The Sweeper: John Terry Bribed His Own FIFA Vote, Or Something

Once the English press has sunk its teeth into you, it’ll find anything to try and ramp up the pressure, making a parody of itself in the process. Hence the new “storm” today over John Terry’s selections for FIFA’s World Player of the Year award.

“John Terry FIFA vote storm: England captain names Chelsea pal Michael Ballack as No 2 player in the world (but doesn’t rate runaway winner Lionel Messi)” headlines the Daily Mail, “revealing” (as if all the votes hadn’t been available to the public as PDF downloads since the vote winners were announced yesterday) Terry chose Drogba, Ballack and Iniesta as his vote-winners, meaning he apparently “faces further questions about his professional judgment” (from who, it’s not said).

Last year, Terry voted for Xavi, Fernando Torres and Cristiano Ronaldo, suggesting he just doesn’t rate Messi has highly as some of his Barcelona teammates, a judgment some might say is actually fairly astute. Voting for his own Chelsea teammates this year might have been a little selfish, but it’s pretty clear the “nepotism” Goal.com says questions the validity of FIFA’s system because of Terry’s choices is neither restricted to Terry not exactly much of a secret.

After all, looking at the list of votes, Eto’o voted for three of his old Barcelona pals, Javier Mascherano picked Steven Gerrard in his votes, Thierry Henry picked three current or former Barca teammates (Messi, Eto’o, Xavi), Iker Casillas picked two of his Madrid teammates (Ronaldo, Kaka) and Zlatan Ibrahimovich picked three Barcelona teammates (Messi, Xavi, Iniesta). I could go on, but I’m starting to feel sympathy for John Terry, and that isn’t a pleasant feeling.

Worldwide News

The English football world has settled on its villain in the Man City debacle, and it’s bumbling CEO Garry Cook, who kindly dug his own grave for the press yesterday by sending out a press release with a blatant lie about when City had first discussed the managerial job with Roberto Mancini. The text of the press release, incidentally, has since been altered on City’s website to reflect Cook’s new recollection of the course of events.
Meanwhile, the growing number of Italian managers in the English game is shockingly revealed to be down to the money they are paid here and not “altruism” by the Independent, in an otherwise good piece on the contingent.
Following up on yesterday’s discussion about Marta winning the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year award, there’s an excellent podcast discussion of the award with Shek Borkowski at Set Piece Analysts. Worth a listen as Shek discusses the lack of global awareness even within the women’s game on performance around the world.
Latest stadium news across North America: the heavy machinery has arrived in Kansas City, Missouri as construction begins on the Wizards new digs; the Vancouver Whitecaps find a temporary location while BC Place is renovated; there is more on the Houston Dynamo’s continued hunt for their own home; and the Portland Timbers’ design plans for PGE Park are revealed, looking like it will keep its intimate feel.

The Sweeper appears every weekday, and once at the weekend. For more rambling and links throughout the day every day, follow your editor Tom Dunmore @pitchinvasion on Twitter.

2 Responses to "The Sweeper: John Terry Bribed His Own FIFA Vote, Or Something"

Matthew N says:

December 22, 2009 at 5:44 pm

If I had a ballot, I would have put Drogba at #1. I don’t fault Terry for expressing his honest opinion (along with some favoritism maybe). It would be irresponsible of him to vote for someone whom he didn’t know that much about or someone who he didn’t really believe deserved the award. I think a strong case can be made for Drogba. I don’t see what the problem is with this.
Flanagan says:

December 23, 2009 at 6:35 pm

Even Drogba’s most ardent detractors, among which I nominate myself President/Controller, can’t argue that if United’s defensive struggles continue, and if he sustains his current form to season’s end, Chelsea will probably win the title. That means he’ll probably be up against Ronaldo and Messi again (at least Ronaldo, if he continues scoring like he is, he’ll be up there), and if his form helps carry Cote D’Ivoire to an ACoN final berth, he’ll have a strong case for both the continental and world awards.

That said, how John Terry can honestly vote for Michel Ballack is a fucking mystery, even, I would imagine, to casual Chelsea fans. Ballack rides on a reputation of brilliance that can only be supported by his often stunningly catalytic international play. I believe, when one considers his contract, that any rational person can only surmise that he is a banefully average-to-just-above-average Premier League player.

How can anyone, for that matter, rationally boast Ballack as being anywhere near the best player in the world. I mean, c’mon.

Can we really say that JT doesn’t know that much about — RONALDO, XAVI, KAKA, INIESTA — as well?

Would anyone out there take Ballack over any of those 4 players on any team you were playing for/managing/supporting?

That said, perhaps the fact that Terry knows VERY much about three of those four players — if his slights, both verbal and in book form are any indication — would make it fair to say that he’s voted with his “emotions,” which is his RIGHT.

The reason why this is a big deal, in my opinion, is because JT has increasingly over the last decade been cast equally by many supporters and pundits as the mold from which the yardstick of uber British (sporting) integrity, an enduring emblem of the English working class values that once completely permeated the sport until the creation of the EPL (though, that didn’t stop him from getting drunk and taunting Americans post-9/11 — a fact no one should ever forget, though we should forgive. Perhaps.)

This veneer’s shine, to indulge a cliche, has certainly been ground and scratched to significant degree as of late — even Rio Ferdinand didn’t use a potential transfer to leverage his controversial contract dispute back in 2005. The difference for me is that JT initiated his contract talks out of the blue(s), pardon the pun, with the help of Citeh (who would now probably pay him 300,000 a week, in truth). In fact, JTs “loyalties” are more in line with the man who would be his closet rival for the aforementioned mantle of veneration, Gerrard, who almost joined him at Chelsea. I think anyone would be hard pressed to maintain that over the past season or so Gerrard, oft injured just like Ballack, wouldn’t have been more deserving of Terry’s vote than Ballack is/was.

As it seems, the man who has cultivated his millions — be it through his newish 170,00 a week contract or his fledging career as a ticket tout — by playing up to the anointed personification of the British Bulldog is one of the biggest, shadiest fucking money grubbers around.

But that’s his RIGHT as well. In our day and time, it’s rather ridiculous to label players money grubbing assholes — it goes without saying. If one barely had a high school education and were given 10-15 years to accrue as much wealth as possible, many of us would become so.

However, many supporters are looking for something else, and many have been searching for tears in Terry’s work dungarees for quite some time. As it turns out, many such tears aren’t the result of hard tackling; therefore, many of us were/are right about him, and so those who’ve been drafting the design plans to embroider his face over the intersections of the St. George cross and Union Jack over the past 6 or so years might want to rethink their unwavering dedication to such a questionable, uh, gentleman.

That said, such flags would make an interesting juxtaposition with those AIG emblazoned United strips — if Gary Cook were running both up a flag pool, a cynical-yet-not-inaccurate visual metaphor for the present condition of premier English football might be complete.

Who knows.

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