London Calling?

by R. Sanborn Brown

With time winding down before the World Cup kickoff, neglected talent from Continental European soccer leagues is finding its way across the Channel and to starting positions on Premier League teams. In the last several weeks three big-name players—Youri Djorkaeff, Stig Tofting, and Patrick Mboma—have left their clubs and have headed to the "sanctuary" of the Premier League where they hope to sharpen up in time for the World Cup, reports an article on the sports pages of the Asahi Shinbun.

French international Djorkaeff was out of favor at his Bundesliga club Kaiserslautern, where he and coach Andreas Brehme were reportedly no longer on speaking terms. In a bid to maintain form and improve his chances to regain a place on defending champion France, he has transferred to the Bolton Wanderers, where Japan striker Akinori Nishizawa failed to make an impact and was sent packing back to the J-League earlier this season. Manager Sam Alladyce has assured Djorkaeff of playing time with an eye toward avoiding relegation. Bolton, which is currently near the bottom of the table in the Premier League, is no doubt in need of the tricky French midfielder's services. "Thanks to the transfer to Bolton, I hope to book a place on the national squad," said Djorkaeff.

Tofting, the "hard man of Danish soccer," was also getting little time on the pitch at Hamburg and was looking to leave his club. Like Djorkaeff, he also will be fleeing the German Bundesliga for Bolton. After passing a physical, he signed a contract through 2004. Coach Alladyce says he likes what he sees in Tofting, an experienced player who is determined to get back onto his national side.

Former Osaka Gamba star Mboma was struggling at Parma, in Italy's Serie A, where along with Hidetoshi Nakata he was warming the bench. Like Djorkaeff, he lost his starting spot after falling out of favor with his coach, Gidone Carmignani. He was recently picked up on loan until the end of the season by Sunderland. Former African Footballer of the Year, Mboma says he plans to "seduce" manager Peter Reid in order to make the transfer permanent.

Why England? Unlike other leagues—including Spain, Italy, and Germany—in which the transfer deadline is in January, the Premier League's deadline is not until the end of March. Moreover, with the bottom three teams in the Premiership facing demotion, weaker teams are now shopping around to add "emergency reinforcements" to avoid relegation. As of late February, Bolton is four from the bottom in 16th place, with Sunderland stalled at 13th.

There are also British players abroad who are likewise thinking of returning home. Rumors, for example, are swirling around Real Madrid's England international Steve McManaman. With a lineup that can choose from Zinedane Zidane, Luis Figo, Hernan Solari, Flavio Conceicao, and Jose Maria Gutierrez in midfield, McManaman is not seeing a lot of playing time. If he hopes to join the England squad in Japan this summer, he needs to find a way to get more time on the field.

Extra School Holidays

According to recent press reports in Japan, schools near Osaka's Nagai Stadium are considering closing or ending early on the day England plays Nigeria this summer to avoid any potential trouble with English Hooligans. The June 12th match kicks off at about the time children in neighboring schools will be let out and on their way home. One school board member said, "There is nothing more important than the safety of the children. There will be some who will say that we are overreacting, but this is Japan's first World Cup—and we can't predict what will happen."

There are a total of nine public elementary and junior high schools and one private junior high close to Nagai Stadium. In addition to the above match, there will be two other games at Nagai: on June 14th Japan will face Tunisia, and then on the 22nd there will be a quarterfinal. Both first round games start at 3:30, which overlaps with the end of the school day.

"We don't know how many Hooligans will come to Japan, or what they will do when they are here," said one official. The Head Teacher of Nagai Elementary School recently said, "We watched videos of the Hooligans in action, and no matter what kind of security you have in place, you can't stop them once they go crazy. At the same time, though, we can't say for sure that the students will be safe at home either. It's a real headache. We need more data and information."

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