Peter Reid
Born: 20 June 1956 in Huyton (England)
Nationality: English
Nickname: “Reidy”
Playing career: 1974-1982: Bolton Wanderers. 1982-1989: Everton. 1989-1990: Queens Park Rangers. 1990-1993: Manchester City. 1993-1994: Southampton. 1994: Notts County. 1994-1995: Bury.
Honours as a player: Second Division title winner 1978. FA Cup winner 1984. English league championship winner 1985 and 1987. European Cup Winners’ Cup winner 1985. English league cup runner-up 1984. FA Cup runner-up 1985 and 1986. 13 caps for England including three appearances at the 1986 FIFA World Cup™ finals. Managerial career: 1990-1993: Manchester City. 1995: England U-21. 1995-2002: Sunderland. 2003: Leeds United- 2004-2005: Coventry City. Since September 2008: Thailand national team.
Honours as a manager: Football League Championship winner 1996 and 1999. League Managers Association Manager of the Year 1999.

“There’s so much ability here”

Thailand have already failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The new target is now to reach the FIFA World Cup™ for the very first time in Brazil in 2014 – with the help of the new national coach, former England international Peter Reid.

FM: Why did you become Thailand’s national team coach?
Peter Reid: I’d always wanted to have a crack at international football and this is a challenge that I find really exciting. It’s no secret that I was in the running for jobs in the English Premier League but I ended up empty-handed because there is a habit these days of jobs going to people without the appropriate UEPA Pro Licence and that’s something I find to be a complete disgrace. So I thought I should look to pastures new.
Does your track record bode well for the new challenge?
Reid: I’ve had a habit of upsetting the odds and overcoming challenges as a player and as a manager and so I would like to think this job suits me down
to the ground. As a player I overcame serious injuries to win the English title with Everton and represent my country in the World Cup. As a manager I guided Sunderland and Manchester City into the upper reaches of the English game, which took lots of people by surprise. Hopefully I can repeat the trick on the international stage.
What is your knowledge of the game in Thailand?
Reid: I firs: came to Thailand in 1984 with Everton when we played a couple of friendlies just after winning the FA Cup so I know how difficult it is to play in this part of the world due to the humidity, but the enthusiasm for the game makes up for that. I did a bit of coaching here as well more recently and that’s when 1 realised that I could make a difference to the national side.
How do you plan to change things?
Reid: I have seen a few DVDs of the team and it is clear that Thailand is blessed with players with excellent technique and an ability to handle the ball, and hopefully I will bring the framework and organisation to turn undoubted potential into success. There ate so many players here who have tremendous natural ability and that’s the key strength going forward. It’s up to me to harness those skills by making sure we play in a disciplined manner. From what I’ve seen we can improve at set-plays defensively and in attack and that is something I will address. I will also want my team to play as a compact unit when they are going forward and when defending and if that works out then we could really go places.
What are your aims?
Reid: We have missed out on qualification for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa so the principal target has to be winning a place at the 2014 finals. Don’t get me wrong, there are other important competitions but that has to be the key objective. We have a ptomising young squad so everything will be geared towards guaranteeing that we don’t miss out again. I’m certainly very optimistic because we have fabulous raw talent to work with. But if we don’t make it, it won’t be down to a lack of effort. There’s incredible enthusiasm for football in south-east Asia, especially for the teams in the English Premier League. It’s my job to ensure the people of Thailand are as excited by the endeavours of their national side as they are by English football.
Looking back, what were your highs and lows as a player?
Reid: Winning the English league championship with Everton back in 1985 has to be the highlight on a domestic front but then winning a place in the England team and playing at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico has to cake pride of place, although unfortunately we didn’t win the competition. The downside was the injuries, which were soul-destroying. I would have played football for free but I missed a whole season due to a career-threatening knee problem during my Bolton days, but thankfully I managed to bounce back.
And as a manager?
Reid: What hurts most are memories of Sunderland being relegated from the Premiership on the last day of the season
at Roker Park in 1 997 after losing two key players in Tony Coton and Niall Quinn for most of the campaign. And then there was losing a penalty shootout 7-6 in the play¬off final against Charlton the following year after a 4-4 at Wembley. Those were two difficult years but we recovered to win the Championship with a record 105 points and then finished seventh in the Premiership two seasons in a row. That created the platform for the building of Sunderland’s Stadium of Light and the club’s fabulous training ground. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t attract rhe top players needed to push on. We had
bids accepted for Robbie Keane and Eidur Gudjohnsen but neither wanted to move to north-east England. Finishing fifth in the top division at Manchester City also rates highly because the club has not had it so good since.
What are your memories of representing England at the FIFA World Cup™?
Reid: I suppose 1 only got into the side in Mexico because our skipper, Bryan Robson, was injured and Ray Wilkins was suspended following a rush of blood in the heat. But when I got into the team I was determined to grab my opportunity with both hands. It was a terrific honour to represent my country on the biggest stage and with a bit of luck we might even have won the competition. We steadily improved until we were knocked out 2-1 at the Azteca Stadium by .Argentina and the notorious “Hand of God”.
Have you forgiven Diego Maradona for the “Hand of God” incident?
Reid: It’s not a case of forgiveness. What the whole world saw was the work of a cheat with his sleight of hand and then a stroke of sheer genius. It was plain to see he handled in Argentina’s first goal but then .scored arguably the greatest goal the World Cup has ever seen with an incredible dribble from the halfway line. I was the first man he beat on his way to a place in the history books. 1 tried to get back but just ended up chasing his shadow. Despite going 2-0 down, we held our nerve and fought back really well and Gary Lineker pulled a goal back and was within a whisker of equalising. We might have lost but it was a privilege to play in a truly great game in front of more than 100,000 people at the Azteca Stadium. If only the outcome had been different.
What did you learn about international management with England?
Reid: Our manager in 1986, Bobby Robson, was under a lot of pressure from the media because we started the tournament slowly. But he stood his ground, kept cool and relaxed and was unfazed by external factors. He created a wonderful sense of togetherness in the squad and instilled a belief into us that we could go places, which really rubbed
off on us as we went from strength to strength. His training sessions were always really good and varied and along with coach Don Howe he ensured that everyone knew their jobs when we went into action, which is what I will try to achieve with Thailand.
What was your role with England?
Reid: It certainly wasn’t one of the most glamorous roles but it was nevertheless still important. I was just told to sit in there in front of the defence, get hold of the ball and pass it to our skilful and creative players such as Trevor Steven, Steve Hodge and Peter Beardsley. That was fine with me and proved to be pretty effective. I had to do the same with Everton as well and we won the English league championship,. FA Cup and the old European Cup Winners’ Cup in the mid-80s.
How would your Everton side have fared against the modern-day Premier League sides?
Reid: We had an excellent, well-balanced side thanks to manager Howard Kendall and in the shape of Andy Gray and Graeme Sharp, we had rwo of the most aggressive strikers in the world. They would have been a match for the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, William Gallas and Jamie Carragher. We were a fast, physical side with me and Paul Bracewell providing support for our attack-minded colleagues such as Kevin Sheedy, Adrian Heath and Trevor Steven.
And how do you rate the English Premier League?
Reid: Fantastic. It’s better than ever thanks to the influx of foreign players such as Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo and Cesc Fabregas. But I’d like to see something done to make sure that the number of overseas players in English football is not detrimental to the development of our own players. I’d like to see more home-grown players in action.

Sergio Aguero
Full name: Sergio Leonel Aguero del Castillo
Date of birth: 2 June 1988 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nationality: Argentinian
Height: 1.72m
Weight: 74kg
Position: forward
Clubs: 1997-2006; Independiente (56 matches, 23 goals). Since 2006:
Atletico Madrid (92 matches, 35 goals).
Honours: 2005, winner of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands.
2007: winner of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, Golden Boot for
top goalscorer of the tournament and Golden Ball for best player. 2003
Olympic champion in Beijing. 11 caps and three goals for Argentina.

Magic In The Blood
He’s barely 20 and is already considered one of the best forwards in the world: this is Sergio Aguero, the Argentinian two-time FIFA U-20 world champion and winner of a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Llevo I etfiitbol en fa sangre I Vamos Kun Aguero /fuerza, que el mundo quiere verte I mastrando tu coraje” [I've got / football in my blood / Go on Kun Aguero / be strong, because the world wants to see / your courage]. Switch on any radio station in Argentina and you are likely to hear this song by the cumbia band Los Leales, featuring Sergio Aguero, a world-class player who has put a modern twist on the traditional Maradona-style dribbling that used to thrill football fans the world over.
At 20, Aguero has already made a name for himself as one of today’s star players thanks to his attacking spurts – he does not need to be in possession for long to produce a magical pass or score a deciding goal from the tightest of angles. He has already notched up two U-20 world tides, an Olympic gold medal in Beijing and various individual awards from his days with his beloved Independiente and then with his current team Atletico Madrid, as well as with the Argentinian national team.
Aguero, also known to many as “Kun”, made his professional debut in Argentinian league football when he was only 15 years, one month and three days old -the youngest debut of all time – when Oscar Ruggeri, winner of the 1986 FIFA World Cup™ in Mexico, fielded him for Independiente against San Lorenzo on 5 July 2003 in the last match of the Clausura tournament. That was also the farewell match of one of the most popular footballers of recent times – Gabriel Milito, now a defender for Barcelona. In playing that match, Aguero broke the record for the youngest debut, held by none other than Diego Armando Maradona, who played his first match at 15 years and 11 months. Since then, the number of things Aguero has in common with the footballing legend has continued to grow.
“El Kun” is in a relationship with Maradona’s daughter Giannina, with whom he lives in Madrid, and the couple are to make Maradona a grandfather in the next few months (which explains his post-goal celebration in the match against Brazil during the Beijing Games when he sucked his thumb as a baby would a dummy).
A SIMPLE GAME
Born into a large family (seven children plus the parents) in the densely populated district of Flores in central Buenos Aires, Aguero soon moved to the southern zone
Llevo I elfutbol en la sangre I Vamos Kun Aguero /fuerza, que el mundo quiere verte I mastrando tu coraje” [I've got / football in my blood / Go on Kun Aguero / be strong, because the world wants to see / your courage]. Switch on any radio station in Argentina and you are likely to hear this song by the cumbia band Los Leales, featuring Sergio Aguero, a world-class player who has put a modern twist on the traditional Maradona-style dribbling that used to thrill football fans the world over.
At 20, Aguero has already made a name for himself as one of today’s star players thanks to his attacking spurts – he does not need to be in possession for long to produce a magical pass or score a deciding goal from the tightest of angles. He has already notched up two U-20 world tides, an Olympic gold medal in Beijing and various individual awards from his days with his beloved Independiente and then with his current team Atletico Madrid, as well as with the Atgentinian national team.
Aguero, also known to many as “Kun”, made his professional debut in Argentinian league football when he was only 15 years, one month and three days old -the youngest debut of all time – when Oscar Ruggeri, winner of the 1986 FIFA World Cup™ in Mexico, fielded him for Independiente against San Lorenzo on 5 July 2003 in the last match of the Clausura tournament. That was also the of greater Buenos Aires. By nine, his great skill had taken him to Independiente, and so he side-stepped the usual progression through the youth ranks before joining the first division. Everybody knew that Aguero was different — a special player.
Although Aguero’s game is simple, it is impossible to define his exact position on the pitch. Many consider him to be a striker given the number of goals he scores, and the experienced Argentinian coach Cesar Luis Menotti has even compared him to Romario, the great Brazilian goalscorer. Others, however, believe he is more like the classic Argentinian “number ten”, or maybe an attacking midfielder. Agueto himself has recently said that he does not consider himself a striker, even though coaches increasingly play him in that position and the fans want to see him playing and scoring more goals, in the hope of glimpsing one of those subtle shots that this magical player is capable of.
“Seeing Aguero play is like visiting the Prado Museum,” said Anatolyi Byshovets, Lokomotiv Moscow’s coach, having been amazed by the Argentinian’s performances with Atletico Madrid. The last few years have seen “El Kun’s” breakthrough at the Spanish club. Although he left Independiente too soon, he left his mark as one of the greats and there were a few memorable goals and matches, such as his two goals against Racing Club in the 2005 Apertura tournament. One of those goals, scored after some spectacular dribbling in the box, was later used in an advertisement, in which the player himself imitated the sound of the red fans shouting his name from the stands.
MORE TEARS
It was under the late Omar Pastoriza, one of Independiente’s icons, that Aguero made his name as a star, even though he always had to work on keeping his temper in check, in particular his reaction to rough tackles. He was first sent off during a match against the modest side Tiro Federal, and as a result missed the much-anticipated match against River Plate. However, he shed the most tears when he was shown the fifth yellow card that meant exclusion from the match against Boca Juniors in the 2006 Clausura tournament. He understood then that
the match against Olimpo de Bahia Blanca that day was to be his last in the red shirt, as he had just been transferred to Atletico Madrid in a deal worth EUR 20 million, at the tender age of 18. But thing have always moved very fast in Aguero’s life.
UNDISPUTED REGULAR
By then, he was already an FIFA U-20 world champion, even though he was the youngest member of the team, whose stand-out player was Lionel Messi. Francisco Ferraro had included Aguero in the squad almost as an extra, just so he could experience being involved in that kind of tournament. Nonetheless, as the Netherlands 2005 tournament progressed, and Argentina’s attackers failed to impress, Aguero was allowed to play in the final two matches against Brazil and Nigeria, and he was awarded a penalty that proved decisive in Argentina winning the title.
The European experience at Atletico Madrid was not easy to begin with. Although the Atletico fans loved him from the start, the Mexican coach Javier Aguirre opted to introduce him gradually. Nonetheless, Aguero made an impact in each of his appearances, whether as a player or a substitute. In the 2006-2007
season, when Fernando Torres was still at the club, Atletico finally qualified for a return to a European tournament: the UEFA Cup.
Last season, with Aguero an established player capable of generating magic at any moment and Diego Forlan also up front, Atletico finished fourth, thus ensuring a long-awaited place in the Champions League. Aguero progressed from seven goals in 27 matches in his first season, when he was considered an incredible player for his age, to 20 goals in 37 matches. He is now guaranteed a regular spot in the line-up and is well established as the best player in the team.
MA RADON A OR MESS1?
Among the highlights of this impressive season was the brilliant match against Barcelona last March, which Atletico won 4-2 at the Vicente Calderon stadium. Aguero scored two amazing goals that day, set up another and was awarded a penalty, which Forlan converted. All over Europe, people were awestruck by this player who, at barely 20, already has five seasons of top-flight football behind him and is continuing his vertiginous ascent.
What Aguero achieved last season was no mere chance. After all, he arrived in Spain having just won the sixth FIFA U-20 World Cup with Argentina in Canada, where he was captain and won both the Golden Boot for top goalscorer of the tournament and the Golden Ball for best player. That was his second consecutive FIFA U-20 World Cup win, but his first as its biggest star. This strengthened his status as one of the greats. This has all recently been topped off by a new addition to his trophy cabinet: the Olympic gold he won in Beijing. He did not get off to a great start at the Olympics because he was, perhaps wrongly, expected to score goals rather than impress with his skill. But he made an impact when it was most important, with his two goals in the semi-final against Brazil.
There is now no questioning his quality as a player, and he is a regular in the senior Argentinian national team, and has even gone on as a substitute for one of his idols, Carlos Tevez. There are those who believe Aguero is the new Argentinian Maradona, or at least the closest thing to a 21sr-century Maradona. Some compare him to Messi and some believe that because of his stocky physique
- strong and compact – he is more solid in the tackle than the Barcelona star. In Argentina, some also believe that another advantage he has over Messi is that, although he did not spend long in Argentinian league football, he did absorb some of the “slyness” with which the game is played there — hard and tactical, with close marking. His contemporary Messi, on the other hand, missed out on that as he signed for Barcelona at a very young age, and is therefore lacking those “vices”
and is consequently “too pure”. Many believe that one of the things that makes
Aguero such a great addition to any team is his experience playing unorganised
football in local fields, something that Messi never had.
What nobody questions is that Aguero still has a lot of magic to give, that he is still
very young, and that with his cheeky smile he seems utterly impervious to controversy or other people’s opinion of him. He’s got football in the blood, as they say in the song he likes so much, and all he wants is to be allowed to play.

Two years ago, no one talked about women’s football in football-mad Chile. Now, thanks to preparatory activities for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (19 November – 7 December 2008), Chile is a model of how to develop a sport by engaging the public in an event. Here key people talk about what is happening in Chile.

EDUARDO ROJAS, Local Organising Committee (LOC) General Manager
How are preparations for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Chile 2008 going?
Eduardo Rojas: We have four new stadiums being built for the tournament and they were 70 percent completed at the end of August. We are in the countdown phase, so we face a lot of challenges whose resolution is very important for Chile and its image. On 13 September, we had the official draw with 16 delegations in attendance. That was our biggest challenge to date: showing our accommodation, training facilities and the stadiums.
What have been the highlights of organising this tournament?
Rojas: The LOC is a big team and we have a lot of women working with us. The activities that we have organised in preparation for the World Cup are also very important, such as the U-15 girls’ national football festival, two four-nations tournaments and the South American U-17 Women’s Championship. Those were all huge successes. And the national team has had the best-ever preparation, with tours to Europe, Central America and the States. Before we started working here, such things where only a dream, and I think that all these moments are unforgettable. Even our smallest actions will be regarded as huge steps in the future.
How will this event change Chiie?
Rojas: I think this tournament will help overcome some prejudices. Two years ago, there was no mention of women’s football, but now it is a huge new market. Women have made the move into football and they’re here to stay! We are also organising a new national competition for women. For us, it is very important that when the World Cup is over, the women’s game will continue to develop. After all, “the future of football is feminine,” as FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter said back in 1995, so we are preparing them to take on this responsibility.
What is your evaluation of the team’s programme so far?
Marta Tejedor: It has been a really long programme. Since I arrived in Chile in June 2007, there have been different phases, each with different objectives. When I started working with this team, everything was at varying stages. We have seen really big and important changes -physically, in how the girls “read” the game, in their focus … We are very happy with the results so far, they have been good. The last evaluation will be after the World Cup; only then will we see the real changes in the team.
What have been the frustrations?
Tejedor: 1 think injuries are always a frustration, but I also think that you can learn something from frustrations. When we competed in the South American U-20 Women’s Championship in March, I expected us to achieve a better result than we did (fourth place). But because of that result I realised we had made some big mistakes and we have consequently been working on those areas.
And the highlights?
Tejedor: I think a big achievement has been that our players are following our plan to the letter. They believe in this project, and they have a huge amount of support from the general public. They have had to change their way of playing, their physical capacity, and their way of thinking on the field … all of those things are big achievements. I also think that the new competitive league (the women’s first division, launched in May) has raised awareness of the game.
How have the team developed in the last few months?
Tejedor: They have changed a lot. When I arrived here the team played almost intuitively. They played like they thought they should play, which was fine individually, but not as a team. They also had very few skills to resolve some situations on the pitch. Now we have a completely different team: they work and play like a group.
Who will be the teams to beat in this tournament?
Tejedor: The strongest teams will be Germany, USA, Korea DPR and Brazil. The other participants are very strong too, the best in the world, but the ones 1 just mentioned axe the strongest, and 1 hope we won’t have to face any of them in the first round. But in a championship like this, anyone can beat anyone.
NATHALIE QUEZADA, Chile U-20 national team forward
Would you be proud to play in this FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup?
Nathalie Quezada: We don’t know who will play yet, but everyone is trying to earn their place in the team. But if I imagine it, I think I would be very proud. The happiness that you feel representing your country in a World Cup is something indescribable. If I play I will definitely give one hundred percent. I will play with my heart. I think that the only thing we want now is to do everything well and represent our country in the best way possible.
How do you think playing in this tournament would affect you?
Quezada: I think I would achieve a lot of things I have always wanted to in life. Playing a World Cup is something you don’t do every day. It is a really big opportunity for us because it opens a lot ofdoots. I hope that when the World Cup is over, I will get an offer from a team. I really want to play abroad.
What would you most like to happen for Chile in this tournament?
Quezada: I think we will do a good job. We have worked really hard. Every day we train for more than six hours, so I hope that we will play like we have been. For me the most important thing Is to do things well and never feel like you didn’t give a hundred per cent.
DANIELA PARDO, Chile U-20 national team midfielder and captain
How do you feel about playing in front of a home crowd and in a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup?
Daniela Pardo: I think I will be very nervous – anxiety mixed with a unique sense of happiness and satisfaction.
What are you most looking forward to?
Pardo: A lot of people will come to see us and ask us things — they will be interested in us. I want that day to hurry up and get here – I am very excited about it. My only hope is to arrive at the World Cup in the best possible form and to play really well, because I think that each one of us knows this is a huge opportunity that can open a lot of doors for us.
How do you think the team will do?
Pardo: I think people will be surprised. I don’t know if we will be in the top three, but we are working hard to achieve something important. I just know we will play really well and put on a good show for everyone.