The Pros and Cons of Indonesia's 2018 World Cup Bid

Indonesia's bid to host the World Cup 2018 comes as a suprise for many. The All Indonesian Football Federation made history when they were the first Asian side to qualify for a World Cup, playing as the Dutch East Indies, in 1938. Indonesia has since failed to qulify for the World Cup. Here are the Pros and Cons of Indonesia's attempt to host the World Cup.

PROS

Indonesia is centrally located. It is in relative close proximity to India, China, Indo-China, and Australia. The country has a large population (240 Million), and FIFA could capitalize on a successful World Cup that might establish Football there as the number one sport. In 2004, Vision Asia, a strategic development plan envisioned by AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam, has been introduced to Indonesia to assist them in elevating football standards in the country. A World Cup and an automatic qualification to the World Cup for the Indonesian National Team might speed up this process and could help establish Indonesia as a competitor. The Indonesian Super League is very popular and will be expanded to 36 Clubs, which are playing for the Championship in two divisions. This means that there is a league structure in place that could benefit from new Stadiums and that there is also a fan base that would support a World Cup. Japan one of the two Asian competitors for 2018 World Cup has the handicap that it staged the World Cup in 2002. China at the first glance seems to be the better candidate for Asia, but China looks fragile during the current financial crisis. China also has the problem that its local league is full of corruption, and the 2008 Olympics in China also showed that Human Rights are not helped in China by staging a top event there.

Cons

Although the country's playing population numbers more than five million, the country's footballing development has been hampered by its unique geography. The country is split into 17,508 Islands, and is ethnically very diverse. The ethnically make up of Indonesia has let to violence over the recent years, and the World Cup could become a target for terrorist groups, who a fighting for more rights or independence. Indonesia's National Team is also not very strong and the danger is that the host nation would be eliminated early in the competition. Another problem is that Indonesia would be the third developing country in a row to host the World Cup. South Africa (2010), and Brazil (2014) are both developing countries and FIFA might opt to give the World Cup to an established nation. There is also the prospect of China, who is also applying for the 2018 World Cup. Sepp Blatter the head of FIFA has stated several times that he would like the World Cup to be staged in China at some point. Furthermore, Europe which is Football's largest market would then have been without a World Cup for 16 years. England has put in a bid for the 2018 World Cup and the chances a high that the motherland of Football will get the competition.

Summary

I personally believe that a World Cup in Indonesia would be a fabulous idea. The country co-hosted the Asian Championships, which can be called a success. Now it is time for Indonesia to prove that they are a Football nation, let them have the World Cup both FIFA and the region can only win.

Austria Salzburg a lost Club recreated.

In 2005, Red Bull bought SV Austria Salzburg, and rebranded it. Red Bull announced that this is a new club with no history, SV Austria ceased to exist. But the same year the fans of the Violet got together and refounded their team. SV Austria restarted in the 2. Klasse Nord the seventh League in Austria. Consecutive promotions has brought the club to the 2nd Landesliga Salzburg the 4th tier in the Austrian pyramid. This year the club is again leading the league, and it seems that promotion again is ensured. The club is not the only club that has been recreated by the fan base. In England FC United of Manchester was founded by disgruntled fans, who were unhappy by Manchester United's takeover by the Glazier Family. AFC Wimbledon was founded after the FC Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes to play under the new name MK Dons. In Japan perhaps the most successful example is the refounding of the Yokohama Flügels as Yokohama FC. Yokohama FC actually found its way back into the Japanese top flight.

Austria Salzburg, could be the second club that might return to top flight status after being refounded by its fans. The club has made fast process towards the Austrian top league, and who knows maybe in the near future their will be a derby in Salzburg between Red Bull and Austria. The Red Bull brand has been semi-successfull. In Austria the team is a success, but has failed to reach any International honours. Mateschitz the Red Bull owner had hoped to create a successfull football brand in Austria, but he failed to realize that the Austrian Bundesliga is simply not strong enough to maintain an internation top class team. His attempt to create a German Bundesliga team in Leipzig has failed as both Sachsen, and Lokomotive Leipzig have refused to sell their naming rights.

It will be a huge victory for the Football Romantics if Austria manages to return to the top flight. Surely Austria will draw more fans in the Bundesliga then Red Bull. It would be fascinating to see what will happen to Red Bull with another show in town.

Jersey of the Month

This months jersey is an instant classic. The 2008/09 1860 Munich jersey created by Erima. With the the stylized Bavarian Lion in the bottom, this Jersey is a throwback version of the 1994/95 season Lotto Jersey (on the Right). Erima became the new jersey producer for 1860 last summer an vowed to come out with a product that would be specifically created for 1860. They stayed true to their promise and created a jersey that is as such unique in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga, perhaps even in all of Europe. The jersey is also available in light blue and white, with white being the base colour and blue the colour of the Lion. The Green and Gold jersey is in fact the teams third jersey. Few people know that the actual colours of the club are Green and Gold, and that the Blue and White that 1860 usually wears are actually only the colours of the Football department of the Sports Club. The Lion was chosen as the symbol of the club, because the club was founded in the Löwenbräu (Lion Brew) beerhall. To destinguish the Löwenbräu Lion from the 1860 Lion the club added a second tail.

The return of the Bundesliga

Tomorrow the wait is over. The Bundesliga is finally returning, and the opening match could not be more potent. The Bundesliga "Dino", Hamburg has never been relegated and is the only team in the Bundesliga that has played every season in the league since its founding, Hamburg against the record champion Bayern. But there is more the two teams are also only two points apart. In fact a Hamburg win tomorrow could place them first in the league. Hamburg has not won the league since 1983 and this might be their year. Bayern on the other hand could make a step towards the title by defeating a direct competitor to the title. The league this year is tight competition and it will be interesting to see who will pick up the title in the end. The other two favorites are 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen. Hoffenheim is the big suprise this year, the team was promoted last year and has played the most exciting football in all of Europe. Leverkusen as well has a fantastic team, and their style of play is very similar to Hoffenheim. Both teams have very young squads and the worry is that neither of them will be consistent enough to stay on the top. It will also be interesting to see how the injury of Vedad Ibisevic will affect the play of Hoffenheim. Hoffenheim has brought in Sanogo from Bremen to replace Ibisevic, but Sanogo has a reputation for inconsistency and it remains to be seen if he can replace Ibisevic. The title race should be a close one and if we are lucky the Bundesliga will not be decided until the last day.

The Wunderteam - The blog on Soccer Culture

In the 1930s the Austrian Wunderteam inspired the masses of continental Europe. The team was mostly selected from the big Austrian clubs. But the team represented much more then fantastic football. Vienna of the 1930s was also a cultural capital. The coffee houses transpired the "Wiener Schmäh" the flair of Vienna. The cultural elite would meet and many footballers were part of this elite. Hugo Meisl the coach of the team famously announced his squads for the national team in the coffee houses, and often the team was picked not by the coach but by the press, which put the pressure on Meisl. This site is to reflect the cultural glory that is often forgotten in todays football world. I want to bring up topics that do not always include the David Beckhams, the Steven Gerrards, or any of the other gloryfied players. This is also not a blog on the so called WAGs or players wives, but a blog on football culture. Furthermore, this blog will not be centered on the English Premier League, but will also include other leagues. As such lets enjoy the glory that is football.