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Here we go again. And, no, we are not talking about the start of the new Scottish Premiership season or the preliminary round of the Carabao Cup – although that Tranmere v Rochdale shootout was a cracker. Yes, after a week of talk about money, greed and Donald Trump’s son-in-law’s brother, the hot topic around the water cooler on Monday was again Gianni Infantino and, more specifically, the English and Welsh FAs’ decisions to row back on their support of a stalling ship. Along with Finland, they’re the first of Uefa’s 55 members to withdraw their letters of support for next year’s Fifa overlord elections.
I write to you with my deep regret on hearing about the death of the heroic and granite-made Franco Baresi. Two moments stand out to me, both off the pitch, and show what a great man he was. The first was when Arrigo Sacchi, the Milan manager, dropped his intensity in training, fearing he was overworking the players; Baresi convinced Sacchi to up it instead for the sake of the team, with spectacular results. The second was an older Baresi reflecting on his 1994 World Cup final loss to Brazil, which he appeared in 25 days after knee surgery. Rather than lamenting his lot, having missed a penalty and lost the final, Baresi instead recalled watching the 1970 final between Italy and Brazil, only the second game he had seen on TV. The first game was the West Germany v Italy semi-final, where he recalled watching the players who ‘to me, they were Martians’. He said: ‘I would never have thought 24 years later, at 34 years old, I would have the possibility to play in that same game, the final, against Brazil, the same team. It was a dream that came true.’ Rest in peace” – Nick Kinsella.
I was wondering if Gianni Infantino might revist his Big Sale Opportunity by allowing smaller, club-level contestants from less lucrative leagues to participate in a seriously revamped World Cup, replacing their boycotting national sides. For instance, from the lower leagues of Scottish competitions. Mainly to render possible the wonderful hypothetical headline result of the last match of the (?) 2038 edition: Fifa Forward Final fiasco … East Fife 4, Forfar 5” – Russell Richardson.
Steve Bennett’s comment on Newcastle United’s new kit (Friday’s Football Daily letters) made me think of West Bromwich Albion’s similarly ‘bar-coded’ Premier League strip from the 2020-21 season, at the end of which they were relegated. Newcastle may have to hope that isn’t an omen” – Derrick Cameron.
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