Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore admitted that "the English top flight is lagging behind the German Bundesliga when it comes to youth development, but still believes his own is the more attractive league for established players." Scudamore told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that "he believes Germany’s recent investment in youth is exemplary and, while saying England is catching up, he added that more needed to be done to follow the Bundesliga’s example" (London GUARDIAN, 12/28). ... Japan national football team Manager Javier Aguirre "launched an impassioned defense of his integrity as he broke his silence over match-fixing allegations on Saturday." Aguirre: “I worked in Spain for 12 years and I have never done anything unethical or unprofessional. The only thing you need to win is effort. I don’t give anyone presents and I don’t go looking for any" (JAPAN TIMES, 12/27). ... Russian National Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov said that it is important "to cut down the number of foreign players in Russia’s Premier League to two or three per football club." Zhukov: “If two or three really good foreign footballers play in a team, that’s quite enough." On Dec. 16, the exec board of the Russian Football Union "endorsed a new formula for setting a limit to the number of mercenaries at football clubs" (ITAR TASS, 12/24).
