Free movement is one fundamental human rights not only in one’s own country but also abroad. While speaking about Balkans I earlier have highlighted (e.g. “Forgotten Refugees – West Balkans“) the situation of Serb refugees or IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) who can not return to their original homes in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina or Kosovo. The fear is restricting also movement of Serbs living behind barbed wire in Kosovo enclaves. Besides refugees and IDPs also ordinary citizens can have restricted movement depending which passport they hold.

Visa restrictions play an important role in controlling the movement of foreign nationals across borders. They are also an expression of the relationships between individual nations, and generally reflect the relations and status of a country within the international community of nations.

Now a discussion paper made by European Stability Initiative (ESI) poppet to my eyes describing visa regulations in Kosovo with quite surprising outcome – people from all ethnic groups living in province can go visa free only to five countries while even people with Afghanistan passport (ranked as country which has the least travel freedom in the world) can go to 22 countries visa free. And this happens in Europe, in region which is on the road to EU membership, in province where EU has squandered billions of Euro to build international standards.

On the table below I have collected data from Henley & Partners ‘Visa Restriction Index’ 2008. I included rankings of top and lowest three ranks, ranks of Balkan and BRIC countries. From ESI paper I added Kosovo province (Kosovo is part of Serbia according UNSC resolution 1244/99, the current status can be described as international protectorate).

In February 2008 Kosovo declared independence. France was the first EU member state to recognize the new state, followed by Germany, Great Britain, and all but five other EU member states (Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain). The new Kosovo passport, first issued by the Kosovo Government in July 2008, is currently one of the least useful travel documents ever designed. Its holders can travel to only 5 countries visa free: neighbouring Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia, Turkey, and Haiti.

Latest developments

In my earlier article “EU’s visa freedom dividing Balkans” I described how “European perspective” is applied different ways in West Balkans. Briefly of the five regional states involved in the visa-liberalisation process, Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro have been approved for visa-free travel within the EU, as of January 2010. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania have been told that they might receive EU visa-free status later. Kosovo, on the other hand, has not been included in the process, as five of the 27 members of the EU have not recognised Kosovo’s independence.

In December 2008 the EU dispatched a Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) to Kosovo. It currently fields more than 1,622 EU and 1,021 local staff (total: 2,643). With an annual budget of over Euro 200 million it is the biggest EU mission of its kind ever launched. Its objective is to assist the development of Kosovo’s security and judicial institutions.

Schengen process, unilateral declaration of independence and EULEX raised expectations among Kosovo Albanians. However after civil war and these events Kosovo anyway remains one of the most isolated places on earth. While looking backwards the near history of region the change is quite drastic – some 20 years ago citizens of Yugoslavia could travel relatively free anywhere.

In August 2008 Serbia started issuing biometric passports, an EU roadmap requirement. A lucky 7,141 Kosovars received one. But in 2009 the European Commission asked Serbia to stop the issuance to Kosovars until a specific ‘Coordination Directorate’ at the Ministry of the Interior in Belgrade would be set up as the only body authorised to provide Kosovo residents with passports. Since the issuing authority is always mentioned in passports, this would make the passports of Kosovo residents distinguishable – and exclude their holders from visa free travel. In June 2009 Serbia thus stopped issuing biometric passports to Kosovo residents (including Kosovo Serbs).

Today’s outcome is the Commission proposal to add Kosovo to the Schengen ‘Black List’ as a territory on whose status the EU cannot yet agree (i.e. under UN Security Council resolution 1244), next to the Palestinian Authority and Taiwan. And the Commission did not even mention the possibility of a visa liberalisation process for Kosovo.

More from my main source ESI document.

Some other peculiarities

The wording of the European Commission proposal of 15 July 2009 stresses that visa free travel for Kosovars constitutes an overwhelming security risk. In the words of the Commission:

Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99 shall be added to Annex I of Regulation so that persons residing in Kosovo shall be submitted to the visa requirement. This proposal is motivated exclusively by objectively determined security concerns regarding in particular the potential for illegal migration stemming from and transiting through Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/1999. This is without prejudice to the current status of Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/1999.

This ’security risk’ idea, supported by some influential member states, would explain the Commission’s insistence on withholding visa free travel even from those Kosovo citizens equipped with new biometric Serbian passports – as opposed to withholding it from holders of Serbian biometric passports from any other country in the world (such as Bosnia and Herzegovina).

One other peculiarity related to country status visa freedom connection is the case of Taiwan. At this very moment, a serious visa dialogue between the European Commission and the Republic of Taiwan is under way. Taiwan has not been recognized by so much as a single EU member state. And yet, this is not seen as an obstacle. In mentioned Henley & Partners ‘Visa Restriction Index’ 2008 Taiwan has rank 54 and county’s passport holders can travel visa free to 59 countries.

Bosnia-Herzegovina is another strange example in Balkans. While most Bosnian Croats already have Croatian passports (with access to 108 countries) and since Republika Srpska residents can apply for and obtain Serbian passports (with access to 50 countries now and more 2010 after White list implementation), the Bosniaks with passport of Bosnia-Herzegovina can travel visa free only to 40 countries and will so far stay in Black list.

In Europe Pridnestrovie – aka Transnistria aka Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (PMR) – may be a country which passport has less use abroad than Kosovo passport as no country has recognised its independence. The region has practically been independent – if not recognized – state already over 17 years. Transdnistria has all statehood elements, more developed than e.g. Kosovo’s, its economy is relatively good with export to over 100 countries and it can manage without UN seat. The bright side of story is the fact that people living in Pridnestrovie however can use their Russian or Moldovan passports for travels abroad. More about Kosovo-Pridnestrovie comparison one may find from my article “Transnistria follow-up”.

Bottom line

In my earlier article “EU’s visa freedom dividing Balkans” I concluded following:

There is also well based arguments that the EU is isolating three mainly Muslim European states/regions – Albania, BiH and Kosovo – and Turkey as some in the EU fear the presence of such a large, Muslim community inside traditionally Christian Europe. Of course EU denies political aspects and highlights only the technical ones but from Balkan perspective the impression can differ.

Visa restrictions also are reflecting the political situation of the time e.g. some 20 years ago citizens of Yugoslavia could travel relatively free, but the breakup wars changed situation completely.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina the EU’s message now weakens already non-existent national identity and opposes EU’s earlier multi-ethnic ideals. In Kosovo some NGOs send a letter to EU where they state that Kosovo`s exclusion from the visa-liberalisation process threatens to transform Kosovo “into a ghetto without any way out”.
EU and international community have guided and supervised these regions towards “European standards”. So has EU failed with this task as those countries without outside supervision are getting visa-freedom earlier?

Sources of this article:

ESI Discussion Paper: Isolating Kosovo? Kosovo vs Afghanistan 5:22

European Stability Initiative (ESI) is a non-profit research and policy institute, created in recognition of the need for independent, in-depth analysis of the complex issues involved in promoting stability and prosperity in Europe. ESI was founded in June 1999 by a multi-national group of practitioners and analysts with extensive experience in the regions it studied.

Henley & Partners has analyzed the visa regulations of all the countries and territories in the world. It has created an index which ranks countries according to the visa-free access its citizens enjoy to other countries.

My earlier article “Visa rank and the western Balkans”

]]> http://greeceinfo.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/alternate-fm-wraps-up-balkan-tour/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:08:46 +0000 grpresspoland http://greeceinfo.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/alternate-fm-wraps-up-balkan-tour/

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas wrapped up a tour of Western Balkans, on November 20. During three days, he visited Serbia, where he held talks with the Serbian FM, Vuk Jeremic and met also with president Boris Tadic, conveying the Greek government’s will to play a leading role in the Balkan region, by promoting the European accession of all Western Balkans countries.He then visited Montenegro (first photo) and Bosnia-Herzegovina where he held talks with both countries’ leaders, outlining the Greek initiative “Agenda 2014,” for the Western Balkans’ accession to the EU.After meeting Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj, Droutsas said that Greece will be a partner and friend in this country’s course towards Europe.In Albania – the final leg of this tour- Droutsas discussed with the country’s leadership the “Agenda 2014,” as well as bilateral issues.

“My presence here underlines the importance we attribute to bilateral relations and to the European course of Albania,” he said after talks with his Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta.The minister also met with Tirana mayor Eddy Rama (second photo) and the Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania Anastasios.Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Op Ed by Alternate FM Mr. D. Droutsas (Politika, Korieri, Koha Yone, Pobjeda, Oslobodjenje) & Balkans Bilateral Relations

BiH, Istočna Bosna, 2009. Rijeka Drina

BiH, Mioča, 2009. Kemal Hasečić i njegova majka povratnici u selo Mioč kod Rudog

BiH, Istočna Bosna, 2009.

BiH, Rudo, 2009. Spomenik poginulim Srbima u ratu 1992-1995

BiH, Višegrad, 2009. Pomoć bošnjačkim povratnicima u Višegrad i okolna mjesta

BiH, Goražde, 2009.

BiH, Višegrad, 2009. Ostaci minirane kuće od strane Srpske vojske u ratu 1992-1995

BiH, Višegrad, 2009. Most Mehmed-paše Sokolovića na rijeci Drini

FOTO: Vranac Mahir

UEFA

La mano de Therry Henry que eliminó a Irlanda del Mundial.

FRANCIA 1 (2) – (1) 1 IRLANDA
La selección de Irlanda que había perdido en Dublín ante su similar de Francia 0-1 con el gol de Anelka, derrotó al equipo galo en el Stade de France 0-1 y llevó el partido al alargue. El gol de los verdes llegó al minuto 31’ por intermedio de Robbie Keane, quien remató de seguido un centro de Damian Duff que venía desde la línea de fondo. Francia fue nulo en ofensiva e Irlanda mereció por lo menos un gol más.
Al final el global igualado a uno y con ello el tiempo suplementario se hizo presente. Al minuto 112’ un tiro libre a favor de Francia acabó en la red con un cabezazo de William Gallas, sin embargo la jugada del gol estuvo lleno de yerros arbitrales. Primero Escudé estaba en offside, después Henry retuvo la pelota con la mano y se la acomodó, para centrar a la cabeza de Gallas. El árbitro dio gol pese a los reclamos del arquero Shay Given y compañía.
Francia al mundial después de todo.

ESLOVENIA 1 (2) – (2) 0 RUSIA
SORPRESA!!! La selección rusa de Arshavin y dirigida por el holandés Guss Hiddink no estará en Sudáfrica. El equipo ruso quedó fuera por el gol de visitante que marcó Eslovenia, ya que habían empatado en el global. El gol de Zlatko Dedic al 44’ ante la pasividad de la defensa y el arquero ruso permitió la segunda clasificación eslovena a un mundial. Para colmo de males, los rusos tuvieron que buscar la remontada en la segunda parte con dos hombre menos por las expulsiones de Zhirkov y Kerzhakov.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 0 (0) – (2) 1 PORTUGAL
La selección bosnia jugó con el tiempo y a marcar el gol en cualquier momento, sin embargo su exceso de paciencia fue castigada en un contragolpe que finalizó con el gol de Raul Meireles al 56’. Salihovic de Bosnia fue expulsado en la segunda parte.

UCRANIA 0 (0) – (1) 1 GRECIA
Ucrania sufrió en casa una de las derrotas más dolorosas de su historia. El gol de Salpingidis al 31’ con remate cruzado, fue suficiente para los de Otto Rehhagel. Los ucranianos liderados por Shevchenko fueron incapaces de romper la muralla griega. Al final Grecia regresa a la Copa del Mundo después de 16 años.

CAF

ARGELIA 1-0 EGIPTO
En el grupo C de la eliminatoria africana, Egipto y Argelia terminaron empatados en todos los rubros de desempate que utiliza FIFA (puntos, gol diferencia y goles a favor), por lo que fue necesario un repechaje en sede neutral, y el país escogido fue Sudán. Al minuto 40’ Antar Yahia se convirtió en el ídolo de Argelia al marcar el único gol del juego. Argelia participará por tercera vez en un mundial (1982 y 1986), mientras que los bicampeones africanos verán el mundial por televisión.

TRANSLATION: JESSICA YEVICS (THANK YOU!!)

My friend Pérez tends to say that, in his opinion, coincidence is the most beautiful word in the dictionary. Well, due to such a coincidence, I ended up in Bosnia. The story is simple: I went to Barcelona to take journalism courses and I stayed in my always hospitable and great friend Zulaica´s apartment. He had several flat mates: an Argentine boy, a Dutch girl, and Miriam, a Slavic girl that worked for the NGO Internacional Civil Service. One day Miriam asked me, “Would you be interested in going to another country to do field work?” As you can imagine, my response was yes and out of the countries that she gave me to choose from, I chose Bosnia Herzegovina, a place that in the mid-nineties suffered a bloody civil war that brought conflict to the three main groups that coexisted in the region: Orthodox-Serbs, Catholic-Croatians and Muslims. The three million inhabitants that remain in the country are still trying to reestablish themselves after the atrocities that took place. 

Communist Architecture in Banja Luka / Zelenkovac

Before I explain the work that we did there, let me make a brief side note to explain the purpose of the NGO International Civil Service. After World War II, it was decided to create this organization to try to rebuild places that were destroyed by the war. The groups that would be in charge of doing this work would be formed by volunteers, but under one condition: that they would come from different nationalities so that through working together, they could get to know each other and therefore avoid the possibility of stereotypes, ignorance and prejudices once again bringing us to the use of weapons.

Volunteers: Jonathan, the Englishman at one end and Jelena, the Serbian at the other. Rest. / Didier

Although we formed an international group, this essential condition was not completely fulfilled. All together we were 14 volunteers: an Englishman, two Italians, a Slavic girl, two Belgians, a Serbian, seven Frenchs!!, and myself, the gallego.  Of course, the Group monitor was from Paris and the two Belgians were from the French-speaking zone. In other words, during the two weeks that the fieldwork lasted all you could hear was the whisper of unpronounceable R’s.

Zelenkovac / Barbara

Zelenkovac / Barbara

    The place where we sat was idyllic. It was a natural park called Zelenkovac, situated in the northeast of the country, near Banja Luka. An immensely green place, with forests of giant spruce trees and bathed with the water from the different streams that sprung from the mountains. Our sleeping accommodations were a few wooden houses built by the man that governed it all; his name was Boro, a tall man with an overgrown black beard and a great ability to get along with people. At the epicenter of it all was the tavern. There, when night fell, we would meet to socialize with the volunteers and with many people from the surrounding villages.

  The first thing that Boro did when I arrived, as if it were part of some initiation ritual, was take me to the tavern and buy me a shot of rakija, a type of liquor that is typical in the Balkans. And it was not my last. Due to the precarious and salvage conditions in which we lived: horrible cold at night, freezing water to shower and bathe, scarce food that over all consisted in bland stews, necessities made in the fields, and leaks in the bedrooms; I converted the rakija into my medicine, into the assassin of viruses and bacteria, and into my ticket back home. And it worked. Nothing, not even the slightest cold attacked me.

The work consisted of, above all, carrying out community labor in the area. On three occasions for example, we cut and gathered wood from the forests to make fires and build fences. We were accompanied by Jruya, a man close to seventy, always dressed in athletic clothes and who had in Zelenkovac his only way of making a living after having lost his job in the city. He seemed like a prolongation of nature. It was a pleasure to see him among the trees, ascending steep inclines or choosing the best wood with just a simple tap on the trunk.

Jruya cooking / Zelenkovac

Occasionally, we would leave the natural park to work on neighbors’ houses: making ditches for pipes or pulling out the weeds in an apple tree plantation. In a poor society, where our work implied that people would not have to pay another person for the same labor, the people demonstrated enormous graciousness. They would constantly say, “Hvala” (thank you in Bosnian). And, due to these brief trips, we were able to discover a great number of orange tinted villages. Recently built houses, made of new brick that substituted the houses that were destroyed during the conflict. Homes that disappeared beneath the fire or in the cold winter as the water from the enemy filtered through the walls which would break down when the water froze. Through this measure they tried to avoid the return of driven out communities. The houses that survived were still splattered with bullets and shrapnel.

Bosnian countrywoman / Rosanna

What impressed me the most about my stay in Bosnia were the stories about the war. Testimonies that were given to me inside the tavern when, after a few alcoholic drinks, people would become more sincere and loose the fear of recounting what had happened: “It’s strange, but now, when I think about the war, I only remember the good times that I had while it was going on. For example, the great solidarity that existed between the neighbors. I thought that when the war ended this would continue, but I was wrong.” This was how Narcisa, a young Bosnian architect, spoke to me in an envious Spanish that she had learned in Barcelona. Intelligent, open, and sensible; she recalled the nights she spent in the basement of her house next to the dim light of an oil lamp, while outside the bombshells played dominoes with the rest of the resident homes in the village. And as morning came it was always the same: the announcement, once again, of the death of ten to fifteen neighbors. However, far from intimidating her, these facts provoked within Narcisa the need to live each second as if it were her last: “I’ve never abandoned this philosophy of life and I continue trying to make the most of every moment”, she proudly told me as she retired to get some rest.

Boro / Anne

Boro didn’t go to fight on the battle front: “It seemed too boring to wait for hours in the same place until the enemy arrived”, he commented sarcastically in a moment of trust, “therefore, during the war, I became a television cameraman.” His biggest success as a journalist was selling five minutes of images to CNN. When the war ended he didn’t go back to working with the camera; he hated everything that he had filmed: deaths, destruction, and pain. “I filmed more than 200 decapitated bodies”, he said in a whisper, which was accompanied by a large silence. “And who was attacking?” I asked him. “The Croatians”, he responded. “And would it be possible to see the report?”  I begged him full of curiosity. “I don’t ever want to see those images again in my life”, he told me with a scratchy voice and with a slow step he walked away.

Remnants from the war / Zelenkovac

Something about all of that still lingers within today’s generations.  Alex, Boro´s youngest son, who was born at the beginning of the conflict, one day gave me the following riddle: “Three fat women are in front of a house. On the front of the house three letters: A M G and surrounding the house, a landmine. What do the women decide to do?” Landmines….What a sad childhood. And to think, we always choose a river full of piranhas and crocodiles as the obstacle.

The Italian Barbara with a war's widow / Rosanna

Yesterday the second leg of the World Cup qualifiers were held (in Europe, at least). We now know each and every team which will be present at the World Cup next year… and there are a few surprises, but mostly it’s the teams you’d expect to see, given FIFA’s newly instated practice of seeding the qualification playoffs. The seeding did what it was supposed to do, for the most part – that is, benefit larger nations with bigger and more prominent stars. I’m more than a little bitter, but nevertheless, let’s get on with a rundown of what happened. Oh, and sorry it’s a bit belated.

Portugal 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina (2-0 Agg.) – Well, Bosnia & Herzegovina’s World Cup dreams have been shattered. Many of the Balkan states have faltered this year, with only Serbia getting through in initial qualification. I’m sure Edin Dzeko & Co. would have liked to seize their chance for revenge on home soil, but it was simply not to be. The Portugese cruised to South Africa with an easy win despite their host’s best efforts and the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo. All it took was a lazy tap in from Raúl Meireless on 56′ to give Portugal a lead which the Bosnians would find insurmountable. Bosnia’s usually-fierce attack was largely subdued, with the only clear-cut chance falling to star man Edin Dzeko ten minutes from full time; he promptly duffed it. And so, while Portugal clearly deserved the win last night, I will proclaim Bosnia-Herzegovina some of the first victims of FIFA seeding.

Slovenia 1-0 Russia (2-2 Agg.) – Slovenia edged past Guus Hiddink’s Russia on away-goal advantage to book their place in South Africa and send the Russkies home to cry in their vodka. Russian fans came into this match with a lot of trepidation; Slovenia is best remembered in Russia as the team who in 2002 were inexplicably awarded a penalty by referee Graham Poll in extra time to defeat Russia and knock them out of World Cup qualification. So, despite the fact that Graham Poll was definitely not officiating last night’s match, one can understand a little Russian nervousness. And maybe Slovenia sensed it, because they put in a stolid performance, muscling the visitors off possession and doing a good job disrupting Russian build-up. Zlatko Dedic gave the home side a deserved lead on 44′, poking the ball home from within the 6-yard box. After the half things would only get worse for Russia, as substitute Aleksandr Kerzhakov was sent off after lashing out at Slovenian keeper Samir Handanovic. Hiddink poured men forwards, playing three in the back, but to no avail. With just seconds left to play emotions were running high, and Chelsea-man Yuri Zhirkov received his second yellow of the night – for pushing over a Slovenian sub standing on the sidelines – and was promptly sent off. With that, 9-man Russia were sent packing as well, with the bitter taste of irony in their mouths – this tmie it was the right calls against them which turned out to be costly.

"The France team will go to South Africa courtesy of unquestionable cheating which highlights the downward spiral affecting football today." - Union of French Teachers

France 1-1 Republic of Ireland (2-1 Agg.) – Well, if the Russia-Slovenia match was less contentious than expected, it was more than made up for by the match that took place in St. Denis, just outside of Paris, France. Les Bleus came into the match with a 1-0 aggregate lead, thanks to a Nicolas Anelka goal in the first leg. However, it didn’t take long for the Irish to eliminate that lead; after a fluid movement by the Boys in Green down the left side of the pitch, Robbie Keane stepped up to sidefoot the ball home on 33′. 1-1. And that was it. For the rest of regular time, the score remained the same. Cue overtime. On 103′, a long, arcing ball was sent into the Irish box. Thierry Henry met the end of it. With his hand. Perhaps it was unintentional, that first touch. But then he touched it again, tapping the ball gently with his left hand, stopping it from going out of bounds and putting it directly to his foot. Then to William Gallas. Who scored. France, you are going to the World Cup. And you should be ashamed. Henry’s handball was the most blatant example of that offense I’ve seen since, well, probably Diego Maradona. You can call him crafty, you can say it’s a part of the game, but I call that poor sportsmanship and I do not think France deserve to be going to the World Cup. Hell, Titi even celebrated wildly, going mad after Gallas put the ball in the net. I call bullshit. I’m sure tons of people will be calling for instant replay to be introduced after this blatant incident of cheating, and while I am still against it, I am starting to think they have a point. Ireland is asking FIFA to declare the match null & void and have a rematch, but it seems unlikely. Normally, I would insert some kind of hopeful point here, some bright side or silver lining. But there is none. There is nothing to be but bitter.

A strategy only a mother could love.

Greece 1-0 Ukraine (1-0 Agg.) – Greece bores me to death. And apparently, they bore the Ukraine to death as well. Otto Rehhagel’s men did it again, squeaking by on a single goal over two legs to knock all Slavic representatives out of next year’s World Cup final. Unfortunately, my predictions that the home side would be buoyed by their vociferous supporters fell flat. Though the crowd at the brand-new Donbass Arena in Donetsk was more than vocal, their voice alone could not lift their flat-footed squad, who fell prey to the clever, but undeniably dull, Greek strategy. Dimitris Salpingidis would be the man who made the difference for Greece, scoring on the back of a deadly combination of well-timed throughball and better-timed run (31′). Rehhagel’s defensive strategy took over from that point on, and though the home side had their fair share of chances, the Greek defense proved inpenetrable. Last night’s victory means that the Greeks are going to their first World Cup in 16 years; the Ukrainians will probably go take a nap.

And with that, Internationals are done until the new year (good riddance!). I’m glad to say good-bye for now; and the next time we meet will be in South Africa.

PORTUGAL foi á Bosnia demonstrar como esta no Mundial

World Cup South Africa 2010=Portugal

Argelinos e egípcios promoveram uma verdadeira guerra no Sudão

Naquela que pode ser considerada A Guerra do Sudão, a Argélia venceu o Egito por 1×0 e conseguiu a vaga para a Copa 2010 na repescagem africana. Yahia, ao 40 minutos do primeiro tempo, acertou um belo voleio e definiu o placar para os argelinos, que voltam a disputar um Mundial depois de 24 anos.

A nota triste é que há alguns dias torcedores das duas seleções venham participando de brigas fora de campo. Lamentável.

Salpingidis vence Pyatov e classifica a Grécia para um mundial após 14 anos

Jogando em Donetsk, a Ucrânia de Shevchenko protagonizou um papelão ao perder o jogo e a vaga na Copa para a Grécia. O primeiro jogo, em Atenas, havia sido 0×0.

Salpingidis, aos 31 minutos do primeiro tempo, marcou o gol da classificação helênica. Ausente de Mundiais desde 1994, a Grécia terá a oportunidade de marcar o primeiro gol e fazer o primeiro ponto em jogos de Copa do Mundo. Há 14 anos, nos Estados Unidos, perdeu os três jogos que realizou sem anotar um gol sequer.

Rússia sofre gol dos eslovenos, que participaram da Copa de 2002 e voltarão a jogar na África do Sul

Outro vexame foi dado pela Rússia, treinada pelo competente Guus Hiddink e que conta com talentos como Arshavin e Pavlyuchenko. Os russos venciam a Eslovênia por 2×0, em Moscou, até que levaram um gol no finalzinho. Este tento custou caro, já que no jogo de volta, em Maribor, os donos da casa venceram por 1×0 (gol de Dedic) e despacharam os russos no critério de desempate – justamente o golzinho marcado fora de casa.

Gol de Raul Meireles deu tranquilidade e a vaga à Seleção de Portugal

Já Portugal espantou a zebra que se anunciava, derrotou a Bósnia-Herzegóvina em Zenica e carimbou o passaporte para a África do Sul. No início do segundo tempo Raul Meireles fez o gol da vitória por 1×0 – mesmo resultado obtido em Lisboa – e apenas administrou o marcador até o final da partida.

Depois de um péssimo início de eliminatórias, o time do técnico Carlos Queiroz ajustou-se na competição e conseguiu a vaga. Machucado, Cristiano Ronaldo não atuou, mas é presença certa no Mundial do ano que vem.

O Professor karambaSemStress vaticina um mau jogo, num relvado mau, com um público mau e com um mau resultado para uma das equipas!
Ai e tal os Bósnios assobiaram muito quando o hino Português estava a ser entoado! Claro que sim… então um hino que fomenta o espírito guerreiro e radical de um povo não deve ser assobiado? Claro que deve!!! Queriam que eles fizessem o quê? Que dessem beijinhos ou rebuçados aos Tugas!!!
Deixem-se mas é de merdas e joguem à bola!
Uma certeza tenho… é que se não ganharmos não será por culpa dos jogadores do clube dos piriquitos… desse que tem 6,5 mihões de adeptos em Portugal…

AFC vs OFC

NUEVA ZELANDA 1(1) – (0) 0 BAHRÉIN
El repechaje entre el quinto de Asia y el campeón de Oceanía finalizó favorable a los neozelandeses con una victoria en Port Wellington de 1-0. El gol fue al minuto 45 de parte de Rory Fallon de cabeza tras un tiro de esquina. En la segunda parte, Bahréin tuvo la gran oportunidad de clasificar al 50’ con un penal, sin embargo el arquero Mark Paston atajó el penal.
Nueva Zelanda regresa a una Copa del Mundo después de que lo hiciera por única vez en España 1982. Bahréin perdió su segundo repechaje de forma consecutiva.

UEFA

PORTUGAL 1-0 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Portugal consiguió una victoria ajustadísima ante Bosnia en el primer partido del repechaje. El gol lusitano fue de Bruno Alves minuto 31, cabeceando un centro de Nani. Los bosnios tuvieron por lo menos 3 remates que se estrellaron en los postes, pero la más cercana fue el remate de Dzeko al 87’ cabeceando un balón al travesaño, el rebote le quedó a un compañero sin embargo la pelota volvió a estrellarse con el poste.

IRLANDA 0-1 FRANCIA
El equipo francés ganó con un solitario tanto de Nicolas Anelka al minuto 72. El galo remató desde el borde del área, la pelota se desvió en un defensor e ingresó pegada al poste izquierdo del arquero Shay Given.

GRECIA 0-0 UCRANIA
Los griegos no aprovecharon su condición de local ante los ucranianos, sin embargo no recibieron goles en casa, que en este tipo de series a veces es más importante que la misma victoria por el valor doble de los goles de visita.

RUSIA 2-1 ESLOVENIA
Con los dos goles de Dyniar Bilyaletdinov a los minutos 40 y 52, parecía que los rusos encaminaban fácilmente la serie , sin embargo un error defensivo le permitió a los eslovenos descontar al minuto 88 por intermedio de Nejc Pecnik rematando un mal despeje que dio el arquero Igor Akinfeev. Al 90’ Akinfeev enmendó su error atajando un potente disparo de un rival que pudo significar la igualada.

CAF

África definió dos clasificados más y un repechaje o partido de desempate que se jugará el día de mañana.

Grupo A

Camerún regresó a la Copa del Mundo después de su ausencia en Alemania 2006. los cameruneses anotaron dos veces en su visita a Marruecos vía Achille Webo al 19’ y Samuel Eto’o al 52’.

RESULTADOS

Grupo B

Nigeria selló su pasaporte gracias a la victoria de Mozambique ante a Túnez. Los nigerianos cumplieron su parte derrotando a Kenia de visita milagrosamente 2-3 cuando caían 1-0 en la primera parte y cuando los kenianos empataron en la segunda mitad. Los goles fueron cayendo de esta forma en el juego: al 15’ Oliech para Kenia, al 60’ Martins para Nigeria, al 64’ Yakubu para Nigeria, al 77’ Wetende para Kenia y finalmente al 81’ Martins para Nigeria.

En el otro juego los tunecinos que fueron líderes durante toda la eliminatoria, perdieron el invicto en el partido más importante contra Mozambique. El gol de Dario al 83’ le dio el pase a Nigeria.

RESULTADOS

Grupo C

Argelia y Egipto decidirán el último pase del continente africano al mundial el día de mañana en un partido de desempate que se celebrará en Sudán. Esto se debe a que los egipcios derrotaron a los argelinos en casa por 2-0 (Zaki al 3’ y Meteab al 95’) y con ello todas las formas de desempate utilizadas por la FIFA en grupos eliminatorios quedaron empatados.

RESULTADOS

Grupo D

Ghana ya clasificada igualó con Malí en casa, mientras que Sudán perdió con Benín.

Grupo E

Costa de Marfil ya clasificada cerró goleando a Guinea en casa y Burkina Faso también terminó de buena forma su eliminatoria venciendo a Malaui.

The final six spots in the 2010 World Cup will be decided Wednesday.  Ohhhh the drama.  Nigeria, Cameroon and New Zealand clinched spots over the weekend.

Wednesday’s matches
Ukraine vs. Greece (0-0 aggregate)
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Portugal (Portugal leads 1-0 aggregate)
Slovenia vs. Russia (Russia leads 2-1 aggregate)
Uruguay vs. Costa Rica (Uruguay leads 1-0 aggregate)
France vs. Ireland (France leads 1-0 aggregate)
Algeria vs. Egypt

 Croatian coach of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Miroslav Blažević, said Monday that his players will attack as “hungry wolves”, in the return leg of 2010 World Cup qualifiers scheduled for Wednesday in Zenica.

 ”In the days remaining until the game, you create an environment so that the players are ready to attack the Portuguese as hungry wolves. We’ll storm, but for that we need the public support. I want to put such a pressure in early minutes, so that the Portuguese will not be able to understand what happens. We are convinced that we can recover the difference from the first leg and we can qualify for the tournament, “said Blazevic for the Bosnian daily newspaper Dnevni Avaz”.

 Muratov, the captain Sipahi and Rahimi were suspended, while the guests will miss Cristiano Ronaldo, injured.

Portugal   1-0   Bosnia-Herzegovina

A tightly-contested encounter was decided on the half-hour mark when Manchester United winger Nani crossed to the far post where Alves was on hand to head home. Nani, who deputised on the wing in the absence of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, was Portugal’s most enterprising player. However, the hosts’ hopes of finding a second goal were continually thwarted by a disciplined display from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The visitors showed why only Spain were able to defeat them in the group stage and they could even have taken an away goal into Wednesday’s second leg a minute from the end when Edin Dzeko headed against the crossbar before substitute Zlatan Muslimovic hit a post from the rebound.

While Bosnia-Herzegovina would have been enthused by their display, their hopes in the second leg will be undermined by bookings picked up by Emir Spahic, Elver Rahimic and Samir Muratovic which rules them out of Wednesday’s game.  Portugal went into the game without star winger Ronaldo and his attacking craft was missed as they struggled to break down the visitors in the early stages when they gave away possession cheaply.  Chelsea schemer Deco was most culpable as his usual creative influence deserted him while Simao Sabrosa and Liedson also failed to impart an influence.

The home side had been thwarted for half an hour before they finally created the chance to go ahead.  Nani combined with Deco on the right side of the area before the former curled a cross to the far post where Alves was waiting to nod in the decisive goal.  Bosnia-Herzegovina had been happy to defend before the goal, but after they went behind showed a greater attacking desire.

After 38 minutes Fejae Salihovic found space down the left flank before firing in a shot that Eduardo did well to save.  Five minutes later Senijad Ibricic headed a corner just over the crossbar as Portugal just about held their lead into the break.

The hosts pushed for a second after the interval with a couple of counter attacks, but again Bosnia-Herzegovina held firm.  Deco fed Liedson with a long ball that the striker superbly controlled with his chest, passed the ball over a defender and then narrowly shot over. Deco then shot narrowly over himself as the visitors sat deep.

Bosnia-Herzegovina weathered the storm and Dzeko almost squeezed a shot in at Eduardo’s near post with a snap shot after 77 minutes. And the hosts almost had an away goal a minute from the end when Dzeko headed Miralem Pjanic’s cross against the crossbar and Muslimovic also rattled the woodwork from the rebound.

From soccernet.ESPN

A mercifully short list of meaningful matches this weekend. I’m not going to bother with the friendlies, as most of them ended as you would expect and, after all, they’re just friendlies. I will however, give a mention to the Canadian national team, who lost 3-0 to Macedonia after missing a pair of penalties and having one converted against them. Just a friendly, but bravo…

Anyhow, here are the matches that have actual consequences; the World Cup qualifier playoffs:

Not Pictured: Portugal's #1 Keeper.

Portugal 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina – Three times. Three times a Bosnian player took his best strike at the Portugese net, and three times the home side was saved in Lisbon by the magical touch of – wait for it – the woodwork. Forget Eduardo; the guy had nothing to do all night except look relieved as both posts and the crossbar did all his work for him. My prediction: in the second leg of the playoff, Eduardo finds himself replaced by a Portugese Oak. Anyhow, thanks to the heroism of the wood, Portugal were able to shade Bosnia on the strength of a Bruno Alves goal; even without their precious Cristiano Ronaldo leading them. This result also means that their visitors were denied the opportunity to net an all-too-valuable away goal; I suppose that’s Portugese hospitality for you! That being said, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to hide before I am pelted with Bacalhau.

France 1-0 Republic of Ireland – Unlike their Bosnian… er, cousins? the French were able to grab a crucial away goal and an even more valuable victory at Croke Park in Dublin. The luck of the Irish was all but absent, as Giovanni Trapattoni’s men missed a handful of sitters and Nicolas Anelka’s eventual winner deflected off of Sean St. Ledger before hitting the post and finding the back of the net. In fact, one might make the case that it was the luck of the French which prevailed in the Emerald Isle; though to be fair, France were the better side for much of the evening and Ireland at times simply did not look like they could hack it against such stiff opposition. Raymond Domenech’s men now have a somewhat comfortable lead to sit upon when they return for the playoff’s second leg in gay Paris.

That about sums it up, yea.

Greece 0-0 Ukraine – Greece manager Otto Rehhagel stated before this weekend’s match that a nil-nil draw in Athens would be the best result for Greece to achieve. Unsurprisingly, they managed it. The most boring side in International football were able to hold their Zhovto-Blakytni visitors to a no-score draw, hoping to scoop up victory in Kiev in the second leg of the playoff. In essence, they said “getting into the World Cup is a problem for future-Greece,” and then proceeded to park the bus for 90 minutes. Mind you, Bayer Leverkusen man Theofanis Gekas was able to put the ball into the back of the Ukrainian net, only for it to be disallowed on account of offside. At the opposite end of the pitch, it was Andriy Shevchenko who came closest for the visitors, but ultimately he would not be able to trouble the Greeks with an away goal in the clutch. Personally, I wonder about the wisdom in Greece’s tactics, as I feel one should play for victory on one’s own soil, as it is much easier to achieve a result without roughly 60,000 Ukrainians cheering against you. But hey, we’re talking about the team who managed to bore their way to European glory in 2004, so who knows? Maybe they’ll catch the Ukrainians napping. For my part, I certainly hope not.

"You will beat Slovenia, or you will be shot."

Russia 2-1 Slovenia – Bilyaletdinov. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. Remember that name. Or, if you’re like me, figure out how to pronounce it, and then remember it. Anyways, he was the main man for Guus Hiddink’s Russia in their playoff fixture against Slovenia, bagging the brace that would lift the Russkies above their Slovenian visitors with a goal on 40′ and another on 51′. However, it would not be smooth sailing all the way at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, as Slovenian substitute Nejc Pecnik put some pressure on the home side in the 88th minute by finding the back of the net with a headed rebound. Watching the game, one could see that it wasn’t just the Russian weather that was imposing; the atmosphere in the Luzhniki was absolutely imperious and the presence of icy Russian President Vladimir Putin only added to that. Russia will be able to go into their second leg with some confidence, though as always they would be wise to beware the underdogs – the Slovenians showed they indeed have teeth, and will be looking to bite back with the support of their own home crowd.

By Nathan Rowden

After watching Ireland valiantly stand-up to one of Europe’s heavyweights France on Saturday afternoon, myself and a few others began to question whether it was actually fair that there is a seeding system for the World Cup play-offs.

In a game which could have gone either way Ireland can consider themselves unlucky to have conceded at home to a heavily deflected shot from French forward Anelka.

There was little to pick between the two sides, and clearly France have not been playing to great standards as they did not win their qualifying group which begs the question why had they been seeded to play a so-called lesser opposition?

Other seeded teams were Portugal, Greece and Russia, and therefore got easier ties.

Out of the four seeded teams three of the them were victors in the first leg of their respective play-off games.

But is it really fair that teams like Bosnia-Herzegovina have to played teams who have not won their qualification groups but are seeded highly, and can not possibly be drawn against a lesser seeded country and stand a better chance?

Fairness of the draw

A poll by The Guardian shows that the large majority are in favour that the system is unfair.

The reasons for this are that if the up and coming lesser teams are having to play some of the so-called big boys of World football, whose path are being made that little bit easier by playing lower seeded opposition.

FIFA would panic if stars such as Henry of France and Ronaldo of Portugal were not to play, this is shown through the relief when Argentina finally stumbled across the finishing line to qualify which meant that Messi could play in the tournament.

Names like Messi, Ronaldo and Henry are bigger and more appealing than Doyle of Ireland or Muslimovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. FIFA want the big boys in the World Cup for entertainment and revenue purposes and therefore favour the seeding system in the play-offs.

However, others argue that those so-called big boys have over the years consistently performed at a certain standard to gain their higher rankings and therefore it is only fair that a seeding system takes place in the qualification.

My reply to that would be that, not matter how ell you have performed in the past, if you dont automatically qualify and enter the play-offs then you do not deserve a seeding protection and should play who ever you get drawn against.

I strongly belive that this is something that FIFA really needs to look at after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Portugal vence mas nâo convence,resta aguardar pelo 2°Jogo

que dita quem vai á Africa do Sul

I’m not underplaying the provocative international matches tomorrow. France v. Ireland promises to be an intriguing fixture, with Raymond Domenech’s head on the line. Portugal v. Bosnia-Herzegovina is a matchup ripe for an upset.

That being said, my head has been turned by the Chelsea players who will miss the match against us in two weeks time.

The players are Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Jose Bosingwa, and Ashley Cole. John Terry has a slight knock.

This is excellent news for two reasons.

The first, I don’t need to mention. We must not allow Chelsea to extend their lead over us, and they will be primed to be pounced on, especially without Drogba who nearly always scores against us.

The second reason is less important. Because Chelsea will be missing key personnel, I’m sure people will underestimate the importance of the win. That will allow us to fly under the radar, something I’d prefer.

So I send out thanks to the English FA for using a plane to small to accommodate English players and Jonny Evans for his kung-fu tackle on Didier.

That being said, fingers crossed that our own players make it back from their own intense matches.

23 teams are in. Nine more to go before the field in South Africa is complete. There’s going to be a lot of drama this weekend. In Africa, this weekend’s games will determine the three country that will advance to the finals. New Zealand and Bahrain will be playing a winner take all game since the first leg ended in a 0-0 tie, while European qualification begins the two-legged playoffs. Costa Rica and Uruguay will also kick off a two-legged playoff.

Teams already in: Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, United States, Mexico, Honduras, Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, England, Serbia, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, South Africa, Ghana, Ivory Coast

Saturday’s qualifiers (11/14)
AFRICA
Mozambique vs. Tunisia
Togo vs. Gabon
Morocco vs. Cameroon
Rwanda vs. Zambia
Kenya vs. Nigeria
Burkina Faso vs. Malawi
Côte d’Ivoire vs. Guinea
Egypt vs. Algeria
Sudan vs. Benin

EUROPE (1st leg)
Russia vs. Slovenia – 10:55 a.m. ET/Setanta (Live)
Ireland vs. France
Greece vs. Ukraine – 1 p.m. ET/Setanta (Live)
Portugal vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina – 3:25 p.m. ET/Setanta (Live)

NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA/SOUTH AMERICA PLAYOFF (1st leg)
Costa Rica vs. Uruguay

ASIA/OCEANIA PLAYOFF (2nd leg)
New Zealand vs. Bahrain – 2 a.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Live)