Word: soccers
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Secretary-General Kofi Annan's job--with the only difference being that member countries care more viscerally about the decisions you make. Joseph (Sepp) Blatter, 68, the president of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), rules over the globe's most popular sport and its unruly passions. Soccer is often called "the simple game" or the "beautiful game," but its administration is neither. FIFA deals with issues ranging from wars, riots, corruption and citizenship to the proper application of the offside rule. And that was just last Sunday. FIFA's top spot is easily one of the world...
Blatter fits well into that turbulent mixture, having recently emerged a winner in a nasty internecine battle in which opponents accused him of buying influence and burying big losses related to a botched marketing deal. (Swiss authorities found no wrongdoing.) He then beat back an election challenge from African soccer supremo Issa Hayatou. "Just after the elections, I felt bitter," said Blatter, "but we have to look forward and be optimistic. They lost the power game...
...Africa for the privilege. African nations felt dissed. South Americans are unhappy about the number of spots they get in the tourney. In Europe, the big pro clubs, such as Inter Milan, are demanding money for lending their pricey players to national teams for qualifying rounds. In other words, soccer is back to business as usual, with Sepp in charge. --By Bill Saporito
...instant R.-and-B. classic; Hey Ya! was something greater. You don't expect universality from a song about the agony of monogamous relationships, but the mix of a surf-rock guitar, hand claps and a retro catchphrase captivated not just the Beyonces and Lucy Lius but also soccer moms, NASCAR dads and a former NATO supreme commander. ("I don't know much about hip-hop," offered Wesley Clark, "but I do know OutKast can make you shake it like a Polaroid picture.") At a moment when technology has enabled every person to become a mix master, Hey Ya! made...
What do you get the man who has everything? Ask David Beckham. The British soccer star, now playing his club game for Real Madrid, is idolized by men for his athletic prowess and by women for his devilish good looks. He is not the first athlete to enhance his star status by playing the glamour card, but he is quite possibly the best. A bronze statue in Thailand is testament to his iconic powers--as is the crazed fan who reportedly licked every toilet seat she could access in a fashionable hotel in hopes of tasting one he had used...