International Football
Pele, Beckenbauer’s Teammate Now Taxi Driver
Not everyone who associated with the greats eventually turned great. That appears to be the case for a certain Santiago Formoso, a Spanish American who played alongside Pele and Franz Beckenbauer as a defender for five seasons in the North American Soccer League in the 1970s. He also earned seven caps for the US national team in 1976 and 1977.
While his other mates, especially the legendary Pele and charismatic Beckenbauer are still well respected names in sports, Formoso has relegated to the realm of anonymity. Sports Village Square gleaned from MARCA, a Spanish newspaper obtained online via Yahoosports and Business Insider that Formoso revealed he is now an Uber driver.
Pele is a UN ambassador for ecology and environment while Beckenbauer was a successful manager and now honorary president at Bayern Munich. Pele and Beckenbauer played with Formoso at New York Cosmos in the twightlight of their careers in the late 1970s.
But for one of their former Cosmos team-mates, life has been markedly different. Formoso had to change careers once he hung up his boots, just to make ends meet. The 63 year old regales his passengers with anecdotes from his playing days.
“I started as a taxi driver because I am fascinated by the steering wheel,” he reportedly told MARCA. “I shared a room with (Pelé). It was incredibly easy to play with him because he made the difficult things seem easy.”
Formoso played far more regularly with Beckenbauer, his defensive partner in the heart of the Cosmos rearguard for much of the 1978 and 1979 North American Soccer League seasons.
- Formoso in his playing days at New York Cosmos
“During a very hot day one summer, I was calmly drinking a coke when, all of a sudden, I noticed Beckenbauer tossing my can against the wall and stamping on it,” Formoso said.
“He was screaming that I was crazy due to the chemicals in the drink [but] then handed me a beer.”
The Formoso moved to New Jersey in the late 1960s and embarked on a long career in the North American Soccer League (NASL) long before the formation of Major League Soccer (MLS).
His skill with the ball earned him a scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania to study Art and Literature before even qualifying to be part of the United States Olympic team.
International Football
Portugal call up same player named in England Under-18 squad
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
International Football
Soon Cisse ceases to be Senegal’s Coach
After 107 matches spanning nine years, Aliou Cisse will not have his contract renewed as Senegal coach, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Of the 107 matches, Cisse’s team won 70, drew 24 and lost 13.
But the impressive scorecard is not enough to impress his employers.
Thus, the end beckons for Cisse’s successful nine-year spell in charge of the side that included a first Africa Cup of Nations title and two World Cup qualifications.
He had been under increasing pressure after Senegal’s surprise last 16 exit at the 2023 Cup of Nations when they lost on penalties to hosts Cote d’Ivoire.
Senegal are unbeaten in six matches since then, but home draws with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso, and criticism from certain quarters over their style of play, made up the mind of the country’s sports ministry, who fund the salary of the national team coach, that a change was needed.
“The FSF would like to thank Aliou Cisse for his good collaboration and his brilliant results at the head of the various national selections that he has managed since his arrival in 2011 and wish him every success for the future,” the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) said in a statement.
FSF added Cisse’s exit stemmed from a failure to fulfil the targets in his last contract, which expired at the end of August, which included victory at the 2023 Cup of Nations and reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
They also said the “regression of our national team in the FIFA rankings and the risk of disaffection between our national team and the Senegalese (public)” had played a role.
The FSF will appoint an interim technical team to lead the side in Cup of Nations qualifiers against Malawi at home on Oct. 11 and away four days later.
Cisse, 48, was captain of Senegal when they reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup with what is heralded as a golden generation of players.
He briefly had a spell as caretaker coach of the national team in 2012, but took over full time three years later.
He led Senegal to 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualification, making the last 16 in the latter before losing to England. They were beaten in the final of the 2019 Cup of Nations by Algeria.
The side made up for that disappointment when they beat Egypt in the final two years later to be crowned African champions for the first time.
International Football
Why FIFA banned Samuel Eto’o
Always in the news for bad reasons, Samuel Eto’o has again made global headlines. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned the former striker and the current president of the Cameroon Football Federation.
He is banned from attending Cameroon’s matches for the next six months for violating conduct rules during the recent U-20 Women’s World Cup, where his national team faced Brazil in the round of 16.
According to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, Eto’o was found to have breached articles 13 (“Offensive behaviour and violations of fair play principles”) and 14 (“Misconduct of players and officials”) of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code.
The sanction stems specifically from the match between Brazil and Cameroon, held on September 11 in Bogotá, Colombia. As a result, Eto’o will be prohibited from attending any matches involving Cameroon’s national teams, both male and female, across all age groups.
“Mr Eto’o has been notified today, the date on which the sanction comes into force,” stated the FIFA press release.
This is not the first time Eto’o has faced controversy. He previously drew attention for his behavior towards players and national team coach Marc Brys, whom he allegedly threatened in front of cameras if his directives were not followed.
During the Qatar World Cup, the former Real Madrid, Mallorca, and Barcelona player made headlines again after assaulting a fan who filmed him outside a stadium after a match.
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