News for the Day: FIFA Rankings and Other Trivial Nuggets

October 20th, 2010 | by: Julian |

No, not these kind of nuggets. News nuggets!

Firstly, in the saga over the Serbia game and what FIFA should do, new rumblings have emerged. Football-Italia reports that FIFA will indeed hand Italy a 3-0 win, but with a few caveats. As expected, Serbia will have to play 3 games behind closed doors, and if further trouble should arise, could be barred from the upcoming Euros. However, FIFA thinks that the FIGC are partially accountable for hooligans entering the stadium and are going to give Italy a suspended sentence of two games behind closed doors. This means that if any other crowd trouble arise, those two games will indeed be behind closed doors. If Italy stay blemish free throughout the rest of qualifying, that clause won’t be triggered. None of this is confirmed, mind you, but seems rather likely. I think it’s pretty fair. Serbia takes the lions’s share of the blame, as they should, and Italy gets a warning to tighten up security.

Pierluigi Collina has been named the best referree of the past 25 years by the IFFHS. Pierluigi Pairetto is the other Italian in the top 10, coming in at number 9. Which proves that great things do come in twos, whether it’s a repeated first name or a last name that has the word “pair” in it. Congrats to them both.

Casiraghi has left his job as the Azzurrini manager. Arrigo Sacchi is in charge of finding a successor.

Finally, those silly FIFA rankings have been released again. And yes, we fell. Again. To 16th.

Capture

These are apparently the teams we are on par with.

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dye_go

Okay… so FIFA rankings are useless and never make sense. We know this already. But… but… HOW THE HELL DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER?!
Gaetano

they are such haters.
agiamba

Pierluigi is a league-fixing clown.

Pairetto is not.

One was banned for Calcio, but they got the wrong one…
Mo_dudes

Italy vs. Serbia = fair call to hand Italy 3-0, suspension sentence of two games behind closed doors a fair judgement against any further disturbance shall this occur, FIGC and the useless President should take a note on that.

I am glad to see Casiraghi has left Azzurrini, 4 years of disappointment, he had a punch of talented players during his era but his tactics where poor and not efficient. Winning 2-0 in Italy then lose 3-0 in Belarus is something unacceptable.

I for one hate this system Fifa uses in rating the national sides, however, looking at it with truth hurts the Azzurri now is indeed far away from the REAL AZZURRI. We got beaten from Egypt in 2009; Beaten from Ghana, Mexico, Slovakia and drew with N. Ireland in 2010. Common people we all have to realize that it will take some time for the Azzurri to be among the best three in the world at least from our sides not the corrupted Fifa.
Paolo

Maybe Italy are ranked this low because the Serbia game is not counted; had Italy won or drawn, they may have been higher up. Some of those higher teams make no sense, nonetheless. Russia climbed 15 spots despite losing to Slovakia in Euro qualifying and not making the World Cup. Norway hasn't qualified for any tournament in a decade but are not only ranked higher but moved up a spot.