With the death, at 82, of Julio Humberto Grondona, FIFA has lost its senior vice-president and finance chairman, Argentina has lost its long-serving football federation president . . . and the world federation has lost its most resistant opponent of reform.

‘Don Julio’ was not nicknamed the ‘Godfather’ of world football without reason.

He had headed the Argentinian game – both the football and commercial sectors – for the past 35 years. Reports from Buenos Aires said he died in the Mitre hospital after being admitted for emergency heart surgery.

He was a man and an administrator of his era, having come to power under the military dictatorship. Parliamentary democracy may have returned to Argentina but Grondona’s leadership style and attitudes remained rooted in the autocratic era which empowered him.

He had no time for critics, rivals (of whom there were fewer and fewer down the years), journalists or even his own country’s succession of political leaders; as entrenched president of the AFA he had no need to care for such people.

Dictatorial style

Yet for all the criticism which rained in on Grondona and his dictatorial style it must also be said that he was never caught – as were Brazilians Joao Havelange and Ricardo Teixeira, for example – with his fingers in the world football till.

Also, no accusations of corruption ever threatened him as they did the likes of Jack Warner and Mohamed bin Hammam.

Grondona was there before them and he remained in place and immovable long after they had all departed in disgrace.

However, even Grondona had signalled that his formal control of the levers of power was coming to an end.

He was re-elected in January last year as AFA president but, having lost his wife as well as younger brother and close aide Hector in the previous 12 months, had announced an intention to retire in 2015.

Grondona was born in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, on September 18, 1931. In 1956 he was a founder member of the Arsenal club of Sarandi which served as his initial power base as its president from 1957 to 1976. He was then president for three years of world and South American champions Independiente.

In 1979 Grondona was handpicked to head the AFA by Carlos Lacoste, the army strongman who had headed the organisation in 1978 of the World Cup finals which Argentina had won. He became a member of the FIFA executive committee in 1988.

Under Grondona’s leadership Argentina won the World Cup in 1986, finished runners-up twice – most recently earlier this month in Brazil – five world youth cups and Olympic Games gold in both 2004 and 2008.

Acting president

Julio Segura, senior vice-president of the AFA and chairman of Argentinos Juniors, has taken over as acting president . . . on the day Alejandro Sabella had been expected to confirm his resignation as national team coach following the runners-up finish at the World Cup.

The start of the new Argentinian season, scheduled for this coming weekend, is expected to be postponed.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, in tribute, said: “I feel a great personal sense of loss, because he was a lifelong friend. But it is also a huge blow for FIFA as an organisation, as he was one of its key figures. On behalf of FIFA, I would like to extend our sincere condolences to Julio’s family.”

Grondona, as finance chairman of FIFA, was happy with the revenue results which accrued from the politically controversial decision to run bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup simultaneously.

He was no friend of British football for reasons deriving from both his close ties to the military junta of the 1970s and the early 1980s and the outcome of the reckless Falkands/Malvinas ‘adventure.’ Probably the only feature of the FIFA reform process of which he approved was the removal of the British vice-presidency.

Reform leader Mark Pieth made little secret of the obstructive behaviour of the Spanish-language clique within the exco where Grondona formed a formidable liaison with Spanish federation president Angel Maria Villar.

This led, early this year, to a failed attempt within the exco to scrap the ethics investigation into the 2018/2022 World Cup bids.

Keir Radnedge has been covering football worldwide for more than 40 years, writing 33 books, from tournament guides to comprehensive encyclopedias, aimed at all ages.

His journalism career included The Daily Mail for 20 years as well as The Guardian and other national newspapers and magazines in the UK and around the world. He is a former editor, and remains a lead columnist, with World Soccer, generally recognised as the premier English language magazine on global football.

In addition to his writing, Keir has been a regular analyst for BBC radio and television, Sky Sports, Sky News, Aljazeera and CNN.

Keir Radnedge’s Twitter: @KeirRadnedge

Keir Radnedge’s 

{jcomments on}

By Ismail Uddin

iSportconnect spoke exclusively to Sepang International Circuit CEO Razlan Razali about this year’s race including the troubling news about the lost airplane MH370 and how that has affected preparations.

How are preparations going for this year’s F1 race?

Preparations are well underway. Formula 1 cars and equipment have arrived. Formula 1 has already started setting up in certain areas.

How many tickets have you sold?

We are targeting 90,000 tickets by Sunday. We have sold slightly more than 60% so far. Up until the race weekend we expect more interest, traditionally locals buy more near the end.

Malaysia has recently been hit with the tragedy of a lost airplane. Do you feel the attention of the public to this recent tragedy deflect away from the upcoming race?

Off course the MH370 incident is getting a lot of attention obviously. It has affected mainly Malaysians as it involves our national Airline. It is an unprecedented situation so it may distract people from Formula 1 and buying tickets as well it should be. In some ways it does affect the current excitement about the GP and distract them from attending Formula 1 at this moment. But we will wait and see close to the race whether there are any changes or not.

Was there any point where you considered postponing or cancelling the event due to this crisis?

No I think that was not an option. The race will go on. There was no indication from Formula 1 and neither did we request for the round to be postponed or rescheduled.

The month of March is a very busy month for Malaysia in terms of tourism activities. This year is visit Malaysia year 2013 and in conjunction with Formula 1 as one of the main attractions for Visit Malaysia year, there have been a lot of events planned around F1 so it’s very very difficult to postpone it. The show must go on.

What is Sepang’s future with Formula 1? Is there a long term future with the sport?

Our contract ends 2015 next year. We will in some ways discuss the way forward this weekend but we do have some time to decide whether we want to continue beyond 2015 or not.

What other Motorsport series do you host? Is there any new series that will come to the circuit?

Besides F1 and MotoGP, we just confirmed for the first time since the 1993, the World Superbike championship which will take place on the 6^th to 8^th June. This is an additional international event that we are hosting because the interest for two wheels is growing. It’s getting bigger and bigger.

In terms of other events, this all depends on the reception we get in the local markets because any successful motorsport event has to be attended by massive spectators. We feel that because of the interest in two wheels we can afford to have bike events. When it comes to four wheels we have to do our research to see if we can attract the masses or not, so far we have not identified any car events besides F1 for Sepang.

What’s the Current Financial Health of Sepang?

Our track is more or less utilised 96% during the year including international events like F1, Moto GP and World Superbike.

We are self-sustainable. We are looking at long-term master plan of the circuit which includes light industrial growth.   We hope to launch our hotel in about 16 months. But in terms of sustainability we are doing very good at the moment. There is a lot of interest in Motorsport and a lot of interest for non-motorsport events so we are very pleased with that.

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri. Ahmad Razlan bin Ahmad Razali serves as Chief Executive Officer of Sepang International Circuit. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri. He has been in that position since 2008.

Bin Ahmad Razali serves as Acting Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Association of Motorsports. He served as Senior Manager of Business Development, Vice President and Head of the Internal Audit Division of BKCB from 1997 to 2000.

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri. Bin Ahmad Razali began his accounting profession in 1994 with Price Waterhouse, where he was involved in corporate finance related work.

He served as the Managing Director of Artic Building and Civil Engineering Sdn Bhd since 1997. From 1997 to 2004, he was involved in the construction, property development and information technology industry.

From 2005 to 2008, he was actively involved in the event promotion management, motor sports management and publishing. 

When people ask me how I got the job, I usually reply that I groveled. Without kneepads.

I have no problem groveling to the Communist Chinese that run the international sports programs of The People’s Republic of China – in fact as an American living and working here – I am considered less than nothing to the all-encompassing power that is the Chinese Government and Chinese Communist Party.

Specifically I am speaking of how I became the Senior Expert in Media and Communications for the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and the only American in senior management for what was to become the greatest Olympics of the modern age.

Being a three-time Summer Olympic Sportscaster for Westwood One Radio (America’s largest network with some 7,000 radio station affiliates), I arrogantly believed there would be “no problem” landing a senior communications position with the Chinese Olympic Organizers when I paid a visit to the BOCOG offices during the winter of 2004. Because of my extensive Games-time experience as an accredited Olympic radio commentator at the 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics (as America’s radio “voice” of indoor and beach volleyball), I knew exactly what the Games were all about; the Chinese (at the time) could only read about it in books.

Through a Chinese BOCOG contact that I made during the Athens Games, I landed an appointment with the Head of Media and Communications for the Organizing Committee and traveled to Beijing in November 2004 during one of the nastiest winters God ever bestowed onto this ancient capital city.

I was full of hubris, with an inflated ego, and felt the only thing I believed left for the Olympic Organizers to decide was if I was to have a corner office or a window view looking out over The Forbidden City. I was a narcissistic American “peacock”, full of piss and vinegar and wanted the Chinese to know that I was vastly superior to them in all ways Olympic.

What I didn’t realize was that peacocks, as lovely as they are, get eaten in China and I was minutes away from having my head on the chopping block.

I arrived exactly on time at the temporary offices of BOCOG (located within a downtown bank) and was instantly whisked away to a lavish office. There, I turned on my PowerPoint presentation and wearing my best suit and tie, patiently waited for the Chinese official to arrive. True to form, he came in 15 minutes late and after a customary greeting and exchanging business cards (always with two hands with my Chinese text version facing up), I began my presentation.

Some eight minutes later, the man looked at his watch, stood up, said he had another meeting to attend and walked out … and just like that, I was kicked out of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Committee.

Six minutes later, I was standing on a street curb with my laptop in hand.

It was incredibly cold as I frantically tried to flag down a taxi.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it started to rain.

In buckets.

Then and there I was determined to show the Chinese that I was made of sterner stuff.

That’s more of my ego talking.

For the next two and a half years, I spent more than $25,000 on airline tickets and hotel expenses and pestered the Chinese Olympic Organizers during 11 more meetings.

I even came up with an idea to light the Olympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremonies; Yao Min would throw a flaming basketball into the mouth of an animatronic 40-foot tall dragon that would then shot-put a fireball into the cauldron.

They didn’t like it and I can understand why.

From my “western” perspective, I thought that BOCOG officials were just tired of seeing my face in their office and eventually decided to hire me just to shut me up. In reality the Chinese officials took their time to see if I was truly and sincerely interested in being part of their senior staff.  So it took two years?  What is time in a nation that can trace its origin back 2,000 years? More important – I learned great lessons about humility. It was not the Chinese that had to change – I had to.

I grew to understand and appreciate the “Chinese way” of doing business. It took those two years for me to throw away my pride, my ego and become a new person. When you are an American working for a Chinese organization, you must become humble, contrite and work without guile. This is the person I am today.

Prior to joining BOCOG, I had spent the previous nine years as the Senior Advisor for global PR for China Southern Airlines in Guangzhou, China’s largest airline. I continually drew back upon my experiences on how to behave and how to be appropriate as a foreigner (which means keeping my mouth shut and my opinions to myself) within a corporate Chinese hierarchy and state-owned enterprise.

And without being overly boastful, I do possess solid English linguistical and journalists skills, honed over decades of chasing down wayward ambulances.

So, on March 15, 2007, I moved to Beijing and began working, full time, as the first foreigner and only American to work in senior management for BOCOG. But I did so by paying a high price.  I left behind in California, my wife, my 12 year old daughter, gave my golden retriever to my brother in Montana and put my classic 1965 P1800 Volvo sports car on blocks.

I came to Beijing with two suitcases of clothes. Nothing more.

Initially I was hired as the English Editor for the monthly Beijing 2008 Magazine, but contracts and job titles mean nothing here.  Once the word got out in the 27-story BOCOG HQ that I was working for the Media and Communications Department, (and more than a little jabbing from my end), the work piled on.  I loved it all and always asked for more. I re-wrote every English press release given to the world media and worked every press event organized by BOCOG including the international media presentation of the Water Cube, Olympic Village, Wukesong Baseball and Basketball arenas.

By the time the Olympic Games arrived in the Summer of ’08, I was working tirelessly for six BOCOG departments (besides my own work load) and became the de-facto international TV spokesman for the Beijing Olympics.

One of the greatest honors that China could bestow came August 7, 2008, the day before the Opening Ceremonies. Madame Wang Hui, head of all PR for the Beijing Olympics, came to me and asked that edit the English briefing book of the Opening Ceremonies that was to be presented to the international journalists at the Bird’s Nest the following evening. What an honor.

This book represented the culmination of seven years of work by the Olympic organizers and I had the final say of what was printed. I could have changed the English to just about anything. But of course I would not do that and was deeply humbled that I would be given this task.

I was even allowed to re-write the English speeches of the leaders of the Chinese Government … all this coming from a Republican from Orange County, California.

Eventually, I earned my place as a trusted advisor at the highest levels of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee and Chinese Government. I would never knowingly do anything to harm, hurt or cause by action against the Chinese people and I am, in so many ways, so much of a better man that walked into the BOCOG offices that frigid November morning so long ago.

After the Olympics ended, I received an award from the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee for my training of China’s senior Olympic management team … and then invited by the Chinese Government to Guangzhou (in South China) where I held the position of Executive Advisor for Media and Communications for The 16^th Asian Games.

So, here are some words of wisdom from one who has seen and done just about everything in China:

– Never give up.

– Don’t take yourself too serious.

– Remember to be humble, contrite and without guile, and

– Don’t forget what happens to peacocks!

{jcomments on}

Jeff Ruffolo is currently Press Officer for the 2012 Fed Cup in Shenzhen, China. His previous roles have included: International Media Manager for the Qatar Local Organizing Committee, 2011 AFC Asian Cup; Chief Communications Officer for the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and Senior Media Expert for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG). He is a three-time Summer Olympic Sportscaster for Westwood One at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. Ruffolo is currently writing a ‘behind the scenes’ book about his experiences with BOCOG titled ‘Inside the Beijing Olympics’.

Jeff Ruffolo’s email: ruffolopr@hotmail.com

 Jeff Ruffolo’s