Blatter’s Wedding a Surprise
It seemed as though FIFA President Sepp Blatter spent the last year jumping through hoops to win re-election while evading a calendar full of corruption charges.
Blatter, though, ended the year on a high note, marrying a former dolphin trainer, a Swiss newspaper reported over the weekend. According to the daily Blick, Blatter and his bride, Graziella Bianca, were wed Dec. 23 at a registry office in Blatter’s home state of Valais, which came as a surprise to friends of soccer’s most powerful man.
“It may be unexpected for some people, but for us it’s sheer good fortune,†Blatter wrote in a wedding announcement to friends and family, according to the newspaper.
According to Associated Press, the 40-year-old Bianca is a friend of Blatter’s 39-year-old daughter, Corinne.
Blick also reported that Bianca used to work as spokeswoman and dolphin trainer at a Swiss entertainment park, Conny Land, before quitting 18 months ago because she disagreed about how the animals were treated.
Blatter, 66, has long professed that soccer and FIFA are his main loves, though this is his third marriage.
The early part of his year was spent under a cloud of suspicion cast by FIFA’s former general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen, who accused Blatter of corruption and mismanagement. But on the eve of the World Cup, Blatter beat back an election challenge from Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou.
Blatter settled the score after the World Cup when Zen-Ruffinen and other dissidents were unceremoniously kicked out of FIFA House and Urs Linzi, a Blatter loyalist and Swiss financial expert, was appointed general secretary at a FIFA meeting in Madrid in mid-December.
A Zurich court recently dismissed a criminal complaint against Blatter filed by disgruntled members of FIFA’s executive committee on the basis of Zen-Ruffinen’s allegations.
“It has been a very agitated year, a year in which we have spoken more about sports politics than sport,†Blatter told the FIFA meeting in Madrid. “But now we can end the year with satisfaction and happiness.â€
Robinho to Germany?
Bundesliga power Bayern Munich, a former Champions League winner, is interested in obtaining Robinho, one of Brazil’s upcoming stars, the Munich newspaper Abendzeitung reported Sunday.
Robinho, an 18-year-old forward, helped lead Santos to the Brazilian championship by scoring a goal and setting up two others.
According to Abendzeitung, Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scouted Robinho during a recent trip through South America and was impressed.
Revivo too costly
Haim Revivo’s asking price was apparently too much and the Israeli midfielder’s transfer to Hamburger SV has fallen through, a top official of the Bundesliga club told AP.
“We really wanted to get him and in our offer we went to our financial limit,†said Dietmar Beiersdorfer, Hamburg’s sport director.
Jardel returns
Sporting Lisbon striker Mario Jardel returned to his club with a bandaged right knee, a limp and no answers from a mishap that he had while on vacation in his native Brazil.
“I feel good,†Jardel told AP. “I’ll only give any further explanations to my club. Now I’m very tired.â€
He was also stitched up, according to news reports, after what was described as a “poolside accident†in a house he owns in Fortaleza, a city about 1,350 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro. Portuguese media reported that Jardel had hit his head on the floor.
AP reported that Jardel received three stitches in his knee and spent two nights at the hospital.
Jardel, Europe’s top scorer last season, has had a lackluster season this year after being treated for depression following a divorce from his wife this summer.
