Sunday, June 06, 2010

A surprise doping control for eight random players

They did it to the Germans. They did it to the Spaniards. They did it to the Paraguayans. Now it was Argentina's time.

Eight players have been randomly chosen for a doping control by FIFA doctors.

They were: Ariel GARCE, Sergio ROMERO, Diego POZO, Mariano ANDUJAR, Maxi RODRIGUEZ, Diego MILITO, Sergio AGUERO and Carlos TEVEZ.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

i think were safe. they skipped maradona

Sebastian said...

Not so fast there...remember GARCE tested positive for cocaine back in the Argentine league!

Hmmmmmmm...spooky!

Anonymous said...

Hopefully all will be fine...Hey, maybe there is still time for Zanetti....
Dan

Anonymous said...

just curious though, does anyone know if the testing is for recreational drugs, performance drugs, or both? How often does FIFA test during the club season.

Thanks
Dan

lz said...

Thank you Seba for keeping us posted about the South-African developments!

Here I just wanted to share this article about DM I found today in the LA Times. The quote after the link, which I paste directly from the article, pertains to the one and only Eduardo Galeano (legendary Uruguayan writer for those who don't know him). You need to give it to Galeano--the guy has a way with words to describe that which is not always easy to describe ;-)

I enjoyed the article, even if for Argentineans there may not be "news" in it. Yet, it is well-written and goes beyond the ridiculously tired stereotypes one sees here in the US press when referring to him or to our national team. Cheers, Luc.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-maradona-20100606,0,3656024.story

"The years go by and Maradona continues to be the most popular athlete in the world, the most loved and also the most hated," said Eduardo Galeano, an Uruguayan intellectual and author of the seminal "Soccer in Sun and Shadow."

"Maradona is a very popular god because he is the most human of the deities, a dirty, arrogant, overbearing, deceitful, swaggering, vicious god, and all this serves only to multiply his prestige. The problem with Maradona is that the gods don't retire," Galeano said. "It's very difficult to return to anonymity after being adored in the highest altars."

Sebastian said...

Dan, I don't know for sure. My guess is that they run the test against every one of the forbidden substances according to FIFA. That means...not only performance-enhancement drugs, but also 'social' drugs like cocaine or cannabis.

Not sure either on what the measures would be if they find one of these players tested positive. I'm guessing exclusion from the tournament for him and probably an inability for the squad to replace him with another player.

Luc, thanks for the link and the quotes from GALEANO. A genius indeed. I also love Roberto FONTANARROSA (do you know him? Do you read Spanish? Cause I don't know if you could find his work in English. He is just something else!).

Sebastian said...

Some good news (that don't deserve a post of its own) is that 10 hooligans have been deported back to Argentina upon arrival in South Africa.

They weren't allowed in by the police and the government of South Africa. Some of them had been charge with murder and were still walking freely (and will continue to do so) in Argentina.

The good thing is that they won't get away with their intention of watching the World Cup and causing problems in South Africa.

A cancer to football. One that I'm afraid it's too expanded to be removed.

Anonymous said...

AND I GARRANTE A HUGE WOMAN WITH A HUGE GREEN CROSS ON A FAKE LOOKING NURSE OUTFIT DIDNT ENTER THE FIELD OF PLAY AND TAKE THEM BY THE HAND INFRONT OF TV CAMERAS THEN HAVE CIA LAB NOT FIFA LAB TEST IT

1994 I REST MY CASE A USA AGAINST CUBA MOMENT

THE RESULT WAS A DRUG COCKTAIL THAT EXISTS IN HOLLYWOOD B-MOVIES LIKE DARKMAN

DRUGS COCKTAIL MY ASS NURSES ON FIELD OF PLAY INFRONT OF CAMERAS MY ASS

SHE WAS A NURSE BY FAT ASS

WAKE UP TO REALITY

Anonymous said...

i do agree in the history of all sport not just football a nurse has never taken a athelete by the hand and led them away on tv

it was America being there usual conspiracy self's

lz said...

Seba wrote: "Luc, thanks for the link and the quotes from GALEANO. A genius indeed. I also love Roberto FONTANARROSA (do you know him? Do you read Spanish? Cause I don't know if you could find his work in English. He is just something else!)."

I SOOO know Fontanarrosa. Thank you for putting a huge smile on my face. He IS something else indeed. I am born in 25 de Mayo (yup, in the middle of the "pampas" in Buenos Aires province) so Spanish is my first language. And you may imagine that, considering my roots in "el interior" (or "el campo," as my porteño friends used to say when I was in college in BA), not only I enjoy Fontanarrosa --he has a whole added dimension to me! ;-) This said, thanks again for the reminder of all that's good on Earth, besides soccer! And of course, to non-Argentinean blog readers, go get your hands on either author if you can: Galeano and Fontanarrosa, while at odds in content and style, are both legend. NOT that any of us has his/her mind on anything else other than football these days --let alone concentrating on reading! What was I thinking?!

Vamos Argentina!
Cheers, Luc

P.S. I am shocked to read about the Argentinean hooligans who were deported from South Africa, being sought for murder! And these people are roaming the streets and boarding planes and and ... Unbelievable. Hope things don't get out of control with the ones who did remain. Tx for the post.

Sebastian said...

There is a coincidence between us then...I was born ON a 25 de mayo! The day...not the town! ;)

I didn't know you were born here. Feel strange talking to you in English, but it's only fair to the rest of the readers.

I take it you read EL AREA 18 by FONTANARROSA. I don't remember enjoying a book as much as I enjoyed that one.

As for the hooligans...as I said previously, they are a cancer to society in Argentina, not only football. Because they are used by the politicians whenever they are campaigning and they are also used by the directors-to-be in every football club so they can see flags and banners in the stands and the hooligans can start songs to vote for one or for another candidate. Putting pressure on normal fans. The problem? Every list (or every party) do that, so whoever wins the elections had used the hooligans to their advantage and then hooligans get free tickets, free transportation and accommodation and if they don't, they would blackmail the newly elected authorities or even threat their lives.

So there you have it...these punks are more powerful than what one could think. And the fact that a man accused of murder manages to leave the country (even without a valid passport!) says it all about how sorry our Justice and our society in general are.

Glad to have you around on Mundo, Luc!

lz said...

Sebastian wrote: "I take it you read EL AREA 18 by FONTANARROSA. I don't remember enjoying a book as much as I enjoyed that one." -->My reply: You bet! Same here.

Thank you for your welcoming words too. This blog is an amazing piece of work, and you should all be very proud of it. It has become one of my favorite procrastinating excuses of the day (of every day, at least until the World Cup is over) --not that I don't have anything else to do! But . . . I am sure I am not the only one around here a little "distracted" this month.

Cheers, Luc