7.8.13
Morning Read: Federation Prez Demands World Cup
The president wants the World Cup, and he wants it badly. If the geographical area that he presides over doesn't get to host the next available tournament, votes may be withheld. Ah, politics.
BY
Jasper Wilson
Posted
July 08, 2013
9:31 AM
Jeffrey Webb doesn't appear to have gotten over CONCACAF missing out on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. He's issued an ultimatum of sorts to Sepp Blatter. Give us the 2026 event, or our vote for president goes to someone else. By then, 32 years will have passed since the event last took place in the region. “We collectively must make an effort. We must decide, ultimately, that it doesn't matter which country within CONCACAF hosts it,” Webb said. “We've said it very clear from the outset, that 2026 must belong to [this] confederation.”
Speaking of the World Cup, the ongoing saga of Gus Johnson continues. Richard Deitsch asked sports media journalists about Johnson's potential and Fox's decision to have him call soccer now that he has a full season under his belt. The consesus still isn't glowing, but he still has five years until the World Cup, so there's plenty of time to improve. Take Awful Annoucing's Matt Yoder's response: "If Gus puts the work in, learns the game (and the pronunciations), and grows over time, it will be a success. He still has a few years before the bright lights of the World Cup to improve and he's shown brief flashes of what has made him a cult favorite, take Ben Watson's FA Cup winner for Wigan Athletic. However, Fox may have already lost fans and turned them off to Gus Johnson as America's soccer voice by throwing him to the wolves and asking him to learn on the fly in front of a rabid fan base that expects the best from the likes of Ian Darke and Martin Tyler."
Mexico's "B" team lost to Panama in its Gold Cup opener 2-1 Sunday night and the questions about coach José Manuel de la Torre's future continue to multiply. Kyle McCarthy was at the game in Pasadena and tries determine what has been ailing El Tri throughout 2013: "The staggering setbacks incurred this year create a situation where de la Torre—even if he survives this Gold Cup and takes his top players into the fraught and vital World Cup qualifier against Honduras in September—cannot extricate himself from this current mire. This crisis of confidence isn't some passing concern."
Trouble in the Emerald City? The Sounders trail both the Timbers and the Whitecaps in the standings. Joshua Mayers looks at the causes of what could be a shift of power amongst Northwest MLS teams.
A melancholy Bill Hamid has to pay the dinner bill in Portland.
"The bitter taste of defeat in credit card roulette! Another one bite the dust! @billhamid28 @trickybeas @gringotorres18 @herculezg"
Stuart Browning/isiphotos.com
