Chapter 3: Havelange’s Golden Briefcase: Why is it so heavy when he leaves Zurich? ZURICH AIRPORT, anytime, 1974-1998. The easy thing for Rudi the chauffeur was meeting and greeting the FIFA President when his plane arrived from Paris. Havelange loved to stay a day or more in Paris on his …

France coach Didier Deschamps reaped the benefits of voting “PP” today as 21-year-old rising star Paul Pogba grabbed the decisive goal and produced an assured performance as his team saw off Nigeria 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinal stage. The Nigerian outfit acquitted itself well but no one—not even team …

One man hitting a post has not provoked so much interest since Minister Two Pull tried to roll himself a smoke. The “Samba Boys” go through; but it was a survival story as Mauricio Pinilla and Gonzalo Jaro both hit the frame of the goalmouth. There was no “joga bonito” …

Old prejudices die hard. So, given a choice between missing an England World Cup win and a typical Brian Lara century, Khrystine, a sports-loving second-generation England citizen, born in London and raised there during the Clive Lloyd/Viv Richards era, never hesitated. “England might be in Russia again in 2018,” she …

The Ghana football team spent the last 24 hours before yesterday’s crucial World Cup group match scouring the skies for signs of their $3 million dollar plane, cussing out its coach and slapping team officials. It was just enough to get noticed by the international media on a day when …

Prologue: On 26 June 2014, FIFA announced that Uruguay striker Luis Suarez would be banned for nine official international matches and from all football-related activity for four months, during which time he is not even allowed into any football stadium. The ban is the result of an incident between Suarez …

Blatter (verb: copyright Wired868) To mask ruthless, calculating intent behind veneer of simplistic incompetence; To play the sap until opponent is exposed and then strike with clinical precision. In the media, there were reports of a climb-down from the political leader and an about-turn in the face of persistent and …

It is irrefutable now. Uruguay and Liverpool striker Luis Suarez either needs a psychologist or a new dietician. For the third time in his professional career, Suarez bit an opponent during a football match today as, en route to a 1-0 win for the South American nation, the gifted attacker …

Sometimes the beauty of a goal is in its build up, not the scoring. Last week, on June 14, Trinidad Express journalist Ria Taitt revealed that the Lower House (MPs) had just approved amendments to two bills, which would give themselves fat new pensions. The story took about 48 hours to really …

The Brazil 2014 World Cup has dominated conversations all over the globe and, in the past week, there was finally irrefutable evidence about which nation got stuck in the “Group of Death.” Spain? Not even close. More like Port of Spain. A four-day long weekend was a chance for families …

Forever the fashionista, Cristiano Ronaldo was fashionably late to the Brazil 2014 World Cup with a gorgeous assist to teammate Silvestre Varela as Portugal scored in the closing seconds of extra time today to hold the United States 2-2 at the Arena Amazonia. The result gave Portugal and Ghana a …

The Trinidad and Tobago national men’s under-16 team held its first training session today in preparation for next month’s Caribbean qualifying competition as the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) announced the resumption of its national programmes. TTFA general secretary Sheldon Phillips said a national under-20 technical staff should also …