More than money, fame or power, Sepp Blatter cares about his legacy. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is Blatter's pride and joy, a bit of feel good work done to push a country emerging from apartheid towards a new era in its history. As Sepp presided over FIFA when the World Cup finally came to Africa, he'll reap some of the historical reward. That the tournament may not have the long-lasting impact Blatter and FIFA promised and has left South Africa with expensive white elephant stadiums is ultimately none of Sepp's concern.
Sepp with a cause is a dangerous thing for countries bidding to host a World Cup. Sepp with a cause cares not about infrastructure, existing venues, financial return or whose bid is most deserving. Sepp with a cause imagines his name attached to something that echoes across time in a way much larger than the simple staging of a soccer tournament.
Sepp has a ready-made cause and the chance for legacy-building in the South Korea's candidacy 2022 World Cup; during a new conference with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, Blatter spoke to the ability of a World Cup on the Korean peninsula to bring the the North and South together.
"I will be very, very happy to use the power of the World Cup and the power of football to help solve this solution," he said.
Blatter praised the South Korean bid, going to extra lengths to describe it as "very good."
Because the bidding process has been beset by scandal and is nearly impossible to handicap anyway, we can't be sure that Blatter's attempts to paint a South Korean World Cup as a peacemaking tool means trouble for the US bid. But Sepp and FIFA have a track record with this sort of thing, leaving open the question of whether the chance to add to his legacy on the Korean peninsula will trump American worthiness.
If Sepp's belief that the World Cup could bring together two warring parties was coming from place of altruism, ignoring whether or not it could actually do so, it might be easier to accept the idea of the US missing out on 2022. But Blatter has given us no reason to think that's the case; instead, it seems like more self-aggrandizing behavior from a man who more often than not puts his legacy before the good of the game or the people that must clean up after the FIFA circus pulls out of town.
I won't even bother questioning the legitimacy of South Korea's bid selling a tournament in their country as a bridge-builder with North Korea. Perhaps it would be on some superficial scale.
-JD
