Beyond The Pitch

Much has been said about match-fixing and spot-fixing in recent years and it remains the most significant threat to worldwide sporting integrity, but revelations that emerged from calcioscommesse and Operation VETO have only begun to untangle what is widely believed to be the biggest scandal yet, emerging from the shadowy world of the Far East and Singapore in particular. However, two Italian investigative journalists, Alessandro Righi and Emanuele Piano, who produced The Fix for the Al Jazeera People and Power series, have now emerged to give us a rich and detailed account of one of the major figures in this global scandal, Wilson Raj Perumal, who remains detained in Hungarian witness protection as he awaits a trial against his former associates. Not only does Perumal have much to say, he also has a number of astonishing revelations about some well-suspected events ranging back to 1994 along with some new details on match-fixing operations that reach to every part of the world and into some competitions and events that were once not considered. Some of these incidents include the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the infamous three floodlight matches in England, fixing World Cup qualifiers and friendlies and even the CONCACAF Champions League with precise recollection to weave the remarkable story of how one man of modest means surfaced to control so many football matches, delivering him to the plateau of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Righi and Piano have spent several months questioning Perumal and validating his claims, constructing a fascinating and gripping story titled, Kelong Kings, tracking the notorious match-fixer from his youth to his crushing fall in Finland in 2011. For the very first time we get an inside look at how the members of the Singapore syndicate found their way into the business of manipulating matches, what drives their relentless drive to conquer even the smallest and most unsuspecting players and leagues, and how one of the most notorious figures in this illegal business built up a cache of influence and power leading him to the loftiest heights in world football. The questions that Wilson Raj Perumal inspires are endless, and the billions generated by criminal gangs worldwide only serves to confirm that integrity and football have reached a crisis state, with Asian syndicates having divided up the sport with almost surgical precision armed with a betting syndicate willing to take action on most any match no matter the size and master agents can move millions of traditional currency while never being detected.

We end the year, not with a look back at the events and moments of 2013, but with all eyes firmly forward with a World Cup year now in view and collective attention will soon be magnified while stadiums round into final preparation and questions will again persist about security and readiness for Brazil 2014 now just months away and joining us from the much maligned City of Manaus is Martin Wright, the Director of International Relations at Amazonas State University to help us separate fact from speculation about the area. We begin with an article published in the English Press that has clearly wound up the locals in Manaus, starting with Mayor Arthur Virgilio Neto who has jumped to the defence of his city, and since then the comments have only begun to ramp up the outrage, so much so that it has sparked the inevitable war or words. We examine what the scene and the conditions will be like for those arriving this June, attempt to provide a clear description of what traveling fans can expect in Manaus, while always placing some of the real threats into the kind of perspective often reserved for large cities in the United States and Western Europe. We also explore the recently closed domestic season, how Fluminense found a way to detonate some outrage while escaping the relegation chopping block and get to the matter of Atletico Miniero who failed miserably in the FIFA Club World Cup while leaving an important question about the future for Ronaldinho who is left out of contract come January. We also explore the fortunes for Clarence Seedorf as well, whose Botafogo side seem to have clear expectations of holding on to him due to a Copa Libertadores commitment in 2014 amid rumours that the Dutchman could be next in line as first team manager of AC Milan. Then we close back on the topic of security in Brazil and attempt to explain the unique and serious challenges that law enforcement has had in recent years as the government has tried to pacify the favelas through the use of its own police elite units and why the FIFA Exclusion Zones should not come under any threat given the lessons learned from the Confederations Cup. That is not to say that threats do not exist in Brazil, because they clearly do, and we explore what some of those threats are, how they are met with force and how - if tourists are prepared with right information - visitors should find themselves no more under threat than any other large metropolis in the world.

Nearing the end of 2013 where most of football is tucked neatly in the winter break, football journalist and commentator Gabriele Marcotti joins Anto and Phil to take a look beneath some of the most pressing story lines involving both Serie A and the English Premier League with several issues on the table that require a deeper dive and perhaps more analysis, defying some of the popular opinion and analysis ranging from the disasters at AC Milan to questions at Cardiff City. We start with the Rossoneri who have cratered at an all time low and have settled on a marriage of convenience between Barbara Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani, then over to the capital of Italy where Lazio have hit the retro-switch on Edy Reja while Roma enters the break as the darlings of Serie A with a financial question of its own to which the club must answer. We also take a look at Juventus and whether the Europa League is a target given that the final will be hosted in Turin and ask the more important question about Inter that lurks beyond one sale of Fredy Guarín to Chelsea. That is where we transition to the matter of Mourinho and the underlying concern that he might not have the spending power of years past given the reported hold up of player moves out of the club in the shape of David Luiz and Juan Mata over the summer, and then we turn to the very complex world of Vincent Tan and Malky Mackay where the narrative may not be all that seems once the layers get peeled back in terms of how information was leaked to the press and what agenda some of this information may have filled. We also take a momentary glance at David Moyes and Manchester United to separate what some believe is a corner being turned and what may actually speak to more difficulties ahead as the club will look to reinforce to reach top four, with even more questions to be asked in the longer term if title ambitions are to still ring true. In closing we bring up a big questions on Financial Fair Play in light of many concerns about enforcement of the rules and what exactly enforcement means to UEFA, given that clear breaches already exist within the realm of taxation in Spain and now France, along with a backdated sponsorship by the Qatar Tourism Authority to PSG that has never been addressed, although it clearly should ring alarms on related party transactions. Is it possible that UEFA has hit a crossroads in terms of credibility with FFP and what exactly does Michel Platini risk should sanctions and enforcement not materialize.

Italian football jumps into the break with some verdicts and suspicions cemented, but there are more than enough surprises and wildcards in store as the transfer market opens and second half performances will dictate what happens to the three coveted Champions League spots as Milan continues its painful descent into also-ran status and Fiorentina looks to disrupt what could be Roma and Napoli designs for Europe. To discuss those matters and a supercharged one versus two battle that tops off the calendar in January is Italian football commentator Owen Neilson to help gauge what transpired in the first half of the season and how the transfer market has buoyed the contenders and shredded the 2013-14 campaigns for two Milan giants who are separated by 12 points but share similar symptoms in their decisions. We begin with Rudi Garcia and Roma who have sustained the body blow of losing Francesco Totti yet remained undefeated and stingy at the back, while gauging their prospects against a Juventus team intent on delivering three consecutive Scudetti now that the Champions League fallout has somewhat diminished as Antonio Conte has put the rest of Serie A in a headlock. We examine the Tevez and Llorente buys through that prism of Europe and look beneath the numbers year over year in the league to determine if those transfers measure up in net effect or whether the true answer lies in the slow start to the overall campaign, good enough to secure points in the league yet damaging in a competition like the Champions League. We also explore the cruel fate for Napoli in year one under Rafa Benitez, with 12 points in their Group of Death but sent packing nonetheless, and that is where we settle on the remarkable run for Giuseppe Rossi who has only just begun to round into form after a double knee surgery to become capocannoniere at the break. Then we turn to the matter of Lazio, Inter and Milan who could find themselves in real trouble in the second half of the season, a self-inflicted fate borne from seasons of poor transfer decisions and massive questions about managers and/or transfers that went unaddressed or look to complicate 2014 even further. We also venture into the surprise packages in Verona and Torino who are on pace to lock their safety quite early and then close on the matter of Serie B where another Zamparini explosion in Palermo over red cards and his conspiracy theories deliver even more color to a second division race where Empoli finds itself edging the Rosanero as we head into January. Never a dull moment in calcio and the league looks filled with intrigue, disaster and more offensive fireworks once the season resumes.

Born from the misguided dreams of being the next Didier Drogba or Yaya Toure and the failure of international institutions in concert with the commoditization of African footballers and abject poverty, an alarming and increasing number of victims of the human trafficking trade has abandoned thousands on the meanest streets of Europe and Asia, begging questions of our governmental and sporting organizations who seem powerless to combat the flow of misery. It is a tragedy with no firm numbers, but the tragedy is real and joining us for an important episode on the escalation of displaced African men, herded like cattle along with other victims of a trade that amounts to modern day slavery, is photojournalist Jason Andrew whose most recent work - Black Diamonds - is the cover story of Leica Fotografie International. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, FT Weekend Magazine, and The New Yorker, and Jason was also a finalist for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award in 2012, focusing on just one part of the world in Istanbul, Turkey where he has chronicled a three year descent into a visceral study into the despair and tragedy that has become life for increasing numbers of Western African footballers sold on the promise of riches and celebrity. For nearly a decade, Istanbul has become a dumping ground for athletes left abandoned after promised contracts with Turkish clubs failed to materialize, stranding many of them in a cycle of poverty and unemployment, a story that touches all corners of the sporting, law enforcement and immigration landscapes. Some would argue that this is not a football problem alone - and they would be right in pointing out that the aftermath lands in the immigration arena - but after decades in which unlicensed agents have been allowed to operate in loose association with football clubs and no institutional complementarity between the work of the European Union on human rights and the work of the Council of Europe, sporting institutions have been able to reap huge windfalls from the depressed economies found all over the African continent. Effectively, the clubs and the players agents have placed themselves conveniently in that all important central position where they alone can make lucrative deals for African talent and, in some cases, when an agent represents both the club and the player it has historically allowed the agents to accrue revenues from both sides. We examine some contradictions and also the huge blind spot of the FIFA Transfer Matching System, the perfect storm that lies ahead as women athletes seem poised to be the next commodity as football traffickers also link into global sex trafficking and what life looks like for the abandoned as the years begin to pile on. The answers to trafficking offer more blanks than answers, but ignore it any further is to claim ignorance in the face of what appears to be the biggest ticking timebomb in the sport today. Thousands will soon become millions displaced and it is the biggest and worse kept secret, where literally the human toll has spilled all over Europe, the Middle East and Asia with NGOs and even the United Nations left undermanned to combat this heinous practice.

In the aftermath of two heavy defeats to league and top four challengers Manchester City and Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur have parted company with first team manager Andre Villas-Boas as expectations of top four suddenly felt a hard setback in the afterglow of a truly busy off-season that saw a superstar in Gareth Bale sold to Real Madrid and no less than seven new acquisitions who were always going to need time to settle. Joining us to discuss the issues for Spurs at the moment is Les Ferdinand who join the Tottenham staff in 2008 and will remain on hand to assist another former Spurs player in Tim Sherwood, who has now been appointed caretaker manager to help navigate the club through this next period of real transition as the team heads for the challenge of winter football. We discuss the roles of AVB and Director Franco Baldini during that busy summer transfer period, dissect some of the perception about the style of play and really get underneath the challenge of seeing so many players arrive from such diverse backgrounds in one short period of spending. Surely a daunting period for Tottenham as it is sure that a clear mandate is in place where club management expects nothing less than top four in 2013-14.

Just as Luis Suarez claims the FSF Player of the year award on the heels of another astonishing performance at White Hart Lane over the weekend, disaster came in other forms for Arsenal at the hands of a rampant Manchester City, and then there was even more despair to be had as both clubs drew European giants who will certainly feel they have an important claim on the Champions League trophy this May. However, all eyes for us start nowhere other than Arsenal which has been dealt a poor set of cards this week, losing the top seed in their group at Napoli and then handed a severe blow at the behest of a Manchester City team which now appears to have translated its investment into an astonishing level of form. Robbie Earle from NBC Sports drops in on segment two to take a deeper look into the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, speak to that emergence of Manchester City at the weekend with yet one more question to answer in terms of away form and defensive resilience that has yet to prove itself worthy of a title credentials. We also examine the fallout from the Steve Clarke sacking at West Bromwich Albion and whether the combination of the Premier League TV money and new coaching trends in light of Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton has chairmen and the boards of midtable clubs thinking in a new direction. We also examine the fortunes for Chelsea of late and consider whether Jose Mourinho might just be a couple of players in the market from making yet one more move on the Premier League and the Champions League given that the team has continued to push on without ever having played its best football. In the last segment we then take a first look at the Champions League draw for the early story lines and consider whether Bayern Munich might just be edging to a bit of history while an established giant in AC Milan talks of European DNA with a philosophy that does no honor to its tradition and pedigree. Loads of cliche blender references, talk of Manchester United nearing the transfer window as more than reinforcement and perhaps a verdict on Serie A as Juventus has answered every question in Serie A but has not yet addressed the part of that squad which separates them from true European success.

In perhaps defiance of history and even convention where two term national team managers are concerned, Sunil Gulati and US Soccer made a rather surprising move by extending the contract of Jurgen Klinsmann for four more years before a ball is even kicked in Brazil this summer while adding on what could be an even more desired title when he was also surprisingly handed the role of technical director. Time will tell as whether this secondary role is more coveted than the job of US National Team coach for the former Bayern Munich and Germany coach, but what is clear is that US Soccer seemed confident enough - and maybe concerned too - that allowing Klinsmann to test the waters after 2014 was not a risk it wanted to endure. We examine several facets of this extension in part one, try to get under the timing of the deal and begin to question whether we will see Klinsmann leading this team come 2018, knowing that major work will need to be done in the aftermath of the World Cup, and if he should retreat back into the strategic part of the program that will have a bigger impact longer term on the direction of the US program. In part two, we measure the possibilities and probabilities of escaping Group G against Germany, Ghana and Portugal and try to explore a couple of factors that could lend themselves to the US cause. The match ups may suggest trouble for Klinsmann six months in advance of the actual competition, but there is a possibility that the US could advance should it march out to grab all three matches in the first match against Ghana. At the end of part two we also take a look at the ongoing issue with MLS TV ratings nationwide, examine the figures and weigh in on the league MVP Mike Magee and how transformative that deal really was to an LA Galaxy team who seemingly had a three-peat well within its grasp.

Miguel Herrera has been a man under the microscope at the end of 2013 as he helped guide Mexico past the World Cup playoffs and New Zealand to give El Tri a chance at redemption this summer in Brazil, but now finds himself in just as big a task as he leads Club America for its 12th title with national sensation Leon and Rafa Marquez seeking to knock the giants off its perch. Joining us to discuss these matters is Mexican correspondent Martha Guerra to examine where Mexico finds itself after a fortune draw in Brazil that will only get tougher should the Herrera lead the team into the iron of the knockout rounds. We also evaluate maybe his biggest decisions yet as the final selection will beg an important question as he must decide between what delivered success with an entire roster of domestic players and a class of overseas talent based in Europe who did not perform for the three managers who proceeded him in CONCACAF qualification. We examine which players could break into that final World Cup roster, who makes sense to be included and who are the figures that Herrera should avoid. Also discussed here is the rebirth of Rafa Marquez with a very popular Leon team and an emerging star named Carlos Pena who has delivered at precisely the right moment. We also examine the arrival of Antonio Mohamed at America who will replace Miguel Herrera in January as he steps aside to fully concentrate on the national team and what he should bring to the Mexican giants in terms of leadership for a club where the controversy and ambitions are always at the highest level. Martha Guerra has been a contributor to ESPNdeportes.com and a sports commentator for over two decades. She has experience in television and radio and on ESPN Radio Formula since 1993 as an analyst for tennis and golf, as well as special coverage of France 98, and as a magazine and newspaper columnist specializing in Mexican and world sport.

Joining us for his third appearance on the show is one of the rising stars in AFC coaching, a former player with Southampton who continues to lift a tiny nation of 180,000 to its highest level worldwide ranking, moving Guam up 27 slots and becoming a beacon of success for the FIFA Income Generation and FIFA Goal Projects as the AFC aims to leave its mark in 2014 and beyond. Gary joins us to discuss how trends of futility were addressed and reshaped and how the vision set by strong leadership and vision have brought Guam into a serious spotlight, where even a tiny bit of investment and serious planning has paved the way for success. It was not too long ago when Guam would find itself on the losing end of double-digit defeats and now with a fresh look at playing style, coaching and tactical philosophy in concert with dedication to details has transformed a football association through realistic goals and top-down accountability. We also take a look at a number of topics including the rising standards across much of the AFC elite in the Far East, the coming Chinese wave of success built not only on a strong super-club, but also the challenge of retooling its grassroots, and then we leverage that example to dig into what is being done in England to both challenge a reshaping of its football landscape and the way its young players should and must be developed in the future. Gary is an early adopter for young British managers, one of 16 FA Elite Pro License holders in the world, who has also become a FIFA and AFC coaching education instructor and was part of an AFC/East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) Technical Study Group and wrote the technical report for EAFF finals in Korea last July which included Japan, Korea, China and Australia. His take on the Japan and Korea national teams heading for Brazil is very interesting and worth the listen as a changing in the old guard could emerge next summer in the World Cup.

With all the attention of the world now on Brazil in the lead up to the World Cup draw, both readiness for the summer tournament and a Campeonato Brasileiro quite like no other comes to a close where a champion says goodbye to its coach, a Sudamericana champion could get relegated and two more big names in Brazilian football could join them. Joining to discuss these matters and many more is TV Globo and FootBrazil commentator Bira Brasil and we begin nowhere more significant than a crane disaster that claimed the lives of two workers as final touches on a stadium roof turned fatal and it serves as an important backdrop on the readiness of not only the stadiums themselves, but also the infrastructure that supports them. Then we turn our attention to Felipão - Luiz Felipe Scolari - who has completely turned the tide for the national team, molding the group into a clear favorite to take a sixth World Cup next summer. We examine his evolution and what makes Scolari so successful as a national team manager, evaluate the national team performances of Robinho and why he continues to impress and then take a new look at Kaka who suddenly seems ready to complicate roster decisions come May. Then we turn our attention to the 2013 Brasileiro in terms of winners and losers, but also taking a deeper look at defending champions Corinthians who will say goodbye to its very popular manager Tite and will reopen the doors to Mano Menezes in 2014. In closing we take one more look at Atletico Miniero as Ronaldinho who is now ready to perform in the FIFA Club World Cup just one more time as the Copa Libertadores champion looks set to take on Bayern Munich in the final if form and reputations come through.

The questions only begin for England as the World Cup draw has placed the Three Lions into Group D with Costa Rica, Italy and Uruguay and joining us to take a first look into what it could mean for Roy Hodgson and the England National Team is Oliver Kay of The Times to wade into the first analysis and how several factors could unfold before next June. We compare comments before and after about the stadium locations versus the opponents actually drawn, what it may mean for the team come next summer and if this overriding sense of terribly low expectations could force Roy Hodgson to be a bit more liberal in his selection choices or if that point of view matches up to the facts and whether it serves what is best for England in the longer term picture. In part two, we examine the latest story lines plastered all over the backpages including all the speculation surrounding the future of Andre Villas-Boas who has launched angry retorts to the press already as results have not materialized as fast as could be expected, the ongoing transitional missteps at Old Trafford for David Moyes and how a recent result against Everton has both confirmed perceptions for some while also starting to build a false narrative about what he actually accomplished at Goodison Park. Then we close on the matter of Arsenal Football Club to gauge their title credentials as Roberto Martinez leads his expressive group of upstarts into a key fixture come Sunday.

Another instant classic in the bag - classic rock and rock and a deep look into the magic being spun at Bayern Munich in 2013-14 with international commentator Tim Caple who joins to spin tales of Sammy Hagar and the man with all the mystique, Pep Guardiola, who remains unbeaten in both the Bundesliga and Champions League, setting records and the pace across the football world. On the heels of an historical final, Bayern Munich have reset and look even more devastating given real fuel to the thought that their best buy this off-season was the former Barcelona manager who not only has great talent, but talent multiplied by versatility and design, serving a wake up call to every other club in the Bundesliga that the sledding will get tougher in the second half of the season with the three major contenders all set to visit the Allianz in the return fixture. We take a deeper dive look into each of those clubs, with particular emphasis on Dortmund, Schalke and Leverkusen and repeatedly come up with the same answer. There is no chance, no way back for any of them. In part two we examine a couple of the key dark horse in Holland and Italy for the World Cup, evaluate whether a European club does have a chance to take that trophy in the South American climate and always - but always - there are enough boxing and musical references to help color the discussion.

And then there were two remaining - Sporting Kansas City is set to host Real Salt Lake for the trophy that awaits one winner on Saturday night and helping us dissect a couple of key factors leading into that match is ESPN FC columnist Jeff Carlisle, including the key midfield battle, some emerging figures for each club and where we could find an edge or two that might tip this contest between system and intangibles. We also examine the pending decision before RSL coach Jason Kreis who seems on the verge of a big money move to NYCFC, key players and a couple of players who could dictate the balance of the outcome including Graham Zusi, Javier Morales, Luis Gil and the mysterious case of Claudio Bieler as a potential late substitute if Kansas City ends up chasing the result. We also consider the impact of two smaller market teams in light of a much discussed TV ratings problem for the league, recent comments by Don Garber in response to these questions and the downstream impact of expansion and if MLS has a major concern brewing with its talent pool as lucrative franchise fees are being collected and the talent pool appears to be thinning. We then to the matter of the World Cup draw for the United States, examine the impact of CONCACAF qualification and whether it is an indicator of success once the Finals unfold and consider whether Jurgen Klinsmann is now entering the most important phase of tenure with several key roster and logistical questions that have yet to be answered.

With eight of the top 16 of the Champions League group stage already booked for the knockout rounds, football commentator Janusz Michallik joins us once again to take a look back at Matchday 5 with a solid eye on what could come to pass in the final and conclusive round of the Group Stage to determine who has the edge in each of the key battles that will define what could transpire next week. We begin, of course, with the questions on Bayern Munich who still have it all to play for against Manchester City and group supremacy at the Allianz arena, the emergence of PSG and Real Madrid as two of the five undefeated sides this season and a real sleeper in Atletico Madrid who may not be a favorite, but now stand as the team that few clubs would want to face in a two-legged knockout draw. Also examined here are two perplexing sides in Chelsea and AC Milan, and whether Ajax could spoil the party for a Rossoneri team surrounded by turmoil off the pitch and too much indecision at times by its manager. Also discussed are the two clubs who would need some help in the draw to go deep in Manchester United and Juventus and then we finish with a whirlwind quickfire round on all the key Matchday 6 match-ups that offer the prize of single-elimination football after the New Year. Loads of background and analysis here, and we close out the show with a ranking who are the top three favorites to take it all at this early stage with one very important mention with respect to Lionel Messi and Barcelona who might just need the break to reset and energize before the truly biggest matches resume.