Friday, May 30, 2008

Make something happen

I wonder sometimes how some people seem to fit so much into the same 24 hrs, during which I seem to achieve relatively little... I'm just excited that I have managed 9 entries in this blog for the month of May!

Speaking of people always on the move, I just came across a blog from a class mate and friend, Alex. It is well worth keeping up on and connected to if you are at all interested in anything going on in the world. 

On to soccer...

It looks like FIFA is keeping up with this blog! The controversial and harsh decision to serve the Iraqi national team with a competitive ban have been revoked ... temporarily and with conditions. Basically Iraq sent FIFA a letter explaining it was only shutting down the actual IC and leaving the IFA alone.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

maybe I should stop listening to Ani...

It occurs to me, sometimes, that it might be a bit trite to be writing and dreaming about soccer at a time when the world is confronted with the earthquakes in China, the cyclone in Burma, and the litany of other ecological/environmental disasters occurring in the world today. The Economist, quoting Josette Sheeran of the World Food Program, labeled the global food shortage the "silent Tsunami" and violence in South Africa exposed the weakness, to everyone's deep concern, of the central government.

Yet I am writing about a small round ball. I am an avid reader of Rob Huges' column in the Herald Tribune, but he too, manages to spectacularly avoid just about all major global events, unless they are somehow directly linked to soccer. It's such a dilemma for me.

A man will go crazy thinking about all those things, all the time, though. What good is a person if they get paralyzed by fear and a feeling of helplessness to the point of inaction? Of course, this is a personal feeling, as it's not my job to convince anyone of anything, but I would rather ignore a few things and go be helpful in other areas.

Soccer, the troubling, unbelievably popular sport, is something I am good at, and can find ways to use it, to help out in places where people are not having much fun. I dare not say (anymore) that I think soccer is ever going to change the world, solve global problems, etc. It won't, if anything it might help keep the mechanisms of control and repression in place. It won't feed anyone, put a shirt on their back, or end genocide. What it might do though, is allow people to have fun - even of only briefly. It might help people forget for a moment that life is bleak. They can step onto the field and turn a magic trick, produce a volley, or just be part of something.

The paradox is still present however, even in these innocent moments. But then, it always will be, it's unavoidable. The point is that it can alleviate suffering for a few moments, and if it is done in a context where people are made aware of the paradox, then you have a chance that they will chose not to participate in its more sinister side.

So, I guess I can say it is ok to be thinking about soccer and writing about it, even in such dire straits. We of the bleeding heart variety will always be hard on ourselves for not doing enough for our fallen brothers and sisters. But we can't solve it all, so we shouldn't even try. Rather, focus on what you can do, and what might bring you a sense of achievement, and go do it.

Eine Manschaft ohne Nation

There has been considerable ink spilt in the last few days over the FIFA decision to ban the Iraqi national team, for a full year, from any international competition. The reason is a reaction to the dissolving of the Iraqi Olympic committee by the central government. The corrupted IC was basically a dead weight, but FIFA and the IOC see this as government intervention in sports affairs, and thus they are banning the teams.

As became clear to me during the writing of my thesis, there is no point where the state is not intervening in sporting affairs - so the point is moot. But that aside, the decision to ban the soccer team seems rather foolish. Not only has the soccer team given Iraq (as a whole) something to be proud of, but they have also proved to be a model of national integration. The presence of the three ethnic groups on the same team, working together as Iraqi's, should be something the west champions, not bans.

Though it is not my personal opinion, if there west wants stability in Iraq, and wants it via the creation of an Iraqi nation, then the soccer team needs to be put in the spotlight. FIFA should be flexible enough to give Iraq some leway for the national team.

But the whole debate is overlooking a fundamental point: how can Iraq even have a national team? Currently, and historically, there has never been an Iraqi nation as such. What has existed is a state, called Iraq, which forcefully made three distinct national identities live together. The attempts to impose the new, post colonial, Iraqi national identity on the population has failed. The removal of Saddam Hussein also removed the proverbial lid that was keeping the various identities in check. Now people have reverted to identity roots that predate Western designs.

In short, soccer, for a brief moment last summer, gave Iraqi's a glimmer of what national solidarity looked like. The success of the team at the Asia Cup had the ethnicities dancing together. But now the West has squashed the national dream of getting to the World Cup in 2010, because the team will not be able to go through the qualifying phase. It seems tragic and unjust for any Iraqi soccer fan; foolish and ill advised from a political standpoint; par for the course in relative terms.

Rob Huges has a good article in the IHT, and there are some posts in the NYT GOAL soccer blog.

Because some of us are that obsessed...

From Youtube.com



Tuesday, May 27, 2008

adieu, ma these

C'est fait. Aujourdui, a 1429 j'ai soumis ma these, sur le role du foot en politique, une dernier foit.

I can now no longer make changes to it, add anything, or seek out advice on it. The final draft comes in at 54 pages with table of contents, acknowledgments, introduction, 3 chapters, a conclusion, and the bibliography. 

It is done - and I feel sadness. But talking with BR today I got a dose of perspective on the "unfinished" nature of all thesis - and the possibility of exploring it in other venues, at other times. I guess in many ways I have already started that with the PUSL.

But still... I can't believe it's done.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Update

MeMUNC is over, the semester is over, the thesis is just going through a few tweeks, Graduation is done, the Family have returned home, Oliver Kahn has retired, Hitzfield has left Bayern for the Swiss National team, and worst of all: the Bundesliga Season is over.

Oh well, guess I'll have to watch the Champions League final on Wednesday and then take in the Euro Cup (starting in 21 days) ... damn. Even worse - I'll be watching a handful of games in Paris.

On  more serious note, Dr. B and I talked about what the post-semester (read: season) slump would be like. Although I have kept busy with MeMUNC and next week I have pleanty of work at the Trade Center, and after that, hopefully a job, it is still tough to be done with the work I really enjoy - academia. Now it's time to reflect on the next step, whatever that may be. Top choice is still Right To Play - but I may find myself unqualified for the position. Alternatives are the State Dept., general work in a variety of locals (UK, Germany, France, US).

In more immediate terms, working for the PUSL this summer will be good, and might even get me the experience needed for joining Right To Play. Beyond the fact that RTP works with sports as a way to restore communities (see all of the below entries for the many problems this brings with it...), my attraction to the program is also that it takes place outside of the west. I continue to be fascinated with places I've never been and are entirely different from those I have been.

Why is this? I had a discussion with E about this yesterday. It seems connected to my ideological perspective that we should also live without borders, both mental and physical (at least as far as they prevent us from moving, and existing, as freely as we want. My lack of roots or any "real" homebase is another important factor. I not only live as a sort of modern nomad, but I also feel most comfortable advocating philosophies and ideology that suggests nomadic life as a solution to global problems.

I have no roots to create a strong nationalistic identity for myself, no religion to retrain me from moving into new cultures. I was educated with other global nomads in a school system designed, in many ways to socialize us into a western ideology, yet it also demanded tolerance of difference. I follow a philosophy that advocates against being obsessive about your identity and trying to control the chaos in the world. As a result: I constantly seek expansion and change outside of myself - so as to stretch what is inside.

Film Recommendation: La Commune (Paris 1871)

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Starting the League...

Met with AJ again today to finalize details on the league and meet with the team captains. Unfortunately none of the captains actually came, but we got work done non-the-less, filling out paper work and talking about life in general.

I've taken over a lot of the logistical side of the project, which I am happy about. Honestly, I prefer it to dealing with people, as this has never been my comfort zone. But I have to recognize also that part of my reluctance, in this case at least, comes from being unsure of how to "deal" with these community members. What that actually means, I'm not sure, but it stems from a fear of the other, of the identity that is different from my own.

Because they have a different culture and they are not assimilated into the American collective, I assume that they will not understand me, not get me or not be willing to go along with the plan. Certainly all of that is a possibility, but then it is in any situation. It's not tied to their individual status as immigrants or minority communities. I guess my point here is that it is an instinct for me to react in a discriminatory way and I think the best way for me to address this racist impulse is through experience.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Reflections on Kahn


When Bayern München bought Oliver Kahn from SC Karlsruhe in 1994 it began a new era in the clubs evolution. Since his arrival in Munich, Bayern have secured a reputation as serious international contenders, year after year. This return to form for Bayern was also helped by a number of other factors, including the hiring of Trappatoni and later Hitzfeld as coaches, the purchase of Elber, Matthaus, Effenberg and Sammy Kuffor, and the bringing up of Owen Hargreaves from the youth team.

The news of Kahn's purchase by Bayern was not popular with all the fans however. At the time Bayern were fighting a close battle with Werda Bremen for supremacy in the league and Raymond Auman was in goal. Any skeptics (which included me) have long since been silenced as Kahn has become one of the best keepers to ever grace the game. While it has caused him problems at certain times, his dedication to both Bayern and the National team have been unquestionable and impressive, marred only by the failure to actually win the World Cup in 2002 and 2006.

The fact that he has been one of the greatest keepers and has only won 1 UEFA Cup and one Champions League title, makes tonight's result against Zenith so much more tragic. The 4-0 drubbing by the Russian side meant Bayern are out of the Cup, and with this Kahn will never again play international football. He is retiring from football at the end of the season.

As much as Bayern were odds on favorites to win tonight, and considering the caliber of the team it should have been a sure thing, this young team will have more chances at silverware, including in the Champions League next year. But Kahn won't, and for that reason, and after seeing his determination and effort against Getafe two weeks ago, the team should at least have made the final. From all accounts the Bayern that played tonight deserved the sharp defeat, and therein lies the justice of Football: even the best teams can fall to arrogance and complacency. But for Kahn, moved to tears after the drama in Getafe, somehow lost out.

But his legacy is secured. He has won some of the top individual accolades, a Champions League, a UEFA Cup, and a whole slew of domestic titles. He was the best of his generation, and thats how he will be remembered; for that and for punching his own team mate, Herzog, for running forward into the oppositions box and punching the ball into the net (for which he was sent off) and for being the center of the Bayern team for almost 15 years.

Ich sage danke.

A journalists view of a journalists view of a beautiful game...

A great quote from Rob Hugh's IHT column:

Tactically, football is like a short blanket in winter. You can pull it up and keep your head warm, or your feet. You have to decide. ~João Saldanha (1917-1990)

What is meant by this? Either you go for results with style and passion (presumably this is located in the feet, formerly referred to as "total football") or you go for results through defensive play and counter attacks. This is what Hugh's means with "cold feet."

After the 4:0 thrashing Bayern received tonight in St. Petersburg, it seems not every one has the cold feet...