My prediction for the final : Khalil AL GHAMDI (ksa) I think he controlled the previous two matches very well.
He's too whistle-happy for my liking, and imo, he lost the plot in the first half of the Chile v Switzerland game. I genuinely can only see one of Archundia, Webb or De Bleeckere overseeing the final, with Archundia the clear frontrunner.
Archundia and Webb haven't been used since that R16. I think it's a toss-up. Since Webb's already had a big match with the CL Final, maybe it's Archudia's turn with Webb as 4O.
Food for thought: Rodriguez may have been retained so he could be the fourth official for Archundia, thus an all Mexican crew for the final.
Woot! at this point, Archunida has to be getting the Final. Webb will have the 3rd place match if NED is playing. If they're not, it's a toss up between him as 4th on the Final or 3rd. That being said, I think it's more likely that he's working the 3rd, with Rodriguez on the sides for the Final with Archunida. I have not been impressed with Rodriguez, but I guess FIFA us. On the bright side, Mallenco is done.
Hector Vergara is going to go down as the best AR in history up to this point--and that's whether he gets the World Cup Final or not. The man's longevity and consistency has been spectacular. And he's done this without ever having a D-1 league to call his own (he's only occasionally done MLS matches since Canadian officials entered the league a few years ago). It's an amazingly impressive resume he's put together. To do so from a country that has less pull in FIFA politics than the United States has? Makes it all the more astounding.
It looks like I may have to retract my prediction for Mallenco on the final, now that Spain have reached the semi. Even if Spain loses the match, they might feel that Mallenco would be biased against Germany in the final. But you never know... How about Damon for the 3rd place game? Home country referee and all that, and no-one cares about this match anyway but it looks good as a thank-you present for Africa.
If it's a Spain - Netherlands final ,Giving the final to Archundia could be a advantage for spain in terms of communication with the referee and with him coming from a somewhat similar culture and football style. I think Fifa Will proably take this into account too.
You know, I think that could be a point, mate. I hadn't thought of that, but FIFA could well take that into consideration, too.
It's possible, but Codesal did the Argentina v. West Germany Final in 1990. Brizio Carter also did Holland v. Argentina QF in 1998. FIFA hasn't seemed to care about the Spanish-language association in the past on major matches.
Remember that Codesal had his father-in-law on the RefComm! This would overrule all these logic based theories.
I believe this is correct. I wouldn't necessarily attribute too much in the way sentimentality to FIFA, but clearly this tournament is Blatter's baby and he will want the South African referee on that match IMHO. And since it is basically a meaningless game there's little worry. I didn't realize that Archundia and Co. hadn't done anything in the knock out stages. That seems to mean he is a lock to me. The potential issue with putting Rodriguez as 4O means that if anything happens to Archundia he goes in. I suppose that has never happened before but this has been the World Cup of bizarre occurrences.
It just occurred to me, Martin Hannson has been there the whole time and done nothing but 4Os. Any thoughts?
Each confederation had one referee team that was there only as reserves (save Africa, as Benouza got injured and wasn't replaced). Hansson was apparently #10 on UEFA's depth chart of 10 referees. He knew he'd only be a fourth official before the tournament started. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hEYL2fxgIwaVjGFjsQ9C1Ihd1LDQ
final candidates: MORE INSIGHT Hello All: Some interesting posts here - the WC Referee section has been well patronized, good to see. I will be interested to read through when the tournament is over and the dust settles some insight from someone intimately involved with the referee program at WC94: (1) FIFA has assigned consecutive finals to refs from the same country in the past: Englishmen in 1950 (Reader) and 1954 (Ling), and if that's too long ago there were Brazilians on 1982 (Coelho) and 1986 (Filho). It is not unprecedented, but probably unlikely these days. (2) Archundia is a good bet. One thing telling is his not being used much (at all?) after the group games. But things can be turned upside down on a whim! Peter Mikkelson (Denmark) was set up that same way for the 94 final with the two Australians (Brazzale and Dunster, who had done the opener) on the line. There was a final referee committee meeting to confirm the appointments - when ex-FIFA Pres Havelange walked in. He insisted that there be no "spectacle-killing" misconduct in the final (recall Codesal 1990 was the first send-off(s)) and asked who had given the fewest YC in the tournament. The answer? SANDOR PUHL of Hungary. They chose two innocuous Linesmen (Zarate of Venezuela and Fanai of Iran) and there you have it - done, done, and done. Mikkelson was irate (justifiably so). (3) Did you know that Archundia's FATHER was a Linesman on the 1974 Final for Jack Taylor? I'm pretty sure the father / son Final would be a first, I wonder if there are father/son World Cup referees. Enjoy the last weekend! Germany - Spain semi is on in the background right now. THAREF
Re: final candidates: MORE INSIGHT This Archundia is not the son the of the 1974 Archundia. Codesal's father was on the FIFA RefComm, and may have been a WC referee back in the 60s. He is Uruguayan.
Re: final candidates: MORE INSIGHT Is there a relation? Codesal's dad did one match in England 1966. The story above about Mikkelsen is astounding, and all evidence makes it look legitimate. Puhl did have the fewest cards. Mikkelsen, who originally was with one of his Danish ARs, got switched to the two Aussie ARs in the Netherlands v. Ireland match. Mikkelsen also did send off a Spaniard in Round 1. Plus Mikkelsen had done three matches, none involving Brazil or Italy (while Puhl did Italy in the QFs and Brazil in Round 1) so there was no conflict. Given Mikkelsen's 1990 pedigree, it makes perfect sense he was slated for a late-round match--Final or Semifinal. If that's how it happened, I think Mikkelsen had a right to be more than irate. He loses out on the Final because he gave 4 more cards than Puhl over three matches! After that tournament, Puhl then got a Euro 96 semifinal (while Mikkelsen had a group stage match) and Puhl did the UCL Final, when Mikkelsen did not. I remember watching Puhl and he's now remembered as the world's best prior to Collina. It seems like that was Mikkelsen's mantle for the taking and he got robbed of it. Of course Mikkelsen now sits on the RefComm and has a say in who works Sunday... wonder if he'll be recalling his own ordeal?
I'm pretty 100% convinced Archundia is getting the final now. The other two that I considered candidates - De Bleeckere and Webb are both in my eyes now ruled out. De Bleeckere, as he was fourth official tonight and has overseen Dutch league games, and Webb, as he has already overseen a Spain match in this tournament. Fair enough, he got through the game without incident, but it's unusual that a referee gets appointed to the same country twice.
Re: final candidates: MORE INSIGHT My info is that there is no close, but perhaps a distant relation. Thanks for the info on Codesal the elder. I kind of suspected that but wasn't certain. This is more indication of the kind of thing I was writing about several pages ago. All of the detailed discussion about performance, who did what games and countries etc., is very interesting and fun, but it in reality does not count for much. This type of objective analysis and logic goes out the window when it comes to the WC final! All you have to do is look at the previous referees and the pattern is clear. I will also point out that Puhl had a very strong fellow countryman on the committee, by the name of Palotai, a former prominent and very good FIFA referee. I doubt he would have got the match without Palotai being there.
Re: final candidates: MORE INSIGHT The Dutch would Prefer Webb ,Not only for the Communication part but also he suits there style of play more than Archundia. While the Spanish will prefer Archundia ,He speaks spanish and comes from a Country which is similar in terms of playing style to spain. Interesting Choice here for FIFA.
Re: final candidates: MORE INSIGHT I think Dutch wouldn't not like Archundia because he'd probably be more lenient with the diving. So the Dutch could probably dive more than a couple times without risking getting carded for it.