue.

The carnival atmosphere among the Ultras is still present throughout the second half although this mood does not spread to the parallel stands, somewhat telling as to the mood and atmosphere of the normal fan. The introduction of returning Chori Dominguez does lift the mood a little as he twice goes close while his guile on the ball created at least the hope that an equaliser was possible. Emi Velazquez, now playing for his third Madrid club, has the golden opportunity to equalise five minutes from time as he opens his body slightly too much on a well played cross and his effort grazes the post going agonisingly wide.

Osasuna then break away to score two late goals in Injury time which makes the score line deceitful although credit has to be given to the performance of Osasuna’s defence which was outstanding. We leave the stadium having seen Rayo lost 3-0 twice in 4 days in no mood for a post match drink, this feeling compounded by tomorrow being Monday!

The post A season with Rayo Vallecano (2) appeared first on chefutbol.

The football career of Saturnino Navazo

Saturnino Navazo Tapias was born 6 February 1914 in Hinojar del Rey in the province of Burgos. When he was seven years old his family moved to Madrid, where his father worked as a baker. The family lived in the borough Cuatro Caminos, on whose dusty streets the football crazy boy chased a ball from dawn til dusk. After initially playing in a number of neighborhood clubs at youth level he went on to represent C.D. Nacional de Madrid, in those days third biggest club in Madrid, behind Real and Atlético. With Nacional, that dissolved in 1939, the midfielder acheived promotion to the 2nd division and had a growing popular fan base. Furthermore in 1934 they won the Copa Castilla thanks to a 4:3 victory in the final over Atlético Madrid; a trophy that at the time was one of great prestige. Navazo caught attention through goals and was close to be signed from 1st^t division club Betis Sevilla. On the eve of his big move his life would take a tragic twist owing to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936.

The way to Mauthausen

With the beginning of the Civil War Navazo hung up his football boots and joined the Republican Army in the fight against the Rebel Faction of Franco. He was assigned the 20^th army company, and during the war he fought as bolt action rifle shooter in Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona. It can be determined from these aforementioned cities that the supporters of the Republic had been driven on and on northwards and eventually having to escape over the Pyrenees to France. In France, there were refugee camps for the supporters of the Republic, where they were taken care of and where they worked simultaneously for the French Army. They had escaped the war in their own country, but with the outbreak of World War II and the victory of Nazi Germany over France, they got caught up by with the past and the majority  of the Spanish Republican were captured or killed. Franco told the German in no uncertain terms that the death penalty should be the concequence for those Republican defectors who were unfortunate enough to not be killed in battle. The Spaniards, including Navazo, were brought to Fallingbostel, before being deported in January 1941 to the Austrian concentration camp Mauthausen. Near the KZ were several quarries, in which the prisoners had to work under inhumane conditions. It was a category three camp – Extermination through labour – in which had been imprisoned until the end of the war 197.464 prisoners, of whom about 100.000 were killed, respectively died as a consequence of the work. Among them around 8.000 Spaniards, of whom survived about 2.000.

Wikipedia /Cpl Donald R. Ornitz, US Army / Day of the liberation. Banner: “LOS ESPAÑOLES ANTIFASCISTAS SALUDAN A LAS FUERZAS LIBERADO-RAS”

“Hay que hacerlo para creerlo” – “You have to do it, to believe it is possible”

As it can be seen from the numbers, it was a place of inhumanity in all aspects: Organized slave work was designed to kill the prisoners sooner or later, additionally supported by insufficient food supply and sadistic guards. Six days per week the line up was at 4:45 in the morning. Those who had died during the night were brought out from the barracks, and they worked until 7 pm, interrupted only by a ten-minute soup break. Among other things the prisoners had to carry 50 kilograms (110 lb) heavy granite blocks up the so called Todesstiege (Stairs of Death), with 186 stairs and 31 m of height difference. Those who dropped a granite block and couldn’t pick it up again were executed or pushed down the Fallschirmspringerwand (The Parachutists Wall). On Sundays it was only a half day and in the afternoons one washed himself, patched his clothes, and to entertain the guard-force there were football matches and box fights.

Football in the camp

From then on Saturnino Navazo was just prisoner 5656, but football continued to be his calling in life. He had sewn a ball out of rags, which he ran after, to warm up. When the German guards saw him, they asked him if he liked football, and if he could line up a Spanish team, a request with which he complied. what followed were both matches between prisoner teams of the respective countries and games between mixed prisoner teams against the SS-team. Navazo the ancient professional player stood out, and led the Spanish team. For more than four years they won almost every match against their Russian, Polish and Serbian opponents, and one could hear “Viva España” and “Olé” shouts on the roll call-ground. His style of play and his finesses even made the Germans applaud, and apparently also impressing the SS-commandant. Anyhow he was moved from the dead bringing quarry to the kitchen to peel potatoes, so that he could organise football tournaments in order to shine during the matches. Furthermore, he was declared head of a Spanish barrack with 200 prisoners. Thanks to his kitchen job he had a “relatively” good life, and he could smuggle out potato peels, and could give them to his compatriots.

Personal album of Siegfried Meir / Navazo 1st man standing on the right.

The games were something surreal in the camp, because they pretended normality at a place where there was none. This normality referring to the fact that for 90 minutes gone were the prison uniforms and numbers while returned were the names to which the man had been given at birth. The matches against the guards were played with great enthusiasm and intensity although the players had to maintain an element of reserve owing to the fact that if the guards disliked any action, the player was not to be seen again on the pitch. The Sunday matches presented the only distraction and one Spanish fellow inmate of Navazo said: “To watch a football match on Sundays, was like being in a different life”. And it was special moves and plays of the Spanish team that “played a huge role for the moral of everybody”, wrote Luis Garcia Manzano in his narrative La Rondalla de Mauthausen.

Siegfried Meir alias Luis Navazo

A few months before the liberation of the concentration camp Navazos life twisted once again with introduction of a nine-year-old German Jew, Siegfried Meir in to the camp. The boy had been deported from Auschwitz to Mauthausen, due to the fast approaching  Red Army. The boy from Frankfurt, who had lost both of his parents in Auschwitz, refused vehemently to have his long flowing hair upon his arrival. Thereupon the camp commandant decided that Navazo was going to be responsible for him. What exactly made the commander assign the German kid to the Spaniard is unknown as verbal interaction was impossible due to the language barier. During the three months which they spent together they developed a special bond with Siegfried following his foreign tutor at every turn, earning the nickname “perrito” (small dog). In such a brief time they became inseparable, and the boy helped Navazo peeling potatoes, and massaged his legs before playing football.

Personal album of Siegfried Meir / “Father and son”

After the liberation through the Allies originally the Red Cross would have taken care of the orphan, but Siegfried Meir wanted to stay with Navazo, and asked him to take him with himself. The friends of Navazo advised against, but after a short time of reflection he took him, under the condition, that he had to pose himself as his real son. Since the age difference between them was about 20 years, this was credible. From then on Siegfried Meirs name was Luis Navazo and together along with other Spanish Republicans they moved to Revel, in the vicinity of Toulouse, as Franco’s regime continued to rule. Navazo started to play football again at Union Sportive Revenoise, with whom he won three consecutive regional championships. Due to a disagreement with Santurnino’s new wife, Siegfried left Revel aged 14 and worked in the beginning as a tailor, and later as a singer. The two however always maintained contact, and until the death of Navazo on 27 November 1986 they saw each other every year.

The post Saturnino Navazo – The Spanish midfielder who shone in concentration camp football appeared first on chefutbol.

The term talacha comes from Mexican Spanish and defines hard and tiring work. The talachero was originally a tire patching car mechanic, but has also come to define amateur part-time sportsmen.

As the Mexican professional league has boomed in recent years, foreign players have increasingly mingled in these amateur leagues between the farmers, butchers, employees and local talents. These players are often drawn to Mexico by false promises from shady player agents whom collect false fees from the players and then simply disappear. Once the contracts they are told await them in Mexico turn out to be fake, the players are left with nothing.

Profession: Amateur footballer

However thanks to the phenomenon of the talachas (private teams) skilled amateur players can live from private organized football matches, and save oneself from unemployment by playing in these informal, amateur leagues. There are a number of national icons to emerge from the dreary dirt fields and progress to the bright lights of the Mexican Premier league, the Argentinian Damián “el ruso” Zamogilny – who was talachero for three years -, Carlos Salcido, and national hero – and several times world cup participant – Cuauhtémoc Blanco just to name the most famous examples. This growing semi-professional structure, which is relatively unknown outside the City of Mexico, has made its way on television for the first-time at the end of July.

Documentary Talacheros F.C.

In the recently broadcasted documentary Talacheros F.C. from the two Mexican directors Gabriel Villegas and Mariano V. Osnaya, the story is told of a number of talacheros, and an insight is given into all the trappings of the talachas. Among them the story of the Cameroonian Salomón Konde, who once was champion in his country, and who had already been in the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations. He came to Mexico hoping to receive a contract from a first league club, but the agent who drew him out of Africa disappeared, suddenly he found himself unemployed in a foreign country whose language he did not speak. While the lifestyle is precarious in the most extre way, the documentary outlines the remarkable safety net being a Talachero provides as just like hundreds of other talented players, who did not achieve employment in professional football, he can survive through the talachas. African players still represent a minority, most of the legionnaires come from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil or Paraguay.

The prize money in the privately organized leagues and tournaments is relatively low in comparison to the money which is invested in the building of the teams. However, some do earn enough money to buy a house and a car, although the majority only makes some extra money and has a regular income, the average payment for a match is maximum 115$. Former Mexican professionals can earn up to 15.000 Pesos (830$) per match while on the other end of the scale those who just earn about 50$ per appearance sometimes play several matches per day. The ram-shackle structure of the league defines the wage of the player as there are teams sponsored by popular businessmen or managers but the major part are small teams, in which the the jerseys, balls and participation fees are paid by the players. If a prestigious match is pending, then additional bonuses may be added to hire one (or several) talachero(s). Usually they spend much more money than the victory brings, however the most important thing in amateur sports is having beaten the local rival. There is estimated to be a huge multi million dollar illegal gambling market from Talachero football which provides an additional reason as to why owners may be prepared to make a loss on contracting Talacheros.

Facebook / Talacheros F. C.

There are multiple other occasions when Talacheros are contracted, sometimes whole villages gather money to buy themselves a good match as the highlight of a local fair. The collective sum of the game is often cheaper than watching a match in the stadium and as it is an informal event, villagers can have a beer with friends in the stands. The idea of having exotic foreign footballers playing in often remote villages is appealing and provides excitement for locals. Furthermore, the matches often are of decent quality because they are a stage for the talacheros, on which they can show off themselves, to eventually realize their dream of professional football. One of the biggest private tournaments is the Copa Morelos, which is held in a sizable stadium in front of several thousand spectators and the prize money is about 100.000 Pesos (5.580§).

The post Talacheros F.C. – The prize fighters of Mexican amateur football appeared first on chefutbol.

Momentarily lost I decide to go next door to wait, the bar is crowded and unequipped for such numbers, most of whom would normally be in The Moreno. The atmosphere is not the same and is soured further by Messi scoring for Barcelona just as my friends arrive; many Rayo fans have some allegiance with Real Madrid.

Little mention is there of today’s game as we make our way up the hill for the pre-match botellon, this of course being the first time many of us have met since the last game in June. Little is made either of the previous Rayo game, a 2-3 victory away at Oviedo, nor the summer signings with the exception of a few jokes about exactly how much returning Argentine midfielder Chori Dominguez will weigh. The Argentine, imperious at his best in his first spell with the club yet not a huge fan of diet or defending.

Collect Season Ticket? – 10 minutes before the kick off

With ten minutes before kick-off it is deemed necessary to go and collect the season tickets that could have been collected at any point in the previous month. In typical Spanish fashion the queue for fans collecting season tickets goes round the block meaning the first 5 minutes or so were heard rather than seen for many.

source: Rayo Vallecano/Twitter

I’m get up the stairs just in time to see Rayo have made a blistering start which is followed by an even more blistering 3 minutes in which Rayo score twice and have the Estadio de Vallecas rocking. The joy of the goal absent for two months coupled with the optimism of a new season has the old man next to me swinging his scarf round furiously while the Ultras behind the goal are ecstatic and lead the celebratory post-goal chant of Gloria Gaynor’s hit single I will Survive.

Protest between fans and management

The joy however is short lived as events on the field soon became secondary to the long running protest between fans and the club’s managment. Forget the duel in centre midfield between captain Trashorras and Numancia’s elegant midfielder Diamanka, forget the between and the two sets of strikers and defences, the battle for the remainder of the game is one between the Rayo fans who dared to raise a banner and the stewards.

Debates continued in the bar after as to what the banner said but popular opinion was that it was merely a supporters club who had raised their banner in the 13th minute as a sign that they were anti-Presa, a seemingly harsh reminder of the constraints of modern football. At no point did either the stewards tasked with removing the banner nor the fans who unfurled it return to watch the match nor give up their respective cause. The stadium repeatedly turned to the ongoing pitchside battle throughout shouting either anti Presa shouts or specifically threatening the security guards that they themselves would be removed if they did not desist.

No third goal for Rayo

The impact that this has on the game is undeniable as the tension and whistles directed at the stewards trickled to the players whose confident opening 45 minutes is transformed by the tension in the stands. After Numancia netted the equaliser the feeling of inevitability was replaced by optimism, an all too familiar sensation at Rayo. Its like the players and fans collectively acknowledge that chasing a victory or a draw from the jaws of defeat is their role in football. Despite the late push however Rayo are unable to get the elusive third goal and the perfect start is over.

All in all the feeling of August is inescapable. As the Madrilenos start returning from their holiday this week, the hope among the fans is that players do likewise while Presa and his cronies take a permanent one from the club however unlikely this may be.

The post A Season With Rayo Vallecano (1) appeared first on chefutbol.

La Segunda as Panenka outlined is where the romance of Spanish football lies. Local bars, no  peculiar kick off times to cater to Eastern audiences, a league in which theoretically any team can be promoted or relegated due to the equality in finances and a large proportion of academy graduates. f la segunda is the romantic league then Rayo Vallecano could put a good claim to be the Hugh Grant of the league, revered by football romantics for valuing traditional ‘footballing’ values long abandoned in most major European leagues.

No Tourists, No business associates

A wander down calle Albufera on match day is unmistakably Madrileño, and even more unmistakably Vallecano. The sense of Barrio is unescapable, the streets in and around the stadium see few cars passing , groups gather in and around the bars while not a tourist or selfie stick is in sight. The political stance of the club is immediate from the posters around the stadium, the huge political murals on the buildings and walls around the neighberhood and the people who frequent the bars. Gone are the tourists who pose with their replica shirts like at Madrid and Atleti, non-existent are the business associates who sip expensive wine while watching on from their boxes, replaced by worn faces who appear to have just put a Rayo scarf or a (non-official) club t-shirt on over their factory uniform.

Rayo’s feeling of ‘other’ is firmly rooted in the club’s DNA stemming from the very neighbourhood from which they hail. There are two factors in their difference from the rest, one arising from injustice of being robbed of its status as a separate municipality and the second is their proud working class status. This municipality of Vallecas has belonged to Madrid since its annexing in 1950, when it became a destination for workers from other parts of Spain. Vallecas continues to be a melting pot of ideas and ideologies with today’s neighborhood having witnessed the arrival of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Latin America as well as having a thriving punk rock scene, understandable why a DIY movement would feel so at home in a working class left wing neighberhood. The neighberhood is still the only district in which the PP(Conservative Party) has never won a seat.

The Rayo tifos are outlandishly creative and wide-ranging pitting the club against racism, corrupt politicians and support national and local workers strikes in recent years. One of the most famous cases that reached national attention was the public persecution of Ukranian international Román Zozulya for his links with extreme right politics. There was also the case where the fans rallied to save an elderly women from being convicted by pressurising the club to pay and raising awareness through flags about re-possesion of houses by banks and lenders.

Only few players receive the spotlight of the fans

Zozulya is one of the few Rayo players to receive the spotlight of the supporters and few player as Quique Peinado outlines in his seminal book about the club, noting players receive no adoration because so many have come and gone that the fans have no attachment to them and view themselves as the true defenders of the club. This adds to the dialectic of detachment yet simultaneous loyalty of the club, the hatred of the board and management, the little affection for the players and yet the willingness to return every week in numbers to support the club and more importantly what it is to be Vallecano. In fact the closest to players being serenaded occurred last season when an under 11’s youth team paraded their runners up medals from a recent tournament around the Vallecas turf. As the young Vallecanos made their way around the stadium to great applause, they reached the stand where the ultras reside and the captain took the megaphone and began to sing Rayo songs to which the whole stadium joined.

The clubs trophy haul is a sum total of zero and the only on field honours would include defeating Real Madrid on a handful of occasions along with reaching the EUFA Cup as a result of the fair play rule. While promotion is the aim, as we go through the trials and tribulations of being a Rayo Vallecano fan this season it is likely to be as much about off the field struggles as on them.

The post Segunda in Focus: A Season With Rayo Vallecano (intro) appeared first on chefutbol.