The Football Scholars Forum launches its 2011-12 season this Friday (Sept. 23, 3pm EDT) with Brenda Elsey’s new book Citizens and Sportsmen: Fútbol and Politics in Twentieth-Century Chile (University of Texas Press, 2011). It’s a fresh look at life in twentieth-century Chile through an exploration of how fútbol clubs integrated working-class men into urban politics, connected them to parties, and served as venues of political critique. You can join the conversation online via Skype. For more information visit the FSF website.
We celebrate the Chilean miners’ rescue! Among these remarkable men was Franklin Lobos, former professional footballer and member of the 1984 Chilean Olympic team. After 69 days entombed 700 meters underground, Franklin emerged from the ‘Phoenix’ capsule to embrace his family and juggle a football.
Ivan Zamorano, the former Real Madrid and Inter striker who played with Lobos in the 1980s, recently said: “I think that down there, trapped, he has tapped into that energy you saw when he played; an emotional man who threw the whole team behind the game. I am sure he is very important to keeping them alive down there.”
1. FIFA got the seedings right. Pot 1 seeds earned their ranking. France did not. France’s final appearance was four years ago.
2. Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay have come out of the pot alignment better than most. Each of the smaller South American nations will avoid the big five African qualifiers in the 1st Round.
3. Argentina and Brazil cannot avoid the African qualifiers from Pot 3. The seeds for two potential Groups of Death have now been sown. Has FIFA put Brazil at risk for an early bath?
4. The most frightening Group of Death would be: Brazil, Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire and Portugal.
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