Soccer

FIFA World Cup 2010 Preview: The Favourites

The FIFA World Cup is upon us once more and it promises to be a treat for the football lover. Being hosted for the first time in Africa, this edition of the world’s greatest sports event features the perfect mix of upcoming talent and experienced stars.  The June 11- July 11 tournament features some of the best teams of the world, who fought their way to the finals after a tough qualifying stage.

But this is it, the one month to be immortals, to grab the opportunity and win the ultimate trophy and be remembered forever as heroes and legends. But who shall be the captain who lifts the prestigious trophy on  the evening of 11th July in Johannesburg? That is the question. I, Varun K R, from Myfray analyse the prospects of each team and present to you a list of the 9 favourites who stand a very realistic chance of going all the way.

9) Portugal – They go into the world cup led by the flamboyant Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the world’s best footballer. But being the perennial underachievers, Portugal have to overcome the mental block and aim to win their first major trophy. The closest they have come to tasting success in the international arena is being runners-up in the Euro 2004 where they were the hosts. This time the squad is rejuvenated and has an attacking mentality. With Liedson, Simao and Ronaldo, Portugal has one of the best strike forces in the tournament. A solid midfield features stars like Deco, Raul Miereles and the reliable Tiago. The Chelsea duo of Paulo Ferriera and Ricardo Carvalho man the defence. The one weak link in the Portuguese squad is the position of the keeper. The number 1, Eduardo has had only 15 caps for the national team while the other 2 keepers, Beto and Daniel Fernandes have 1 and 2 caps each. This means a very inexperienced goalkeeper, which could hamper their chances of winning in the Group of Death, where they are pitted against giants Brazil, African team Ivory Coast and North Korea.

After a lukewarm performance in the qualifiers, they had to play a play-off the seal their place at the finals. Now the nation turns to its stars to put up an inspired performance and create history by winning the trophy for the first time. For that to happen, they need a lot of luck too. With Nani out of the tournament after picking up an injury days before the start of the World Cup and Pepe still fighting to recover completely from his knee injury, the depth of the Portuguese squad will be tested in South Africa.

My prediction: Quarter-finalists

8 ) Netherlands - The Dutch, like the Portuguese are underachievers when it comes to international football, but have always been known for a beautiful style of play which was popularized by the concept of  ‘Total Football’ during ’70s. They won the Euro 1988 when Marco van Basten’s superb volley sunk USSR’s hopes in the final. But that has been the only time they have won a major tournament. But stats do not tell the whole story here. They were twice the finalists, in the 1974 and 1978  World Cups, losing out to West Germany and Argentina by close margins.

The current squad boasts of tactically acurate and experienced players in the form of Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt, Wesley Sneijder among others. In the build up to the competition, the Dutch have consistently produced fine results and are in great form, capped by the recent 6-1 thrashing of Hungary. One major issue is the defence, which is not as stable as a World Cup contender hopes to have. Mathijsen, Heitinga and captain van Bronckhorst form the heart of the defensive line up while Maarten Stekelenburg guards the posts. This Dutch team can go a long way if things click for them at the right time in the tournament.

My prediction: Semi-finalists

7) France – The 1998 winners and 2006 runners up enter the tournament looking to win their 2nd World Cup. But they can not be given the tags of favourites to win the World Cup all that easily. The squad that got them the trophy in ’98 was a completely different one. And the pillars that held the squad until David Trezeguet missed the spot kick in the final are no longer playing. I mean Zinedine Zidane and Lilian Thuram. The current squad is pretty string on paper but being led by a poor manager in my view, Raymond Domenech. The only driving force that got the French to the final in Germany was probably Zinedine Zidane and without him in the squad, Les Blues are a rusty figure of their old self.

They needed a controversial hand ball from Thierry Henry to qualify for South Africa, but now they have a chance to start from level again. A team full of wonderful players like Henry, Ribery, Lloris, Anelka etc sometimes pulls off magic on the field. But that has been missing for most part of the qualifying campaign. The French need to correct that if they are even thinking of winning the cup and anything less than a semi final spot should finally, finally result in Domenech’s sacking. Can they do it this time, only time will tell.

My prediction: Round of 16

6 ) Italy – The Azzuri enter the World Cup as reigning champions after they beat France 5-3 on penalties in the 2006 final. But what is surprising is that that the squad is almost the same. The national team hasn’t undergone many changes after last time’s triumph and many believe that they are too old to be a world cup winning squad. But they have done it before and know how to win the World Cup. Experience is something they have in plenty but youth is what they lack.

Marcello Lippi has a great squad on paper, but will it be able to cope with the physical and pacy game that most teams have to offer? Lippi does sound confident of retaining the trophy but many fans are unsure. To retain the World Cup title, Italy needs the veterans Buffon, Pirlo, Cannavaro, Gilardino all to perform and simulate the success of the 2006 World Cup.

My Prediction: Quarter Finalists

5) Germany – Germany played one of the best football seen in the last World Cup, which was hosted on their soil. They have been in good form ever since, losing the Euro 2008 to Spain in the final. Once again they are among the favourites to lift the trophy, with players like Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, Ozil, Schweinsteiger etc boosting their line-up. The squad suffered a blow when captain Michael Ballack was ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining an injury last month. But the team has enough strength to go all the way.

Coach Jaochim Leow has created a team of good mental strength and physical capability. Whether things actually work for them in South Africa this summer is for time to decide.

My prediction: Quarter finalists

4) Argentina – Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona! The best player in the world at the moment and the best player 24 years ago are the mascots of Argentina’s World Cup campaign as they try to win the World Cup for a 3rd time after a gap of 24 years. The last time they won it in 1986, where Maradona’s men won 3-2 against the West Germans in the final to cap a memorable triumph. Now the responsibility to bring the Cup back to Buenos Aires rests on the shoulders of the young generation of Argentine footballers, coached by Maradona himself.

Maradona believes its his destiny to win the World Cup as a player and as a coach. And looking at his squad, one might wonder whether this is the World Cup that fulfils his ‘destiny’ or not. Six strikers, all of whom are among goals are included in the squad and only 2 get to be in the starting line up. A starting 11 with the likes of Messi, Higuain, Aguero, Diego Milito, Javier Mascherano is enough to send shivers down the spines of any opponent.

But will they really achieve what they dream of? It all depends on the effort they put on the pitch now!

My prediction: Semi-finalists

3) England – A major force in international football, England have had the Quarter final syndrome of late, with The Three Lions being ousted from their previous three major tournaments in the quarter finals, each time losing to a side coached by the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari. They can breathe a sigh of relief this time, as the Brazilian is no longer at the helm of any team.

Having won their only World Cup in 1966, the national side has faced a drought ever since. That is the only major trophy that England has ever won. But with experienced manager Fabio Capello coaching the side and stars like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry among others they will be hoping to alter that statistic a little. An interesting fact about the 23 man squad selected by Capello for the World Cup is that each one of the players plays his club football in England itself. And these 23 men would be  hoping to lift the prestigious trophy for their nation after a gap of 44 years!

My prediction: Quarter finalists

2) Brazil – They are always among the favourites. The only team to have played in each World Cup, Brazil is always burdened with the favourites tag whenever a World Cup takes place. The least that the passionate Brazilian fans expects from the national side is a spot in the final. This time the situation is no different. After a pretty good qualifying campaign and after being crowned champions at the Confederations Cup last year, the men in yellow fly to South Africa trying to get the trophy back home for the 6th time. The man in charge of the team knows what it takes to win a World Cup as he is none other than the captain of the 1994 World Champion team, Dunga.

Known for his defensive approach to the game, Dunga has managed to get great results from the team ever since he took over the national squad after the last World Cup. Many feel that this squad bears too much resemblance to the one that won the World Cup in 1994. But no one can complain if it emulates the same success as well. They have the firepower to do some serious damage to their opponents, with heavyweights like Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano, Dani Alves, Julio Cesar among others in the squad. The time is right for a 6th title, feel many fans and the Samba Kings will only try to make it happen!

My prediction: Runners Up/Champions

1) Spain – The top favourites to win the World Cup this year is ironically a team that has never won it before. But the fashion in which they won the Euro 2008 and the form they have maintained since has all bets being slapped on them. Playing a beautiful passing football game that can dissect any defence in the world, it really wont be a surprise if the Spaniards go all the way this time and become the 8th nation to win the trophy.

Coached by the experienced Vicente del Bosque, the squad is ful of stars who gel together perfectly to play a perfect team game that got them to the top of the FIFA World Ranking after the Euro. With clinical strikers like David Villa and Fernando Torres, accurate passers and play makers Xavi Hernandes, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas and solid defenders like Carles Puyol and Pique, spearheaded by captain and keeper Iker Casillas, this team could easily be mistaken for an all-stars team of the whole tournament. Everything looks good on paper for them, but they have to perform on the pitch and play the way they did 2 years ago and claim World Cup glory and create history!

My Prediction: Runners up/Champions

All this said, we hope you have a great summer ahead and enjoy every bit of the World Cup action. Have a nice time and thanks for reading this post.

Thierry Henry’s Cruel Hand Kills Irish WC Dreams

Thierry Henry has tarnished his image as a world-class footballing professional. You can say, he took one for the team. Thierry Henry every so gently nudged the ball that resulted in a goal. If it was done with his foot, he would have been Headline News. Which he is..actually, but totally villified and depicted in a negative manner.

Ireland soccer fans have vowed not to welcome this French soccer player ever to their country. Thierry Henry was quick to admit the truth during press conference and explained that it was the referees fault – the referee should have seen it.

Henry was right on his point, however, it showed that Henry is no paragon or god-man – Henry showed his Human Frailty to pressure.France were under extreme pressure to qualify for the World Cup and Thierry Henry’s cruel hands managed it. Parallely, crushing a lot of Irish fans passion.

Fifa has rejected the Irish claim to replay the match. Eventually, both, the French manager and the Irish manger seemed quite relieved to put the blame on the match referee and his assistants. This will trouble the referee and give him a few sleepless nights.

The only thing Henry did, being Henry was not to celebrate France’s victory at the final whistle. Instead he made a show of going over and sitting down on the turf to commiserate with the dejected Richard Dunne, the most heroic of Irish players.

Maybe what Henry did was something that any other player would have done. But Thierry Henry was not considered as just any other player. The question to be asked is would Legends like Zinedine Zidane have done this?