A new year and, pretty maybe, a new start are just around the corner. For Brazil, the excellent challenge of 2015 will lie in the Copa The usa, to be held in Chile, in the middle of the year.









Manager Dunga, whose reappointment did not precisely light up the nation with enthusiasm, has nonetheless created a reliable get started to lifestyle back at the helm of the Selecao ship. 
The mentor has, encouragingly, not been frightened to location his belief in domestically-primarily based gamers.
Again in Oct, during the second half of Brazil&rsquos four- rout of Japan, around fifty percent the group plied their trade in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Over and above who he has currently picked, there are even more selections on home soil open to Dunga.
Two of whom ended up taking part in their club football for Sao Paulo this term. It appears to be like we are covering old ground by returning to the outdated debates around Paulo Henrique Ganso and Alexandre Pato gamers who have showcased on these pages before&mdashbut with any teenage sensations seemingly absent off the boil, the intrigue continues to be.
Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Visuals Ganso and Pato, found listed here with Neymar, have slipped off the Selecao radar.
But were the pair successful plenty of in 2014 to gain a different worldwide chance in 2015? With friendlies coming up in March, from France and an as but unnamed opponent, it is much more than possible their Brasileirao kind would be a solid section of any thing to consider.
Sao Paulo&mdashand Corinthians, ended up Pato to head back there for the approaching marketing campaign&mdashqualified for the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, which will be their only competitive and meaningful football prior to the March internationals in the net calendar yr.
Any supposed sort in the Campeonato Paulista, the horribly outdated Sao Paulo state championship, in opposition to shoddy opposition on even even worse pitches, can be speedily discounted.
That indicates that contributions during the modern Brasileirao period will be taken into thing to consider. The club ended up runners-up in the countrywide league with one particular of the most intoxicating front lines in the league.
Friedemann Vogel/Getty Illustrations or photos The two will have reaped the advantages of enjoying alongside Kaka previous time period.
Led by Kaka, Ganso, Pato and likely Selecao ahead Alan Kardec meant set up previous first-decision worldwide in the course of Dunga's previous reign, Luis Fabiano, was forced to settle for a position on the bench additional usually than not.
When searching at the pair of Pato and Ganso, 1 would appear to be in with a bigger probability of breaking into the worldwide ranks, and not only for the coach's most well-liked tactical shape.
The former has been back in Brazil for two total seasons now next a multi-million pound transfer from European giants Milan, and it would be reasonable to say it has not worked out still for the twenty five-yr-outdated.
Pato put in just 1 calendar year at Corinthians in advance of staying loaned to metropolis rivals Sao Paulo, and he failed to access double figures for the period. That involves a solitary strike in his last 10 video games, per Whoscored.com.
Fernando Vergara/Affiliated Press/Linked Push Pato joined Corinthians from Milan, but he has since joined Sao Paulo on mortgage.
Pato's preference for taking part in by way of the center need to have found him reap the positive aspects of Sao Paulo's creative prowess, but, despite some isolated moments of magic, he has unsuccessful to deliver the type of aim threat that he so usually threatened to in his early times at San Siro.
Ganso, in the meantime, appears to be heading in the appropriate direction. The playmaker, after in advance of the likes of Oscar and Willian who now continuously obtain them selves selected in advance of the previous Santos starlet, produced 34 league appearances past expression, offering 8 assists, for each Whoscored.com.
Incorporate that to five even further helps in 31 appearances the earlier season and you have a participant who, though probably not however reaching the dizzying heights anticipated of him 4 decades ago, is ultimately playing with the kind of regularity that appeared to have deserted him in his latter times at Vila Belmiro.
Alexandre Schneider/Getty Visuals Ganso has been progressing slowly and gradually but definitely at Estadio Morumbi.
In a lot of approaches, the Brasileirao is the ideal suit for Ganso at this phase of his profession. The slower tempo of the league has permitted a participant of his ilk to gradually perform himself again into sort, and he is now reaping the rewards.
Regardless of whether it is sufficient, even though, to influence Dunga is questionable. There are already a wealth of selections in the attacking sector. The likes of Diego Tardelli and Everton Ribeiro are proving their global qualifications as component of a group not primarily based all over the skills of any person.
If Ganso can keep progress, nevertheless, all hope may well not be lost. The 2011 Copa The united states was the small point in his profession to day 2015 could confirm the redemption.
Source:   Bleacharreport


FF: Thanks for the interview, it is a great honor to welcome you here. Tell us a little about your work as International Director of Budapest Honvéd FC .What are your plans for the club?

 The Honved not have ample funds. The project for the next year will be enhance young players and and try to achieve a good position in the league.

FF: When we talk about Hungarian football, mainly on the Budapest Honvéd, we remember Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis, József Bozsik and Zoltán Czibor, formed the legendary Hungarian team known the the "Mighty Magyars" that Helped the club win the Hungarian League four times During the 1950's. How do you see the current generation of football in Hungary? What are the differences between the two generations?

There are several good young players and excellent academies where they grow young footballers, the problem is that many players miss when they get into the first team also because there aren’t top coaches.

FF: You are a successful entrepreneur ahead of Fabio Cordella Cantine. How did the invitation to be sporting director?

Is a very long history, i was a football player, I helped my friend Francesco Moriero to find a team and I received the proposal to become sports director. After started my career in Italy, Belgium and Hungary.

FF: In Brazil there is a great respect for Hungarian football. Which feature the Brazilian clubs could learn from the Hungarians?

The Brazilian teams have nothing to learn from the Hungarian teams. Perhaps it would be important to look at the organization of the academies in Hungary.

FF: The Budapest Honved FC has a number of young prospects. In your opinion, which of these youth players can be the next Ferenc Puskas?

In Honved there are several good young player , I'd bet on Daniel Gazdag
In an exclusive interview to our blog, John van Zweden, Director of Swansea City AFC , English Premier League club , talks about management,relationship with the fans and players.




FF: The Swans suffered a heavy defeat 5-0 against Chelsea, and fans continued to support the team with euphoria. What Fans of Swansea has so special in comparison to the others? 

Our fans, the Jack Army are happy we are a premierleague team, and the only team in Wales who are a PL team. They are famous for singing the whole game through. A heavy defeat against a top class team can happen. Chelsea atm are by far the best team in the PL. 

FF Swansea is a club that invests in young talent, as the club invests in this work and in your opinion who is the hot prospect for the future? 

We are very happy we've got a few good youngsters in the squad. We can't afford to buy very expensive players, because we do not have the money other big teams have. We are fans who own and run the club. All of us have a normal job or business to run, and we cant afford it. We show the rest of the PL that it's possible to survive that way. 


FF: What is the importance of the work of goalkeeper Fabianski as a player and as a professional for the team? 

Fabianski is a very good gk, and we are very proud to have the big man in goal. We didn't pay for him,cause he was a free agent, and that again is our biusiness. Try to find the best and cheapest players. Lukasz is a top man. 

FF: Swansea AFC is a very organized club, which is now the largest source of funds of the club? What are your plans for the growth of the club? 

As long as we stay in the PL we are very happy. A good scouting system work with us. We have a very good club. The owners are all fans of the club, but and that is also vey important, we are all friends of eacht other, and n the last 14 years we own the club we never had problems with eacht other. How good is that ??? 

FF: In your opinion, partnerships (commercial, financial, agreements) with African and South American clubs, can bring benefits to the club? 

In my opinion not neccesary. 

FF: What can we expect from the Swans for years to come? 

You can expect a mid table table team. Financial stable. And hopefully for years and years to come. We will probably never be the champion, but as long as our fans are happy with the way we run the club, we are happy !!! 

FF: Who is today's best player Barclays Premier league? 

That is Eden Hazard. By far the best player !!! 

FF:Thank you for the exclusive interview.

Best wishes.


He is the Commercial Director of AEK F.C. , one of biggest clubs from the Greece, with a wide experience among the greatest football clubs in Greece . Follow this exclusive interview to our blog Fibra Football:



Fibra Football: Thank you for an exclusive interview. Tell us a little more about the challenges this year as Commercial Director of AEK. 
The greatest project for AEK is the new stadium which will be built in Nea Filadelfia, at the very same place the historical ground stoud and in the years to come it is expected to drive revenues to a whole different level. On a day to day basis, optimum commercial exploitation of the Club’s assets is always the case! Currently we are working on a number of strategic co-operations with key sponsors as well as a new wholesale and retail network for the Club’s official products. 

FB: AEK is one of the most successful Clubs in Greece. How do you manage all the commercial potential of this giant? 

As in all commercial & marketing efforts, it is crucial to set specific goals and a solid strategy to achieve them. We follow a predetermined action plan approved by the board and each project has a specific timeline and evaluation objectives. 

FB: What are the factors of greater impact, in your professional career? 
I have been working in the sports industry for the past 12 years. It has been really amazing to see how new technologies have been incorporated in the core of sports advertising and promotion strategies. The LED perimetrical pitch ad boards, social media and the growing importance of digital content through new media platforms, all three of them are indicative examples. 

FB: You have a wide experience among the greatest football clubs in Greece. How has Greek football responded to the economic crisis in the country? 

Football in Greece has always been attracting sponsors and broader advertising investments, as it remains very popular in growing audiences. Certainly the economic crisis is affecting all marketing budgets, yet football has proved to be a very competitive investment. 

FB: Can Greek football achieve greater commercial projection in other continents? 
Sporting success is the decisive factor for penetrating overseas markets. Euro 2004 is a great example, where Greece won the European Cup and commercial development on an international level did take place. A growing audience was interested on watching Greece’s games (TV and/or web), merchandising sales were boosted and a growing number of sponsors were involved. 
Creative is the word that comes to mind when we think about Tamer Yoursry, one professional willing to create a revolution in the sport of Egypt . Check  the exclusive interview to our blog Fibra Football.


Fibra Football : Thank you for an exclusive interview. How is your work at Timeout?

I Established timeout sports management 4 years ago with the main aim of commercialising the sports sector in Egypt providing best value for sports assets and better ROI for brands with sports DNA.

In that period we had many new to market concepts as we lead Zamalek FC to be the first club in Africa to operate its mobile service and Chelsea FC to be the first EPL club to partner with an Egyptian company aside of working with the top sports assets globally on commercial expanion plans in the region and consulting many local sports assets on different projects.
In the same time i am the head of the sports events and sponsorship module in the FIFA/CIES diploma in Cairo university and i have o confess that teaching sports business is one of my best things that i really enjoy.


Fibra Football :In your opinion, what are the main challenges for sports companies in Egypt?


In my opinion the main challanges for sports companies in Egypt is both the old mind sets that are controlling the sports sector in Egypt and the corruption around it through the past decade aside of the political and economic problems that affected the country as a whole in the last 4 years.

Fibra Football :Tell us a bit more about the creation of the T20

T20 for Egypt is an association that incudes the Egyptians that were graduated from the top 20 bussiness schools worldwide which was established with the main aim of helping the Egyptian government in all sectors,In our point of view the country needs to create a critical mass of top calibers to revamp the way things are dealt with on all levels, We are currently working closely on Egypt 2030 vision with the minister of planning and I am hounered heading th sports committe within the T20 association.

Fibra Football :You act on a crusade to make more profitable the sport in Egypt, what are your future plans?

Our future plan is to build new concepts in the Egyptian sports sector starting from match day experience, Clubs Management and un traditional projects aside of focusing on the commercial expasion for top sports assets in Egypt.


Fibra Football :How do you see the current situation of the Egyptian football?

The current situation is in my point of view is like a total loss situation, It is enough to say that the biggest clubs in the ME and Africa Ahly and Zamalek doesn't have a commercial department despite having in average more than 30 M fans each with a great demands over their brands, same applies on the Egyptian federations in all sports but on the other side i beleive that Egypt is the country that have the greatest potential to develop its sports sector as it has the history of success on the African level in most of the popular sports and a 90 Million sports fanatic population that makes it a unique market for any sports asset in the world.


Fibra Football :What is your opinion on the Brazilian football?
I beleive that the Brazilian sports sector and specially the football industry had developed alot in the last decade building over TPO deals for football players that injected money into the Brazlian football and converted the whole industry into a very profitable one. But with the recent regulations by FIFA the brazilan football should find a creative way to overcome the ban of new TPO transactions in th coming years or it will have a great effect on the current success of Brazilian football.


Fibra Football :What can lead a club to success?

I think that managing a club is the best profession that anyone working in the sports sector could be involved in as it is impressive the way you could lead a team technically, Commercially, Financially to success and i wish i would have this chance in the near future.


Fibra Football :Thank you once again and success!

Thank you r interview and looking forward for a better cooperation between the sports sectors in Egypt and Brazil.



In an exclusive interview to our blog, Robert Molenaar, former Leeds United player and current Specialist Trainer SBV Excelsior Holland, talks about his successful career, fame and future projects in football


Fibra Football : You achieved great fame as a player with Leeds United, what are your main memories of this period? 

The way de game of football is approached by supporters. In their eyes you’ re a star. If you work hard you’ll get respect. If you deliver you’ll get praise and if you stand out you’ll be worshipped. 
Further special memories are: 
My debut against Leicester City (Emile Heskey), the game against Newcastle away when I was voted man off the match against Allen Sheerer. The game against Blackburn Rovers away 3-4 win (half time it was already 3-4), I scored a lovely goal, got a penalty given against me and got substituted at half time, the European games against Roma (Totti). 
Being injured for almost 2 seasons because of cruciate ligament replacements, the airplane crash the squad was in after West Ham away. And especially the colleges who made me feel at home right from the start and opponents I had the honour to play against. 


Leeds United
 


Fibra Football : You were a player of great physical strength, in your opinion; players with this feature can yield more? 

More and more is asked of players these days. Beside a all-round high level of general basics like talent, technical, tactical skills, physical ability to stay fit the most important element is your mental strength. So you’ll be able, under al circumstances, to focus on adapting- and improving your level of personal qualities in relation with the team development. 

Fibra Football : Tell us a little more about your work at SBV Excelsior

Although my main job was to be a specialist trainer for only the defenders it has developed over a small period in time a roll as an assistant manager / coach to support the manager in all matters on and of the pitch. 

Fibra Football : What did you learn with managers like George Graham and David O’Leary? 

George Graham main focus was his defensive organization. He was responsible for my biggest development in that department. 
O’Leary as did Graham focus on putting a squad together. 

Fibra Football : In your opinion what are the main differences between the football played in England and the Netherlands? What is the better in your opinion? 

In England the focus was (in my time) on winning ground by playing the ball forward in a opportune way and winning the ball back. 
And in Holland despite the way the national team played in the latest World Cup in Brazil, we like to keep the ball and bring the ball forward in a controlled manner. 
I prefer a mixture of England -and Dutch gameplay! 

Fibra Football : What are your goals for 2015? 
To extend my contract with Excelsior and keep combining that with being a manager of the amateur side Halsteren. So I keep learning and that eventually should bring me a job as a manager at professional level in Holland or abroad. 

Fibra Football : Thank you for the interview. 

You’re Welkom 


from Fifa.com

When the 11-year-old Paulo Roberto Falcao turned up for a trial organised by Internacional of Porto Alegre in 1964 he had 300 other boys with him for company, four of them team-mates from the Juventus youth side, based in the nearby suburb of Canoas.
Such mass events are a typical occurrence at Brazilian clubs, and when the youngsters assembled for a kickabout, one of the Inter coaches ran the rule over them, deciding in a matter of minutes whether they had what it took to start training with the club’s youth sides.

The coach in question was Jofre Funchal, who shortly began the task of turning away the many young hopefuls who had not made the grade. When it came to assessing Falcao, however, Funchal had little doubt in his mind, striding up to the player's older brother Pedro and announcing: “O alemão (The German) has passed with flying colours.”

“The German” is a common moniker in Brazil for anyone who is remotely fair-skinned or fair-haired, and in the case of the aspiring Falcao it proved to be an appropriate one. That distant day marked the beginning of the career of one of the greatest players Brazil would ever produce, a player who combined great flair and an eye for goal with tactical astuteness and the ability to organise the teams he played for from withdrawn positions, not unlike Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, another hugely accomplished No5.

Achieving perfection
The role Falcao performed during his career bore little relation that of modern-day wearers of the No5 jersey. He was in fact one of the last of a cultured breed of deep-lying midfielders whose main function was not to run their socks off, close down opponents, win the ball back and lay it off to the nearest team-mate.
Stationed just in front of the defence, the multi-talented ball player became Internacional’s orchestrator-in-chief, the instigator and catalyst for virtually everything Os Colorados achieved during his spell with the club from 1973 to 1979.
The leader of one of Brazilian football’s greatest dynasties, Falcao inspired Inter to five state championships and three Brazilian titles, the Porto Alegre outfit becoming the first club to achieve that feat since the inception of the Brasileirão in 1971. The highlight of those national league successes came in 1979, when Internacional went the whole season unbeaten, a feat yet to be matched in Brazilian football. And such was their consistency that only once in Falcao’s six years in the club's first team, in 1974, did they finish outside the top four.
Though a difference of opinion with national team coach Claudio Coutinho led to him being left out of theBrazil squad for the 1978 FIFA World Cup Argentina™, Falcao was by that time universally recognised as “the greatest Brazilian midfielder of all time."
Not known for lavishing praise on anyone, even Tele Santana was moved to express his admiration after watching Falcao guide his side to victory over Internacional de Limeira back in 1979. Speaking to reporters as he left the stadium, the then Palmeiras coach said: “I saw a player produce the perfect performance today. Falcao won the game."

Joy and sorrow on the big stage

It came as no surprise when three years later Santana named Falcao as his first-choice midfielder in theBrazil squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain. Excelling once again from his deep-lying position in a side not exactly short of stellar talent, Falcao won the adidas Silver Ball and announced himself to a global audience, heightening his profile by scoring the best-remembered goal of his illustrious career.
That strike came in a truly unforgettable second-phase match against Italy, when, with his side trailing 2-1 and time running out, the classy midfielder cut inside two Italian defenders on the edge of the box and unleashed an unstoppable drive past Dino Zoff. An equally memorable celebration followed. It was, after all, a goal that had put Brazil’s brilliant band of entertainers, one of the most popular sides in the history of the game, on the brink of the semi-finals.
Falcao’s career highlight proved to be in vain, however, with Italy’s arch-poacher Paolo Rossi completing his hat-trick seven minutes later to send the Brazilians crashing out.
Falcao retains vivid memories of that stunning defeat and the sudden switch from ecstasy to agony: “I really wanted to win that World Cup because I’d been left out of the team in 1978, and I wanted to prove I had what it took to be a first-choice player in the national side. That’s why I celebrated my equaliser so much. It was like I was playing two World Cups at the same time.
“When the match was over,” he continued, “Bruno Conti came up and gave me a hug and, though we'd agreed to it beforehand, he couldn't even bring himself to swap shirts. He felt so sorry for me that he looked like he was the one on the losing side. So I took my shirt off, stuck it in his hands, and walked out of the stadium with the Italy shirt, in tribute to my friend and to the country that welcomed me into its arms.”

The king of Rome 
Conti and Falcao were by that time team-mates at Roma, the club the Brazilian had joined from Internacional in 1980, just after Italian football had lifted its restriction on the signing of foreign players. Under the legendary Swede Nils Liedholm, Falcao made an instant impression in his first season, helping I Giallorossi to the Coppa Italia, and then catapulted himself into the Italian jet-set by inspiring Roma’s title win in 1982-83, their first scudetto in 41 years. Such triumphs led to the Brazilian import being dubbed “The Eighth King of Rome."

His reign came to an end in December 1984, and at the start of the following year Falcao made the final move of his playing career, joining Sao Paulo and doing enough in the months that followed to earn a trip to the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico, albeit as a substitute.
His departure from Roma came at virtually the same time as Liedholm’s. As a mark of his appreciation Falcao sent the Swedish coach his shirt, via club masseur Victorio Baldorini, with a note attached to it: “Boss, I’m returning the shirt that you gave to me when I arrived here. I can’t do it in person because I know that we’d get emotional. I’d like you to keep it as a reminder of our friendship.”
Though the two never spoke about it again, when Falcao bumped into Liedholm’s son Carletto while commentating at Italy 1990, he asked him if his father had received the shirt. “Nobody was allowed to touch it,” came the reply. “He treasured it like it was a precious stone.”
Liedholm Sr knew very well what he had in Falcao – a deep-lying midfielder who was so much more than that, a special player who broke the mould and whose like has rarely been seen in the game since.