I'm Not Calling Soccer In Italy Dirty, But...

Things can't be all that clean either. According to a recently released annual report by Confesercenti, a major business association in Italy, the four main mafia groups in the country together take in about $126B a year (yes, that's more than Italy's largest companies), amounting to an astonishing 7% of Italy's gross domestic product. Most of the money is "earned" through drugs, extortion, loan sharking and prostitution, though the estimate excludes the revenues from the sale of drugs.

Is it naive to believe that some of that money isn't derived from gambling and match-fixing?

Organised crime does pay in Italy - to the tune of €90bn [Guardian]
Italy's in the Global Fortune 500 [CNN]

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"He's An Idiot And A Sore Loser"

If you accuse someone of cheating (without any proof mind you), I guess you've got to expect that you're going to get called out like a fifth grader at recess. After Raymond Domenech's recent outburst about the France v. Italy U-21 qualifier for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, former Italian U-21 boss Marco Tardelli had this to say:

Every now and then Domenech says something really stupid. That's what he's like and once again he is trying to provoke opponents. He does this a lot. There were two legs to that play-off, so presumably we would have had to 'buy' the referee in the first match as well. Perhaps Domenech is preparing the ground for his fall if France lose at San Siro on September 8. It seems almost pointless answering back to him. Perhaps instead we should ask why he didn't win more with the formidable Under-21 squads he had at his disposal. He never won anything. So these are the idiotic statements of a loser.

Classic. What kind of reception do you think Raymond will get when he steps out onto the pitch in Milan?

Raymond Domenech Opens His Mouth. (And You Know a Good Story is Going to Follow) [World Cup Blog]
Tardelli: Domenech's a loser [Channel 4]

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The Italians, Setting A Bad Example For The Other Kids

While the Italians remain the gold standard for soccer-related nefarious activities, there seems to be an up and coming contender out of southeast Asia. Vietnamese prosecutors have demanded jail terms for two footballers accused of fixing an international match. Verdicts were expected later today in the high profile trial involving the rigging of an under-23 match at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in return for cash from a betting syndicate.

The accused have admitted accepting $1,300 dollar bribes to make sure overwhelming favorites Vietnam beat Myanmar by the scoreline of 1-0 in the match in Manila. Soccer betting and other forms of gambling are illegal but widespread in communist Vietnam, where many fans place football bets online with networks based inside the country or in Hong Kong and Macau.

Milan and Inter indicted! [Channel 4]
Vietnam footballers go on trial [BBC]

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Tell Me Something I Don't Already Know

In what is quite the "get" for United Arab Emirates newspaper Al Ittihad, Bahrain's national soccer team coach Hans Peter Briegel has more or less admitted that the West Germany v. Austria group match at Spain '82 was fixed. According to TyC Sports, Briegal, a runner-up with Germany in both 1982 and 1986, said that "he was sorry" for what had happened to Algeria.

While not an outright confirmation that the fix was in, it's good enough for me. For anyone who remembers the controversy, or has read about it, I think it matters. Up until now, that acknowledgment of cheating has been rather hard to come by.

If you recall, the Germans were upset 2-1 by Algeria in their first Group 2 match, but managed to sneak into the second round on the last day of the group with a controversial 1-0 win over Austria, the result advancing both teams at the expense of Algeria. As Algeria had already played its third match the day before, West Germany and Austria knew that a West German win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify them both, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. The fourth team in the group, Chile, had already been eliminated. The West German-Austria match has gone down as one of the dodgiest in the history of soccer.

After a FIFA junta ruled that there had not been anything unseemly about the match, they decided that the best way to curb such thoughts in the future would be to have all games, on the final day of the group, kickoff at the same time.

UPDATE: A full quote, courtesy of Spanish daily AS - "We all made the decision, us and them [Austria], to not put too much effort into the match against Austria."

Briegel: Germany cheated to get Algeria eliminated from the World Cup (In Spanish) [TyC Sports]
What's the dodgiest game in football history? [Guardian]
Briegel confesses about Germany-Austria 82 (In Spanish) [AS]

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Any Comment Mr. Berlusconi?

Yesterday, Italy's Antitrust authority revealed their remedies for Serie A after last year's Calciopoli scandal revealed some cracks in how the game is run. Sending your recommendations to the top clubs in Italy must be about as useful as sending your study group report about Iraq to the president. Nonetheless, here are their main recommendations:

• The January transfer window should be limited to player moves to and from teams in foreign leagues or lower divisions and not between teams in Serie A.
• The number of players a club can loan from other teams should be capped to two or three.
• Player loans should last no less than a season.
• Players should have the right to tear up their contracts if they have "just cause", that is, a legally binding case.
• There should be a reintroduction of the collective negotiation of soccer broadcasting rights so that smaller clubs get a fairer share of TV revenues.

Not a bad start, but will it really go anywhere? As the article mentions, the club owners are not likely to accept any of this. The one recommendation that might get the needed support would be the issue of the TV contracts. With no collective bargaining between the clubs and the TV companies, the pie is very unevenly divided.

In the 2005-06 season, from rights fees, Juventus, Milan, and Inter earned $102.1M, $94.8M, and $89.5M respectively. That season, Siena, Ascoli, and Treviso collected $15.6M, $14.2M, and $14M. Unless this aspect of the Italian game is put more in line with the TV rules in England, France, and Germany, Serie A will always be a league where the majority of the clubs merely make up the numbers.

Antitrust calls for soccer shake-up [ANSA]

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Life Between The Sticks

No one said it was easy being a keeper for one of the world's most famous clubs. That being the case, why is Gianluigi Buffon always bitching about one thing or the other? Gigi got off easy the other day after allegations of gambling surfaced last year. Though cleared of having any personal involvement in throwing games, he has decided (again) not to put the past behind him:

"I paid for the fact I am a Juventus player, clearly. I was torn to shreds in the newspapers on a personal level, but although I'm not proud of it, my betting was a private matter and not in any way illegal. Some spend a fortune on special edition cars, I made the odd bet online. Anyone who knows me realises I could never throw a game. I know I am a lucky man and that's where my drive and hatred of complaining comes from."

Lucky indeed, as you can see by the picture above.

Today, the Italian number one sat down for a press conference at the club's Vinovo training center. He commented on the upcoming friendly against Milan as well as where he thought Juve would be at this point in the Serie B season. If you believe anything from this site, he maybe enjoying the Serie A glamour life somewhere other than Turin next season. [ESPN Soccernet, Juventus official site, Tribal Football]

In other Juve news:

• Transfer plans revealed. [Channel 4]
• Didier Deschamps is getting an extension through 2010, if he can meet a couple prerequisites first. [Goal.com]

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Back To Business

With heavy hearts, Juventus return to the pitch tomorrow against Serie B leaders Bologna. The game will kickoff with Juve trailing the table toppers by three points.

Didier Deschamps' side will take the field in special shirts honoring the two youth team players, Alessio Ferramosca and Riccardo Neri, who died in Friday's accident. Didi had this to say at this morning's press conference:

"We have carried out our preparations for tomorrow's match, but it's normal that we think of the grief the families of these two boys are going through. We have all been struck by this tragedy, these have been difficult days. In moments like this, football counts for very little. In my opinion Bologna are better than both Napoli and Genoa, but I don't know whether it will give us any concrete indications for the future. Bologna are well-organised and they have experienced players capable of making the difference. They are confident in their own ability and the fact that the stadium is sold out tomorrow will motivate them even more. He [David Trezeguet] is available, although he's still not quite 100 per cent. Alex Del Piero is in a better condition than him because he's played at least half an hour."

After tomorrow's match, the Bianconeri will still have a game in hand. That match, at home against Cesena, hasn't been rescheduled at this time. [Juventus official site]

In other Juve news:

• Some details about the accident. [Channel 4]
• The Javier Mascherano rumors pick up some steam. [Soccerway]
• Related to the Calciopoli scandal, Milan's vice president has his ban reduced. What a surprise. [International Herald Tribune]

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