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 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?

The goal stood the test of the 90 minutes time as Manchester United lost and missed Cristiano Ronaldo once again. This EPL seems to be going to the hands of Chelsea as the most prospective winner Manchester United failed to impress. On the other hand, Real Madrid’s performance has gone notches up compared to their last season. The main reason why Manchester United is losing is due to low moral. Even the legendary Alex Ferguson may have problems figuring out an ideal replacement strategy for Cristiano Ronaldo. One thing is sure that Cristiano cannot be replaced singularly, for example, Nani is good but cannot provide the same flair to the game as Cristiano Ronaldo.

The one thing that Ferguson can do would be to get a couple of good finishers and playmakers to finally add some teeth in the United attack squad. This has been the third Premier League upset of the season for United.

David & Victoria Beckham

David Beckham – This once upon a time English heart throb is still very much the English heart throb, even after incidents of Beckham with Rebecca Loose, getting the boot at Real Madrid – severely tested is fans humility and patience. More recently David Beckham became widelypopular – infamous – in the United States after his stint at L.A. Galaxy. Although some sectors still believe he might have finally popularised the sport in USA. Beckham never seems to be able to get out of the headlines. David Beckham’s wife Victoria is equally popular with her size zero and trendy Victoria’s Secret.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo – If Cristiano Ronaldo was big in Manchester United, he is even bigger now in Real Madrid. Cristiano has capably proved his mettle by winning several games for Madrid single handedly (or) Leggedly. His lady-killing looks automatically made him the popstar of soccer. Ronaldo is one of the most popular players in modern day football. Fortunately for him and Real, he puts in the same charm in his game. Radically unnerving the best of defenses has always been a plus for Cristiano.

KAKA

Ricardo Kaka – Kaka, the son of Christ is another popular football player. He made a much publicized to the ‘Galacticos’ and he had become one at his former club AC Milan. Kaka is one of the finest playmakers that Brazil has produced – like many others from the footballing country.  Ricardo Kaka has also been making a mark in his present club Real Madrid. His handsome, suave looks made him irresistable for women across the globe. Kaka has appeared in popular fashion magazines around the world.

Ronaldinho – He is the second Brazilian after Kaka to be listed in Myfray.com’s Most Popular Players in the World list. This awesome, heavy-duty playmaker for Barcelona is the God of football for millions of fans who love the sport. Even people who do not follow football are aware of Ronaldinho’s  killer moves on the turf. His quick sizzling movements have always attracted lot of attention and baffled defenses of teams.

Thierry Henry – Finally a footballer who showed the game of football can be played with a lottt of attitude. Thierry Henry is an extremely talented striker who has impressed every club he played with – making a lot of fans on the way. This former Gunner player is still very popular with his fans back at the Emirates although currently he plays for Spanish giants Barcelona. Most youngsters in football loving countries treat Henry like an idol, his clinical finishing and elegant goal-celebration style gave him true star value.

Lionel Messi – Messi is a popular Argentine who is packed with a lot of power in a tiny frame. A classic example of nimble and swift moves all in one. Messi is currently playing for Barcelona and has been pivotal in the success of this club and particularly effective against traditional rivals of Barcelona, Real Madrid. Messi is the Coach Maradona’s pet and Maradona acts as Messi’s mentor.

Nicklas Bendtner in Arsenal Jersey

Bendtner to miss Champions League Tie after Car Crash

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner will miss tuesday’s Champion’s League tie against Olympiakos after he was involved in a car accident. Arsenal’s boss Arsene Wenger, speaking at a press conference on Monday revealed that Nicklas Bendtner suffered a minor crash on Sunday. “Nicklas did not practice because he had a car accident on Sunday,” Wenger said.

Nicklas Bendtner is a Denmark national who plays as striker for English club Arsenal.

Fiorentina Coach Can’t Forget Heysel Tragedy

The last time Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli came up against Liverpool he was a Juventus player during the tragic Heysel stadium disaster in the old European Cup final in 1985.

Juventus won that match by 1-0 but it will always be remembered as for the 39 people who died in a crush when a wall collapsed following a stampede blamed on Liverpool fans.

“Heysel was something out of the ordinary that had nothing to do with football, nothing to do with Liverpool or with matches played,” Prandelli said.

Mascherano and Benayoun to Miss Fiorentina Clash

Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun will miss Liverpool’s Champion’s League clash against Fiorentina in Italy on tuesday. Argentina mid-fielder Mascherano is suffering from sickness while Israel play-maker Benayoun picked up a leg injury in the same match.

Obviously, considering the volume of spectators expected to be present for world cup 2010 is gargantuan. Acknowledging this fact there are a number of growing number of self-catering cottages and apartments.

Here are a list of few of the hotels that are available in South Africa. South Africa offer World Cup 2010 packages that are affordable in all budgets.

V&A Waterfront Hotels:  The gentle elegance of a luxurious small hotel, combined with the allure of one of the world’s most beautiful cities, provides a unique experience of …

Franschhoek Hotels:The restored manor house and former perfumery dating back to 1890, is surrounded by enchanting vineyards and majestic mountains.

Bed and Breakfast plans in Cape Town-

Sugar Hotel

Green Point Accommodation / Luxury Hotel Accommodation in Green Point

Sugar Hotel & Spa is a chic, sleek, luxury boutique hotel perfectly situated close to and within walking distance of the V&A Waterfront, the 2010 Green Point World Cup soccer Stadium, the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the city itself, its restaurants and night clubs.

Antrim Villa

Three Anchor Bay Accommodation / Bed & Breakfast in Three Anchor Bay

The house has all technical facilities and is situated in Three Anchor Bay / Green Point which is a ten minutes walk from the new stadium. Antrim Villa has seven double rooms and two single rooms.

List of Hotels in Johannesburg-

Sandton Hotels: The Grace in Rosebank is a sophisticated boutique styled city hotel which provides the highest levels of personal service and luxury standards.

Westcliff Hotels:  Situated in Johannesburg’s most exclusive residential suburb, The Westcliff’s hillside setting with cascading, sculpted gardens and elegantly opulent.

FOR A DETAILED LIST OF HOTELS, BED AND BREAKFAST PLAN & GUEST HOUSE IN ALL CITIES OF WC 2010 VISIT THIS LINK:

www.sa-venues.com

Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup:

• Egypt
• Libya / Tunisia (co-hosting)
• Morocco
• South Africa

After one round of voting, the winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a media conference on 15 May 2004 in Zürich. South Africa was awarded the rights to host the tournament.

Then in 2005, the South African organisers released a provisional list of thirteen venues to be used for the World Cup. This was narrowed down to ten venues which were officially announced by FIFA on 17 March 2006:

Johannesburg (City) – Soccer City (Stadium) – 94, 700 (Venue Capacity)

Durban (City) – Moses Mabhida Stadium – 70,000 (Capacity of Venue)

Cape Town (City) – Green Point Stadium – 69,070 (Capacity)

Johannesburg – Coca-Cola Park – 62,567

Pretoria – Loftus Versfeld Stadium – 51, 760

Port Elizabeth – Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium – 48,000

Bloemfontein – Free State Stadium – 48,070

Pietersburg – Peter Mokaba Stadium – 46,000

Nelspruit – Mbombela Stadium – 44,000

Rustenberg – Royal Bafokeng Stadium – 42,000

The World Cup 2010 official mascot is Zakumi. Zakumi means “ten” in various African languages. The mascot is a leopard with green hair. The colors used for the mascot are yellow and green, similar to the host nation’ s playing strip.

Zakumi- WC 2010 official mascot

This proves one thing clearly that all great players cannot become a great coach. If the equation was that simple most yesteryear stars would be managing teams at the sidelines. But it is not such as unlike Maradona, other stars know that their strength was in the game and not managing the team in a game.

The flamboyant Maradona was perhaps one of the worst mistakes that Argentina national team’s top men may have made. Argentina are struggling to qualify for the World Cup 2010 under Maradona’s leadership.

Signal Iduna Park

1. Signal Iduna Park

Signal Iduna Park or the Westfalenstadion is the most awesome stadium for football crazy fans with a capacity of 80,552 (standing and seated) for league games and an international capacity of 65,718 (official number) making it the largest stadium in Germany.

The Signal Iduna Park may be most well-known for its unique Südtribüne” (Southern Stand) with 24,454 enthusiastic standing fans who fill the largest still existing terrace of Europe. The spectator experience is dazzling when the home team, Borussia Dortmund enters into the field for action.

San Siro Stadium

2. San Siro

San Siro is the home ground for the Italian Seria A clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan. The history behind this stadium is almost as interesting as the robot-arm like pillars that support this stadium. San Siro is also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The stadium is named in honour of Giuseppe Meazza, the two-time World Cup winner who played both for Inter and AC Milan in the 1930s and 1940s. Since Meazza had a more succesful stint at Inter Milan, the AC Milan fans prefer to call it the San Siro.

The San Siro has a capacity of 80,000 spectators.

Anfield

3. Anfield

Anfield is the home of Liverpool F.C., the stadium design is one that fits in sophistication as well as the flare of the game. It is one of the classiest stadium standing today. Anfield opened in 1884, that is really really llong ago. Today after a lot of renovations the Anfield has a roaring capacity of 45, 276 spectators. Anfield is an UEFA Elite Stadium.

Inonu

4. Inonu

Inonu is the first modern football stadium in Istanbul. It is home to the Turkish club Besiktas. Inonu was designed by an Italian architect.

If you thought that Inonu only held football matches, think again. The first stadium concert in Turkey was performed by Bryan Adams at the İnönü Stadium on July 28, 1992. Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Bon Jovi and Madonna have all performed at this awesome stadium.

Inonu has a spectator capacity of 32,145.

Allianz Arena

5. Allianz Arena

My personal favorite, Allianz Arena. This stadium could be more of a tourist attraction than a football stadium. It has got an awesome feature to switch colors. Allianz Arena can blue, red or a combination of both. One of the most beautiful stadiums in Europe.

This stadium in home for Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. Allianz Arena is also the venue for the 2012 UEFA Champions League finals.

The capacity of the stadium is 69,901 spectators (including standing room).

Grossly Overpriced!

If you checked out the latest article on Goal.com which was titled: Manchester United Smarter Than Milan When Selling To Real Madrid – Fabio Capello. There is a very interesting thing to learn from it.

Basically, the report focussed on the fact that Manchester United got an extremely good deal when they sold Cristiano Ronaldo. Whereas, Milan were sleazed in money by Real Madrid for selling Ricardo Kaka to them.

Milan were paid €67m for Kaka and Manchester United got €94m for the Portuguese. Definitely and unanimously you will all agree that Cristiano Ronaldo was grossly over-priced.

All this variation when Ricardo Kaka is no less in caliber or in contribution to team victories. Infact, Kaka maybe more useful to Real Madrid than Cristiano Ronaldo in the future. As in, Kaka can be made a skipper but no way can you see a Ronaldo becoming a skipper. Temperamental-wise, again Kaka will outbeat Cristiano Ronaldo.

One thing is clear from this example. In the football world,the transfer fee is not purely decided by the playing quality. Infact it also includes the hype of the footballer and his stardom. Cristiano Ronaldo is an idol to far more youngsters than Ricardo Kaka. Also, the girls go all ga-ga over Ronalda, even though Kaka is no less in that department.

The fact remains that Ronaldo is way more hyped than Kaka and that brought Manchester United a grossly over-priced deal when they sold the former.

Photos of Cristiano Ronaldo playing in Real Madrid jersey.

Ronaldo in Real Madrid