COPA LOAD OF THIS
Set to the theme of “A New Era Begins”, the opening ceremony of the Club World Cup featured performances by assorted Fifa-approved rappers and crossover artists we’d never heard of before. As a daily email of a certain age our knowledge of the Miami music scene begins and ends with the 80s legend that is Gloria “Paging Dr Beat!” Estefan, whose husband produced this spectacular track but apparently couldn’t find a place for her in it. Boo! Billed as “a vibrant prelude to a competition where one champion will rise to claim one goal, one dream and eternal glory”, Gianni Infantino had probably hoped the match that followed wouldn’t end without any goals but as stalemates go the opener between Al Ahly and Inter Miami could have been worse.
What’s more, any fears the Fifa chief suit had about it being played in front of tens of thousands of unoccupied plastic seats were miraculously allayed by a near-capacity crowd of almost 61,000, many of them local students who are reported to have been sold tickets originally priced at $200 for just a few bucks. While they didn’t get to see Leo Messi score a goal, they were at least treated to the sight of Miami’s star turn firing a couple of speculative shots from distance against the woodwork, a feat that had proved beyond all of the special celebrity guests and former pros who participated in the half-time crossbar challenge except Alessandro Del Piero.
While Palmeiras and Porto served up another goalless damp squib in Group A’s other match, Bayern Munich were merciless in their demolition of Auckland City, the New Zealand side whose players are without exception amateurs, many of whom have taken unpaid leave from their day jobs to enjoy the experience of a lifetime that is getting slaughtered by the German champions. Already encumbered with the reputation of being a big-game bottler, Harry Kane proved that he cannot be relied upon to deliver in the small games either, the England striker somehow managing to avoid getting his name on the Copa Gianni scoresheet in a match his team won 10-0. Auckland City’s almost heroic determination to play the ball out from the back despite all available evidence that it was a truly foolhardy idea called to mind Russell Martin-era Southampton. Asked after the game if he had felt a little bit sorry for the part-timers, Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise said: “Nope” and “no”.
Bigger Cup champions Paris Saint-Germain laid down a marker with their emphatic opening win against Atlético Madrid in the California furnace of Pasadena. In shimmering early afternoon heat, PSG spanked four past Jan Oblak without reply in a match paused for two “cooling breaks”, which several players used to completely cover their heads in wet towels. The world players’ union Fifpro has already voiced its disquiet at the inadequacy of these measures, saying they “do not do enough to protect the health and performance of players”. Noon kick-offs in searing heat do, however, protect the health and performance of TV viewing figures in Europe and, for Fifa’s chief suit, that’s really all that counts.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Daniel Harris at 8pm (BST) for updates on Chelsea 3-0 LAFC in the Copa Gianni.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Football, the game that we all love, we have it here because of immigrants. It’s played the way it is because of immigrants. This club that is such a huge part of me wouldn’t be here without immigrants” – Angel City captain Ali Riley explains why her team wore shirts that proclaimed themselves “Immigrant City Football Club” amid protests in LA over Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Re: Friday’s Memory Lane (full email edition). When I was a student at Loughborough in the late 1980s I went along one afternoon to watch the first team play Leicester City (at the time struggling in the First Division under David Pleat, plus ça change). We were used to local Midlands clubs sending along reserve teams with perhaps two or three first-teamers playing to gain fitness. After 20 minutes or so with the students 2-0 up and giving Leicester a good run around I turned to a Leicester-supporting friend and asked how many first-team players were playing: with a forlorn look he replied ‘this is the first team’ – Brendan Mackinney.
Re: Bayern 10-0 Auckland City. Maybe the A-League, which contains a proper professional Auckland FC in contrast to part-time Auckland City, should be moved from Asia to Oceania as far as Copa Gianni is concerned” – Jim Geissman.
If you do have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our letter o’ the day competition is … Brendan Mackinney, who gets some Football Weekly merch. We’ll be in touch. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
The Football Weekly pod squad look back on the opening weekend of the Copa Gianni and have a Frank discussion about Spurs.
A CHARITABLE CAMEO?
You’ve got to love Carlos Tevez. With the World XI trailing England in the annual Soccer Aid shindig to raise money for Unicef, the 41-year-old Argentinian was told to strip off and entertain the crowd at Old Trafford. And that he did, if you enjoy seeing Paddy McGuinness being made to repeatedly claw at the air like a drunk ghost. Tevez, looking leaner than he did in his actual playing career, took just 15 minutes to score four goals and turn his side’s 3-0 deficit into a 5-4 win. He was booed heartily by the bumper crowd and seemingly took great pleasure in showing no charity to the collection of former professionals and amateurs he was up against as he slalomed and slotted his way to victory. We’re all for this at Football Daily Towers. No mercy. Vamos, Carlos!
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Former Spurs captain and now LAFC goalkeeper, Hugh Lloris, believes Ange Postecoglou was unlucky to be shown the door marked Do One by Tottenham. “Nothing can surprise you any more. I think he deserves a lot of credit for what he achieved as a coach,” he parped, glossing over the 22 Premier League defeats and 17th-placed finish.
Lloris comes up against Chelsea in the Copa Gianni later and Blues boss Enzo Maresca is backing new summer signing, Liam Delap, to break the curse of the No 9 shirt. “We like Liam, Liam likes us. I don’t have any doubt that he can be the future England No 9,” roared Maresca.
England Under-21s missed the chance to secure their place in the knockout stage of the Euros after being held to a goalless draw by Slovenia.
The Crystal Palace ownership saga has taken another twist with the club’s largest shareholder, John Textor, listing his holding company Eagle Football for an initial public offering in the US.
Fighting talk from new Manchester City signing Rayan Cherki. After losing to United with Lyon in Big Vase last season, the attacker wants revenge. “I didn’t like it when Manchester United won the game because I’m a Lion [a Lyon player]. And now I wait for the game to kill them.”
And the former Milan and Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso will hopefully bring some fresh and funky vibes to international fortnights after being given the Italy job.
STILL WANT MORE?
Spanish is football’s new lingua franca, writes Barney Ronay, and South America is saying ‘no mas’ to European hegemony at the Copa Gianni. Barney was at the opening game to see Messi show glimpses of his genius on Fifa’s stage of fakery. And he sent a chilling missive about the Ice raids casting a fearsome shadow over the tournament.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola hopes the tournament can provide the blueprint for his Manchester City revival, reports Jamie Jackson.
Guardiola’s old lieutenant Enzo Maresca will use the star-spangled marketing extravaganza to learn the names of all the players in his constantly evolving Chelsea squad, notes Jacob Steinberg.
Flicks, tricks and an oversized entourage: Manchester City move will be a test of Rayan Cherki’s newfound maturity, suggests Will Unwin.
Luke McLaughlin trawls through 50 old Forest programmes and finds Cloughie’s notes, Hillman Imps and Bela Lugosi among the jewels at the bottom of the treasure trove.
Jonathan Wilson says auf wiedersehen to Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller, the dreammaker who found goals in space.
And Nicky Bandini explains why Kevin De Bruyne’s arrival cements Napoli’s status as the new top dogs in Serie A.
MEMORY LANE
March 1974: Goalkeeper Phil Parkes, dressed as a sporty cowboy, poses with two ponies back when he was QPR’s No 1.