Thursday, November 14, 2013

Sepp was right......for once

FIFA's overlord wants to do away with World Cup playoffs





Sepp Blatter, not one to provide the most glamorous of quotes, may have gotten it right this time around. What's the point of the playoff system to enter the World Cup?

Yesterday, Mexico trampled a New Zealand side that hoped to minimize the goalfest by hanging back but the desperate Aztecs--with a hounding press and angry supporter base--penetrated the Kiwis' wall for five in the net that surely will secure its ticket to Brazil next year, barring a collapse in the second leg next week. And don't forget this Mexico side was a domestic side with the majority of them from Club America.

Meanwhile, in Jordan, Uruguay may as well have whipped out a chalkboard and pull up some chairs to teach football to the Asian side. The gap in class was evident almost immediately and the South Americans showed no mercy in the midst of a timid atmosphere compared to the hostilities shown on their home continent when visiting places like Bogota, Quito and Lima.



It's understandable that FIFA and its money-making machine looks to expand and include non-traditional powers into the mix (see Qatar 2022) but the reality is yesterday's results show how much the continuing changes in its system to attract some sort of competitive balance on a global scale is....well, Blatteresque.

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