The shame of Spain is not yet over

CURITIBA, Brazil (AP) — Spain will take on Australia in their final Group B match today in the knowledge that defeat will officially make their defence of the World Cup the worst in history.

Following two straight defeats for both teams, neither can qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup.

But Spain in particular have something to play for, despite having already made history of the wrong kind. They are the first defending champion in modern times to be eliminated after two matches, following a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Dutch and a 2-0 defeat to Chile. In 1934 Uruguay did not defend their trophy while in 1950 Italy failed to get through a three-team group despite winning a match.

Today, Spain will seek to avoid notching up another negative milestone.

No defending champion has ever exited a tournament without securing a single point. France came closest in 2002 when they came last in their group, having only managed to draw one of their games in a goalless campaign in South Korea.

Following a six-year period of domination which has seen them win two straight European Championships as well as the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, Spain’s woes at the World Cup have come as huge surprise.

Many of the players that took the field in the opening two games are likely to be on the bench at the Arena da Baixada in the southern city of Curitiba.

In the wake of the Dutch thrashing, coach Vicente del Bosque already rang the changes in the second match against Chile when he dropped Xavi Fernandez and Gerard Pique from the start. Koke, for one, is expected to play against Australia, after he replaced Xabi Alonso in the Chile game.

“We’re going to put together the best line-up for that game,” said del Bosque. “All my players are potential starters without a doubt. We’ll try to put together the best team.”

Striker Fernando Torres, who has been a part of Spain’s success in recent years, said the players want to finish with a win as the team rebuilds ahead of the 2016 European Championship in France.

“We didn’t show our strengths in the first two games and now we have the chance against Australia,” said Torres. “We’re expecting a real tough game. It’s our last chance to win a game at this World Cup and to go back to Spain with three points and show everyone we have a lot of football for the future.”

The future of the Spanish national side remains uncertain. Though the Spanish Football Federation has indicated that it wants del Bosque to remain in place during the rebuilding, it’s uncertain whether the 63-year-old coach has the inclination to carry on.

For Australia, despite their two defeats, the World Cup can be viewed in a far more positive light.

Following a lacklustre loss to Chile, Australia pushed the Netherlands during their narrow 3-2 loss. Australia will be without the suspended Tim Cahill, whose 20-yard left-footed volley against the Dutch could end up being the goal of the tournament.

“We came here to play football, and as a nation I think we have earned the respect of the world,” Cahill said. “I’m proud of this team, the kids. It’s one of the best soccer teams I have ever been a part of.”

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The shame of Spain is not yet over

The death of shame

1 August 2013 Last updated at 19:01 ET By Nick Bryant BBC News, New York Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer both resigned over sex scandals

Sex scandals used to doom a politician. Now, they refuse to back down from evidence of dirty deeds. Have we reached a new age of American politics?

With the volume turned down, the latest campaign advertisement from Anthony Weiner feels more like a hostage video.

He looks tired and haggard, as if he has not slept or eaten properly for days.

Mired in a scandal of his own making, the 48-year-old former congressman appears close to breaking point, a man at the end of his tether.

His message, though, is defiant – almost comically so in the circumstances.

“Sometimes people say to me, ‘this campaign is pretty rough, you may want to quit,’” he reflects.

“Quit isn’t the way we roll in New York City. We fight through tough things. We are a tough city. There are people all around New York City who get up in the morning with a pretty tough day ahead of them – and they don’t quit.”

The three faces of Weiner: at his 2011 resignation from Congress; back on the campaign trail in May; answering questions about his latest sexting scandal

In many ways, of course, the mayoral candidate is right.

New York is, indeed, a tough city. But it’s Weiner, rather than the newspaper editors and politicians whom he criticises for misunderstanding New York, who is surely misreading the city’s mood.

It is not so much that voters here are shocked by his behaviour. It is more that they are bewildered. How does Weiner think he can possibly survive a second sex scandal that so closely resembles his first?

As anyone who has walked past a newsstand in New York over the past 10 days knows all too well, the latest Weiner sexting scandal feels like a re-run of the one that forced him to resign from Congress in 2011.

Tabloid reporters, who appear to be paid by the double entendre, have relished in the tawdry details and their effect on his “limp campaign”.

There was the graphic, pornographic imagery of the messages he exchanged on a chat site with a young woman. And what of his cartoonish nom de plume Carlos Danger, which could almost have been invented with an impending media feeding frenzy in mind.

What made these details all the more sensational was the timing: Weiner’s online affair had started only months after he resigned from office, when he was supposed to be rebuilding his marriage and seeking therapy.

Resigned as US congressman on 16 June 2011

Resigned as Governor of New York on 17 March 2008

Sent unsolicited photos of his genitals to women over Twitter

Solicited high-price call girls, caught in prostitution sting

Initially told reporters he was being set up, then admitted that he “can’t say” more photos wouldn’t surface

Allegedly left his socks on during intercourse (a charge he denies), accused of being “too rough”

Announced candidacy for New York City mayor on 21 May 2013

Announced candidacy for New York City comptroller on 7 July 2013

Anthony Weiner says that New Yorkers do not quit – and neither will he

Before the most recent scandal broke he was leading in the mayoral polls. It seemed as if New Yorkers were prepared to give him a second chance. But not a third.

He has slumped in the polls and his campaign is in disarray. At the weekend, his campaign chief resigned.

His head of communications also made the mistake of becoming a story. Recently she launched into an expletive-laden tirade directed at a former Weiner intern who had revealed behind-the-scenes details to the press.

But Weiner battles on.

‘I failed, big time’

Of course, the disgraced former congressman is not the only New Yorker looking to make a political comeback.

Eliot Spitzer, who five years ago resigned as the governor of New York following revelations that he patronised prostitutes, is attempting to become the New York City comptroller, its chief fiscal officer.

Spitzer was stone-faced when resigning in 2008, but decidedly more cheerful as he collected signatures to appear on the New York City ballot this year

Spitzer’s campaign has so far gone smoothly, and the polls suggest that voters think he’s ripe for rehabilitation.

He served five years in the political sin bin. He is seeking a lesser job. He also conveys what feels like genuine contrition. His second campaign ad was particularly effective.

“Look I failed, big time,” he says. “I hurt a lot of people.”

Certainly, Americans are more forgiving than they used to be when it comes to sex scandals.

Here, the impeachment of Bill Clinton, following his affair with the White House intern Monica Lewinsky, was a turning point.

Spitzer admits he failed, “big time”, in an advert

Despite Republican attempts to force him from office, he ended his scandal-punctuated presidency with the highest end-of-term approval rating on record.

By then, Clinton had already dubbed himself the “Comeback Kid” after being runner-up in the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary election, weeks after revelations of extra-marital affairs which many believed would finish his presidential ambitions.

Clinton admitted he stepped outside of his marriage, but refused to step down

Americans also know that some of their most beloved presidents, from Thomas Jefferson to Franklin Delano Roosevelt to John F Kennedy, were sinners rather than saints.

More recently, Mark Sanford has followed the path of forgiveness back into office. After stepping down as governor of South Carolina for his affair with an Argentine woman, he was re-elected as a congressman last year.

As with Spitzer, it helped that he sought a lesser office.

What makes Weiner different is that he’s a repeat offender, and he may not have demonstrated sufficient repentance for his sins.

As he vows to continue with his campaign for mayor, he appears to be testing the old adage from the gothic politics of Louisiana: it is possible to survive anything other than waking up with a dead woman or live boy.

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The death of shame