The Big Boys... And The Missing Ones

The run up to this world cup has all been about the stars... in and out of the competition. By the time the final whistle had blown in the Santiago Bernabeu, with José Mourinho taking his Inter side to European Cup glory, most eyes had been on everyone's countries' team sheets, some nodding heads in approval and others watching each others mouths drop to the floor in amazement as their favorite or predicted stars were either omitted or confirmed injured for the tournament. Actually, contrary to so many of the previous World Cups, injuries have hardly played a part in keeping players away from the biggest stage of all in South Africa this year, with the most notable exceptions being those of Michael Ballack and Michael Essien. Maybe this year's competition has filled up it's quota's worth of Michael's... Hmmm... Now, I know people should never be happy upon other's misfortunes but, after Ballack's push on Paulo Ferreira effectively knocked Portugal out of the Euro's in 2008, I'm not sorry one little bit about his omission this year. In fact, the minute he went down after Kevin-Prince Boateng's tackle in the F.A. Cup final, all I could think of was, "Is he serious? I mean... is it serious? But, but, that means he won't be at the world cup!!!" ... I won't tell you what my reaction was after that but no prizes for guessing exactly how big my smile was. Gone is one the dirtiest and worst sportsman in recent footballing history. And the world is a better place for it thank you very much :-) Sorry, Germany. We could also add David Beckham to this injury list, the talismanic midfielder sadly suffered from a snapped Achilles when playing on loan at A.C. Milan earlier in the season. Initial prognosis put him at at least 5-6 months out with the injury, ruling him out and ruining his chance of becoming the first ever England player to play in four World Cups. The truth is, we're not even sure if he would have made the cut, such is the competition but it's still very sad news to not have him there.

From the other missing column come the players who's countries missed out. The World Cup will have to make do without stars like Yuri Zhirkov, Andre Arshavin and Igor Akinfeev from Russia. Also Luka Modrić, Ivica Olić and Eduardo da Silva from Croatia. It's a little sad that new sensation and Montenegro's 20 year old midfielder Stevan Jovetic, who's been a revelation at Fiorentina, finds himself on a team who's country might never make it to the world cup in years to come. It reminds me a little of the Ryan Giggs situation. Will he go on to become the best player never to play at a World Cup? And then no Adebayor, no Berbatov, no Frédéric Kanouté. No Petr Čech, no Mutu and probably worse of all, no Zlatan Ibrahimović. The big Swede missing out to Portugal and Denmark in the qualifying groups.

So, that's a lot of missing folk... but that's not all. I mean, we'll be having some amazing stars there, no doubt. But this year has also been very strange for the players left out of their countries teams altogether. Take, for example, the exclusion of Ronaldinho. It's understandable that he's suffered a bit of bad form since leaving Barcelona and even in his last season there he wasn't that great, but this season, and since his move to A.C. Milan, the 30 year old has been arguably the best player in Serie A, finishing the season with 12 goals and with the most number of assists (14). His teammate at Milan, Alexandre Pato is also a bit of a strange omission but the strangest ones of all have probably come from Brazilian neighbours Argentina. Diego Maradona is the ever-outspoken and loopy manager of a team that boasts probably the most well-known, household names in modern day football. The list goes right through the team sheet and the exclusions of 29 year old Esteban Cambiasso - in my view, currently one the best defensive midfielders in the world - Juan Riquelme and Javier Zanetti, just go to show what a wealth of players they have over there. It's like a blimmin' pot of gold! Still, Maradona's belief in his attacking philosophies may very well be his undoing as, picking a whole host of forwards may backfire when playing the likes of Germany, Italy or even England. Still, no-one will argue with him if he helps to lift that trophy on July the 11th and lord help all of us as he's vowed to run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires if they do!

Finally, a little word about Portugal and Carlos Queiroz's decision not take any experienced goalkeepers at all to the World Cup, and to leave out Sporting captain João Moutinho (who's in a "back-up" list in case of injuries to the first squad). It seems to be the opinion of many, including new Real Madrid coach José Mourinho, that Queiroz is a little out of his depth managing the Nation's footballing team. After their embarrassing 0-0 draw in a friendly against Cape Verde, with virtually their full-strength squad out, Mourinho stated that Portugal could never win this year's World Cup, 'even if Cristiano Ronaldo plays at 1,000 per cent'... and I have to agree with his brutal honesty. There's just not enough depth in the squad right now and I'm not 1000% sure what exactly Queiroz is thinking about for this. It seems to be a mix of nonchalance and complacency and he's gone on record as saying he wants the team to show the same spirit as the "golden generation" (of under 21 year olds) when they won the World Junior Cup 21 years ago! Non of these players were even in that squad. Very strange. Anyway, I'm praying he proves me and everyone else in Portugal wrong of course ;-)

Asia & Oceania

The Asian & Australasian countries are not too badly represented this year. I was chatting to a mate recently and we were discussing how strange it is that two of the most populated countries in the world - China and India - can't seem to get a footballing team up and into the World Cup... India actually qualified back in 1950 but withdrew from the tournament because they refused to wear football boots!!! This was required, according to FIFA legislation and because they only ever played barefoot, they did not participate. China did qualify once, as recently as 2002 during the South Korea / Japan World Cup but were a little unfortunate to be drawn in a group with Brazil, Turkey and Costa Rica and were beaten by all three. Still, the ever present South Korea will be there, taking part in their 8th World Cup thus far. Japan's record is not as colourful as their arch rivals but will still be more than happy participating in this, their 4th tournament after qualifying in second behind Australia in their Qualifying Group. Australia, North Korea and New Zealand make up the final 3 from the Asian / Australasian / Oceanic teams.

Of these 5, South Korea (here comes Mr. Bias again hehe) have to be the favorites. Still on a high from their recent forray through to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup - which they co-hosted with Japan - with magnificent, battling (if not occasionally controversial), performances against Portugal, Italy and Spain, South Korea are a confident team this year. The biggest smiles on the Korean's faces right now comes from when someone mentions the word 'Messi' :-) The answer to the ultimate of conundrums? Well, somewhat humourously, DEATH! Yes indeed. Drawn in a group with Nigeria, Greece and Argentina, after "DEATH" to Messi, then DEATH to Tevez, DEATH to Higuain, DEATH to Agüero, the list goes on :-) Indeed, the truth is, I don't think any Korean you ask has a proper, logical and anything other than humorous response to this particular puzzle. But it's OK because, who does? And who knows, maybe their immense tag of underdogs will put them in good sted for the match and, well, funny things happen in football so, lets see :-) No, South Koreans are focusing on the other two matches but with only 400 Red Devil fans travelling to support their team in South Africa (due to security issues), some here are rightly sceptical. Anyway, their team still has their rock Park Ji Sun firing on all cylinders. His lovely finish against Japan in last weeks friendly typifying their hunger and desire to do well this year and Bolton's Lee Chong Young's recent rise to in his premiership team's ranks coming at just the right time. Both will be instrumental if any success is to be had.

South Korea's neighbours in the North, however, I'm afraid are going to be something of an enigma. Their recent denial (or refusal) to stay in Zimbabwe during their World Cup preparations and their even more recent cancellation of the friendly match against DR Congo in Austria - due to a supposed injury crisis (!) - are clouding their preparations and our ability to make any kind of real assessment of their chances. But their first friendly against Greece earlier this month ended in a respectable 2-2 draw and much must be taken from that. Stay tuned to this one, what with all the political argy-bargies going on on the Korean peninsula, I wouldn't even be surprised if there was some kind of official withdrawal. Let's wait and see.

Also heavily involved in the Korean peninsula's political strife are nearby neighbours Japan. Their recent disasterous performance against South Korea (0-2) in their last home friendly before jetting off to Austria resulted in calls for their manager Takeshi Okada to get the sack. But alas he remained and just last night he pushed his team on to a highly respectable and thoroughly underserved defeat to England (2-1). And suddenly the fan's weren't so "p"'d Off either. What a difference a week can make in football, eh? Players to look out for are Brazilian-born Marcus Tulio Tanaka, defensive midfielder Yasuhito Endō and striker Shinji Okazaki.

On the flip side on the continent, the ever merry Ozzies and Kiwis. Probably still down there living in perfect harmony with each other ;-) Am I right? Hehehe. New Zealand were many peoples cannon fodder this year with most suspecting they'd be leaking goals in like a two million-year-old roof in bad need of some serious repair but, suddenly, last Saturday they surprised us all with a superbly taken Shane Smeltz goal giving the Kiwis a fantastic 1-0 win over Serbia. The Serb fans were less than impressed an began rioting, invading and throwing flares onto the pitch. Stand-in captain and Manchester United rock defender Nemanja Vidić had to grab a mic at the end to earge calm from those in the stands! I wonder if Rio would do the same if the US beat England in their first match on June 12th???!!! Well done to the Kiwis anyway and lets see what they have in store for us :)

And finally the Ozzies. This will almost certainly be the very last World Cup for ageing stars Mark Schwarzer (37), Brett Emerton (31), Mark Bresciano (30), Tim Cahill (30), their captain Lucas Neill (32) and Harry 'Potter' Kewell (as he's now affectionately know in his new home in Galatasaray). How they'll cope with the dizzy hights of the South African stadia is anyone's guess but the omens are there for one last push to grab some sort of respectable World Cup glory. The two key players will probably be Everton's attacking midfielder Cahill and of course Kewell. The 31 year-old wing wizzard has had a terrible time, fighting against his constant injuries during his career but seems to have picked up some sort of form at his new-found Turkish home of late. For a guy that promised so much back when he made his debut as a 17-year-old in 96 for Leeds United, it's a shame he's had such a torrid old time. The "Wizard of Oz" has been shrouded in controversy and blighted by a string of highly unfortunate injuries all throughout his career. Often refered to in the media as "Australia's finest football export", I guess it would be fitting to see one last dazzling Harry dance on the world stage. But the man on form in the last few years has definitely been that man Tim Cahill and with Viduka now in international exile, he might well be the man to bring them their goals this year. And what a joy he's been to watch up at Everton. I reckon he's the best, smallest headerer of the ball of all times!!! His positioning off the ball is supreme and he's a tough cookie to mark in and around the box. Let's see what kind of music he decides to play for The Socceroos this year :)

The African Nations

How exactly the African teams will fair this year is - as always - a little uncertain. We all remember 38-year-old Roger Milla's introduction into World Cup folklore back in 1990, his great finishing and funky little dance at the corner flags to celebrate his goals will live with many of us for ever. But since then, apart from a little Senegalese cameo in 2002, the African nations have unfortunately failed to deliver on the big stage. There's a plethora of talent mind you. From Milla to George Weah, Abdi Pele to Madjer, we've seen some real beauties along the way. But unfortunately, non has really had the team to take them all the way. This year, however, things may very well be a little different. The first point to make is that all 6 teams in years competition will be feeling a little more at home than usual. This is the first time every other country is having to ship off to their back yard for a change and I think that'll make a big difference. And even though I personally think the Fifa's world ranking system to be a bit of farce, it's curious to notice that there are no fewer than 8 African teams in the top 50 this year. Mind you, South Africa are only in 83rd so I think that says something about that. Still, there'll be some top, top African players involved this year with the only real notable absentees being Adebayor, maybe Freddi Kanute and most recently, the injury to Michael Essien which is a huge blow for Ghana's World Cup hopes.

Firstly, we gotta look at South Africa. It was unfortunate to see Andile Jali ruled out this year. The Orland Pirates midfielder has shown real promise but was not selected due to a possible heart problem. It's a sad start to his career but there's still plenty of hope for the 20-year-old's future and I wish him all the best. The big man though for Bafana Bafana this year has to be Everton's Steven Pienaar. I've loved watching him this season and he's hit some important and cracking goals in for david moyes' Toffees. If he's on song, then South Africa have a good chance of at least making it to the Quater-finals this year. I'm sure Carlos Alberto Parreira is very happy to have him there. There's no shortage of flair through this team but they'll also have the metal of Benni McCarthy up front to count on. I've always rated the ex Ajax, Porto and Blackburn star and although this season he's been plagued by a few injuries, he's confirmed fully fit now and that'll be a big, big boost for South Africa. At the back, captain Aaron Mokoena should provide some solid cover and keep your eye out for Katlego Mphela. If he can produce anything like his incredible free kick against Spain last year, we should be in for a treat there :) (check out the goal here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia06mLaUBlk)

The five other African teams in this year's competition are Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria. All teams have some strong points but the weakest has to be Algeria. With the exception of their veteran captain Yazid Mansouri and fellow midfielder Karim Ziani, Algeria will be seriously lacking in fire power at this world cup. My tip for the team with the best chance of progressing is Cameroon (I'd say Ivory Coast too but if I said that, it'd have to be at the expense of Portugal in the group stages! - here's that 'bias' coming into play ;) ). Cousins Rigobert and Alex Song are in the squad and even though the former is a little on the old side, him and Alex, along with Benoît Assou-Ekotto and Tottenham team mate Sébastien Bassong should really sure up that defense. In midfield, highly rated Achille Emana will fall into the holding roll just behind, the one I consider be, the best African Football Player of his generation and captain, Samuel Eto'o. The striker's stats are formidable with 44 in 94 for his country, over 100 for Barcelona in 5 seasons at the Camp Nou, and is currently still notching them up for Inter too. Heck, if anyone can, then Sam can ;)

Nigeria will have a strong spine to the team with Joseph Yobo, Mikel and Yakubu running through the middle of it. Obafemi Martins should also be one to look out for but is often a bit of a hit-n-miss, along with Utaka who just can't bring the kind of consistency needed for these big matches. I think Nigeria are strong but, paired in the same group as Argentina, Greece and South Korea, I can't see them progressing through to the next round.

Ghana have been dealt a massive blow with the news that their star midfielder Michael Essien will not play in the tournament this year. It's a real sad one for them and for everyone who loves the beautiful game. The team can still boast midfielding wonders Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari but with their rock defensive midfielder out, their manager Milovan Rajevac will do well to get them very far in this year's competition. The only possible positive is that their group is not especially tough. Apart from Germany, Ghana should be favorites on 'home' soil against Australia and Serbia.

And finally, The Ivory Coast. Alongside the Cameroon, The Elephants are probably the strongest African team this year but, drawn in the 'group of death' with North Korea, Portugal and Brazil, it's gonna be a tough one for them to progress. If they do (and it'll probably be at the expense of my beloved Portugal), I think they stand an even greater chance of progressing than Cameroon and South Africa. Their manager Sven-Göran Eriksson will be pleased to see his side led out by the ever fierce, always fighting, super talented captain Didier Drogba. The guy is 32 years old but could probably keep playing till he was 50! Actually, personally, I don't like him. I've never liked him and neither did the Chelsea fans when he first got there. His play acting reputation makes it hard to know whether he's genuinley injured when he goes down or not and frankly, that just puts him right in my bad books. Still, his career total of 135 goals in just over 300 games, including 43 in 66 for his country speaks volumes. In Korea, he's simply known as 'Drog-god' and his all round play is always a wonder to watch. But that's not all the Ivory Coast have got in their arsenal. The Touré brothers will take their places in the national team line-up along with Didier Zokora, Emmanuel Eboué, Aruna Dindane and also Drogba's team mate at Chelsea, Salomon Kalou, who's really shone through in the Premiership this season. In fact, all but 2 of the teams players play in leagues in Europe and all will certainly be up for doing their best in this, the first World Cup in Africa :)

Who's Gonna Win It?

Right. As you may or may not know, I'm 1/2 English (thx Dad ^^), 1/2 Portuguese (nice one mum ^^) and living in South Korea at the moment (thx Sunah ^^ - life certainly wouldn't be the same without you three ^^). Sooooo, I'll be supporting a few teams this summer. Of course, Portugal & England are my 'home' countries, but I'll still be keeping a close and keen eye on South Korea (as that's where I am now), Australia (as I lived there with Sunah for a year), South Africa (with a v good mate from there ^^) and a host of other countries for different reasons too (mostly good pals!). But also, I'll be trying to update the site with any other bits of gossip or scandal or even crazy tips and unbelievable facts :-) The date today is the 28th and I'm gonna start with a prediction for the semi-finals, finals and winner. It's a bold move but one I feel I'll have to do and stick with if I'm gonna make this blog work. Please note that my predictions AREN'T without a little hint of bias here. Obviously, my heart is close to a few places so it would be hard not to be but I don’t wanna lie to you about that. Still, I'll do my very best to be as honest as possible and will only turn to this bias in really, super-close 50-50 situations. Any comments will be grandly appreciated ;) - good or bad mind you hehe -

Ok. Here we go. The winner of this year’s World Cup will be.... (Drum roll please!), The Netherlands ^^ (!!!) "A Laraja Mechanica" or even "Clockwork Orange" as they’re sometimes referred to, will lift the WC trophy in Johannesburg on the 11th of July! What do you think of that then? I firmly believe that, looking at the draw and taking a good close look at their team this year, The Flying Dutchmen will have what it takes to win their first ever World Cup. Their only slight problem might be in defense and especially in goal. With the retirement of Edwin van der Sar last year, it's gonna be up to Ajax's 27-year-old keeper Maarten Stekelenburg to hold the fort against the likes of Messi & Nilmar, to name but a few of this years super-star attackers that will be firing footballs at him at a million miles per hour! But apart from that, I think they'll have what it takes and they'll prove - similarly to Spain in the 2008 Euro - that they'll also have the best midfield in the tournament with a 4-3-3 or 4-1-2-3 formation. Either way, the 3 key players are gonna be Rafael van der Vaart, Mark van Bommel and Wesley Sneijder. After that, they’ll play Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie coming in from the wings and then they’ll have to choose between Dirk Kuyt and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Personally I’d choose Huntelaar but I think either one will have a good WC. It's gonna be close, mind you. Lots of extra time matches and probably a few penalty shoot-outs but, after the disappointments of having qualified from the "Group Of Death" in Germany - only to be knocked out by Portugal in what turned out to be the dirtiest match in the 2006 World Cup - and also losing to Guus Hiddink’s Russia and an inspired Andrei Arshavin in the 2008 Euros, I really think it's their turn. This time it'll be quiet though, they'll almost be the dark horses of the tournament and progress mostly unnoticed, plodding through unceremoniously but effectively. They'll reach the final and even then, they won't be favorites, but I think they'll take Argentina all the way to penalties and beat them 4-3 - 2 missed pens by Demichelis & then Messi! Ho! Ho! Ho!

But Argentina will be the ones to watch this year. If you're lucky enough to go to South Africa and watch the matches, those’ll be the tickets to buy. And my predictions for the Semi’s are England vs. The Netherlands in Semi-Final 1 and Argentina vs. Spain in Semi-Final 2.

You don’t believe me? Just wait and see ;-) hehehe

Here We Go!

And so, the World Cup is finally upon our doorstep once more. 4 long years are finally drawing to a close. I guess it's just a little sad that we know that this next month will fly by :( still, plenty to happen between now and then!!! Loads to get our teeth into and loads of gossip, scandal and if's and but's to dwell on throughout June and July. Lets start with South Africa, shall we? What a great World Cup this is gonna be. The first ever on African soil and last year, the African Cup of Nations served as a little taster of what we can expect. The parties and the dancing, the smiles and warmth, are but just a few of the beautiful things we can expect from the passion brought on by our African counterparts. I still remember the wingeing & whining over the Vuvuzelas and the constant worrying over the probable heat and hight of some of the stadia. Personally though, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of that kitchen! These pro's should be able to deal with it anyway and if they can't, then that'll just add to the unpredictability of it all! All I can say is that I think it's all boiling up to be - what could be - a wonderfully grand and glorious festivity! Here we go!