Deadlines

Aside from German disgruntlement, the big World Cup story this week has to do with the deadline for squad announcements. FIFA had previously mandated May 15th as the deadline for naming players to each country's World Cup squad. Recently, various influential coaches, including Sven-Goran Eriksson, Jurgen Klinsmann, and Carlos Alberto Parreira, have asked for an extension, saying they'll need the extra time: injuries may occur in May friendlies, players with injuries may recover faster than expected, etc.

The initial motivation for the FIFA ruling was to prevent the players from being burnt out, a factor that some say was a problem during the 2002 Word Cup. But really this is just another instance of Blatter and FIFA being too officious. Surely it should be the responsibility of the countries themselves to make sure their players aren't overly tired. If the squad is burnt out, it's their problem, not FIFA's. And really, as long as the squad remains the same (barring injury substitutions) after the tournament start date, it shouldn't matter if they name their team the day before or the month before.

Almost certainly, the individual countries are going to have their way in the debate, because they have all the power. What's Blatter going to do... kick Germany, England and Brazil out of the World Cup for naming their squads late?