World Cup Fevah

Au Revoir, Goodbye, Peace out!

2006-07-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

As one door closes, another opens. This is my final post on this site. Throughout the World Cup the blog was visited by people from Australia, Ghana, Croatia, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, Belgium, the UK and, of course, the U.S. I hope many of you will continue reading over at my new blog:

http://worldfoootebol.blogspot.com/

Hope to hear from you over there.

It's Not Over.

2006-07-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

The blog is not dead. Initially I intended to keep it just as a means of chronicling the World Cup. Now it will carry over into the domestic European seasons and maybe with some South American things thrown in here and there. I may take things to a different URL to preserve this is a World Cup only experience. I haven't made that decision yet. In any case, thanks to everyone who visited the blog throughout the World Cup. All comments were appreciated. I hope everyone continues to read once I switch over to domestic coverage in August. My first game will be a Barcelona v. Chivas friendly in Los Angeles. I don't think hosting a blog is enough to get me press credentials so I'll be in the cheap seats with everyone else. Stay tuned.

Scores are Down but Excitement Is Up

2006-07-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

In the wake of the Cup many people are complaining about how there wasn't enough scoring and the games were boring. I think this is all hogwash. Scoring is down for a slew of reasons that have little to do with a decline in talent of the game. In fact, I would argue that scores in the games are going down because of the exact opposite: An increase in talent.

Think about it, in the 1982 World Cup Hungary defeated El Salvador 10-1, Poland defeated Peru 5-1, Scotland defeated New Zealand 5-1. In 1986 the Soviet Union defeated Hungary 6-0 and in that same tournament Denmark defeated Uruguay 6-1 and Spain, the home team, later defeated Hungary 5-1. In 1990 Czechoslovakia defeated the U.S. 5-1 and West Germany defeated the United Arab Emirates 5-1 also. Fast forward to today's game and I can only think of two games that were a true no contest: Germany's 8-0 victory over Saudi Arabia and Argentina's 6-0 win over Serbia & Montenegro. Otherwise, the smaller countries have equipped themselves well on the big stage. Trinidad tied Sweden and played England even for 84 minutes. Angola tied Mexico and lost 0-1 to Portugal. We also saw Ghana defeat the Czech Republic 2-0. and the U.S. Italy needed a last second penalty to beat Australia while Ivory Coast hung tough against both Argentina and the Netherlands

What I hope the foregoing shows is that the smaller countries are getting closer to the bigger ones and therefore the cricket scores that we used to see back in the day no longer happen. There are no more whipping boys. Although you may occasionally see a game like Argentina played against Serbia & Montenegro, it is no longer the norm. The reason for this is that the increasing globalization of the game has brought parity. The game is no longer Balkanized with South Americans playing in South America, Africans playing in Africa, and so on. Players from all over the world now ply their trade in Europe and this has enhanced the experience of players from smaller countries. They get an opportunity to play in the top leagues and compete against the top players. By the time the World Cup comes around they are not in awe of these players because they have either played against them before or have some of the players from bigger countries as teammates.

By way of comparison you can look at the development of international basketball since the first Dream Team. In '92 the world was in awe of the dream team in Barcelona and the result was that the U.S. pounded every team. At the time there were few foreign players plying their trade in the NBA. I remember Drazen Petrovic was there and few others. Fast forward 14 years and the NBA is replete with foreigners playing against Americans and getting better every year. The result of that in the 2004 Olympics that it was Argentina and not the U.S. who ended up winning the Gold Medal. One could argue that U.S. basketball has gotten worse over the past 14 years and although I think it has a better explanation is that the rest of the world is catching up in basketball and as a result our scoring in the olympics has gone down. The next step then for soccer is for one of the smaller countries to actually win the World Cup. Unfortunately, we may be a generation or two away from that happening.

The improvement of the smaller sides is not the only thing that has contributed to the reduction in scoring. The dreaded 4-5-1 formation can also be blamed for this. Thirty years ago many teams played 3-4-3 then gradually it became 4-4-2, which at the time was regarded as a defensive formation. Today, the 4-5-1 makes the 4-4-2 look like an offensive onslaught. It makes me wonder what's next? The 5-5-0? The 4-5-1 is really a negative move because it crowds the midfield and stops the ball from flowing freely from end to end. Teams are employing two defensive midfielders(see france with Vieira and Makelele and Italy with Perrotta and Gattuso) instead of just using one. This has probably contributed to the scoring going down as much as the smaller nations getting better. I think coaches are using this formation because the game is more result oriented today than it was before. Granted Brazil still talks about playing the beautiful game but had they won the World Cup Nike would have paid them 20 million dollars. Such a financial payoff can lead to coaches employing negative tactics just to get the results. The emphasis on free flowing attacking football has taken a backseat. When you see a team like the dutch playing like thugs as they did against portugal, you get the feeling that the game is moving in a new direction. Miroslav Klose won the golden boot with just five goals. You have to go all the way back to 1962 to see someone win it with a number that low.

Along with the smaller nations getting better at playing the game and teams using defensive formations I think the play acting and chicanery that has snuck into the game must be removed by FIFA. The play acting that exists in the game is shameful, but I can't blame the players. When you step on the field your only goal today is to beat your opponent. Italian players got 330k per game for winning the World Cup. You think they care if they have to flop to get it? Me neither. When players flop and go down as if they've been shot and the stretchers come out, we lose almost 3 minutes of game time and in the end we only get 1 minute of added time. We spend less time playing the game and therefore don't have enough time to score goals as we otherwise would. What FIFA can do to get rid of this is an automatic yellow card if the ref thinks that you dove. Diving then becomes a cost benefit analysis and we will probably see less of it. However, right now all we have are rewards for diving. If you fake it you make get a penalty if you don't you can milk three minutes off the clock. If I were a player I cannot say I would not do the same thing under the current rules. FIFA needs to take a hard look at the game it is selling and think of ways to improve it. There's nothing you can do about the overall improvement of talent nor can you stop coaches from employing negative tactics but a low scoring game isn't the end of the world. The Germany v. Italy game was scoreless for nearly 120 minutes and it was exhilerating stuff with open, end to end soccer being played. I don't mind a 0-0 scoreline if both teams are going for it. It's like a Bears v. Packers game in December. There's beauty in the 6-3 scoreline for hardcore fans of the game but the casual fan would rather watch a 42-14 game indoors on turf. FIFA needs to change the game to not alienate it's core fans while at the same time trying to draw in the casual fan so they can stay around long after the drama of the World Cup is over. However, the suggestion I heard floated that we should increase the size of the goals because today's goalkeepers are bigger than they were before is, well, hogwash. We don't increase the height of the basketball hoop because players are getting taller, do we?

Even though scores are down, the game is in a healthy stage. This World Cup garnered more viewers than any other. There seems to be a greater buzz in the U.S. about the World Cup than there was in '02 even when the U.S. did much better than they did previously. The success of the sport in America is inevitable. The only question now is when will it happen.

Argentine connection...

2006-07-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

I got this little tidbit from my buddy Ilan...

Now to the weird Argentine connection in this cup. Although Argentina did not win the cup, argentines definitely altered the outcome.

Here it goes:
1) Argentine ref. gives Rooney a red card. England is eliminated.
2) Argentina fight with Germany causes German to lose its best defensive midfielder for a game. Germany is eliminated
3) Argentine ref gives Zidane a red card...France loses
4) But wait, Trezeguet misses the penalty kick. Guess where his parents are from and where he first started paying? Argentina

Wrap Up From The Big Game

2006-07-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

The World Cup is over. Kudos to Italy for winning it. With their fourth Cup they have reestablished themselves as a force in the game. It was a shame that the game was decided on penalty kicks but in extra time both teams started playing for a shootout. The only players on the field who were really going for it were the younger players like Ribery and Malouda. Once Domenech took off Ribery he conceded that the game would go to penalty kicks. Once it got to penalty kicks each team did extremely well. The fact that the only thing to separate the two sides was David Trezeguet missing a penalty kick underscores the point that there was very little difference between the sides. Zidane could have won it on a header, no not that one, that was saved by Buffon and Luca Toni could have won it with his header but he was well offsides once the ball was played. All in all it was a good tournament and I'm glad to see Italy on top because this is good for Italian soccer after the black eye they took from the match fixing scandal. They needed this more than any other team, I think.

And what of the headbutt heard around the world? Very unfortunate way to end a great career. I don't doubt that Zidane will be forgiven and his lasting memory will be his all around excellence on the field, but his last act on a football field will never be forgotten. He will be as synonymous with his great performance in '98 as his meltdown in 2006. Great players who live on the edge are always forgiven, however. The Eric Cantona kung fu kick in '95 comes to mind. Now Cantona is the jolly fat man on Nike commercials encouraging the world to "play beautiful." Diego Maradona had the hand of god and the cocaine suspension in '94 but most people remember him for his amazing goal in the 86 Cup where he beat no fewer than 8 defenders in scoring the greatest goal I've seen. The only question to be answered is 'what could have Materazzi have said?' My sources(I watch a little too much of Steven A. Smith) tell me that Materazzi said something very racist, still to be confirmed, and called Zidane an Arab terrorist. Given the general xenophobia against certain ethnicities that surrounds Italian football it wouldn't surprise me if this is proven true. Still, I am not sure if this would be enough provocation for a player of such status to lose it but as Chris Rock said about O.J. Simpson, 'i aint saying i woulda did it, but i understand.'

Forza Italia: Italy wins 5-3 on Penalty Kicks.

2006-07-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Minute 91: Henry is offering no movement to make himself available. As a result, Ribery is doing a lot of running but with nobody to give the ball to. France is starting the first overtime period right where they left off. They are dominating the ball while Italy are standing around right now.

Minute 93: Malouda wins a corner from a nice run down the left side. This is where youth may come in handy as the game goes on longer Ribery and Malouda will have more reserves in the tank to battle on for 120 minutes.

Minute 95: Malouda splits two defenders, including nutmeging Cannavaro but he takes a dive after slapping Gattuso in the face. Malouda is looking livelier as the game has gone on.

Minute 98: This is a true marathon game. The age on both sides is starting to show. The only two players who are moving are Ribery and Malouda. Ribery just had a shot goe a little wide. The youngster is playing an excellent game in the later stages.

Minute 100: Ribery comes off for Trezeguet. This is a bad substitution, not because Trezeguet is on the field but because France has just taken off the only player who has been running in the attack. Trezeguet gets a chance now to bury the Italians again.

Minute 103: EVERYONE looks tired on the field right now. This one has penalty kicks written all over it right now.

Minute 104: BUFFON with an excellent save from a Zidane header. Wonderful save because had that gone in the Zidane legend would have grown even larger. First half of extra time is over. Time for the last 15 minutes. A hero needs to be born because I don't want to see this game end like the '94 final where the Italians lost to Brazil.

Minute 107: Henry is subbed out for Sylvain Wiltord. This is strange that Domenech would take out Henry for Wiltord if penalties are looming.

Minute 109: Zidane is sent off for headbutting Materazzi in the chest. This is amazing. Zizou has "lost the plot." France now have to play a man down and if this goes to PKs there's no Henry and no Zidane. In the words of George Costanza "I am speechless. I am without speech."

Minute 115: There's nothing left for the French. There's nobody to create for them and get hte ball into dangerous positions. There's no Vieira, no Zidane, no Henry. This is absolutely bizarre. Who could have predicted this? Somehow I still think if this goes to penalties the Italians will find a way to lose it and that's with Buffon and the French being without Zidane and Henry. The NEED A GOAL RIGHT NOW.

Minute 120: Game over. Time for Penalty kicks. France has made 75% of their penalties throughout World Cup history and Italy is at 53%. This is not pretty for the Italians. Buffon does not look like a happy man. The angst is written all over his face.

First kick: Pirlo steps up. Cooly places it in the roof of the net. 1-0 Italy

Second kick: Wiltord. Places it to the right, Buffon goes left. 1-1.
Third kick: Materazzi. Not sure why he is taking the second kick but let's see what happens. Materazzi goes straight to the corner although Barthez guesses right Materazzi gets it right. 2-1 Italy.

Fourth Kick: Trezeguet steps up against his teammate. Trezeguet blasts it off the crossbar but unlike Zidane's penalty he doesn't get the nice bounce. still 2-1 Italy.

Fifth kick: Daniele De Rossi stes up. Blasts it in the roof of the net. 3-1 ITaly. They are so close right now.

Sixth Kick: Eric Abidal. Tough for the Lyon defender. Let's see what he does. Abidal places it coolly in the net. Buffon, for all his excellence, hasn't guessed right yet. 3-2

Seventh Kick: Alex Del Piero, one of the all time greats in Italian soccer. All time leading scorer for Juventus. Alex again places it in the roof of the net. 4-2

Eighth kick: Sagnol steps up he has to make it or France loses. He makes it. 4-3

Ninth kick: Fabio Gross steps up. If he makes this Italy wins it all. Grosso steps up and he .... puts it past Barthez. Italy wins their fourth World Cup on penalty kicks. This is a sad way to end the tournament on penalties. The teams were very close and the only thing separating them was David Trezeguet missing a penalty kick. Trezeguet burried Italy at Euro 2000 and now Trezeguet's miss is the reason France lost.
Italians gather around Camoranesi in the middle of the field and cut off his pony tail.

The living memory will probably be Zidane's headbut on Materazzi. Fabio Cannavaro should get the Golden Ball. That's it and that's all.

Final 1-1. Extra Time to be Played.

2006-07-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Second half is underway. 45 minutes from glory for one team. How likely is it that one newspaper will have the headline of "Les Bleus(or Il Azzurri) sings the Blues?"

Minute 46: Second half opens up with Henry bursting into the box and having his shot saved easily by Buffon.

Minute 48: Within 3 minutes of the second half we see again Zambrotta's total dominance over Malouda today. It's amazing to me that the French aren't counter attacking well off the Italians sending both their fullbacks up the field. ANother Corner for the Italians which they play short before sending it into the box but the header is deflected.

Minute 50: Henry beats three Italianas in the box but Zambrotta clears for a France corner. At least Henry is doing enough to get his name called. Nothing from Totti so far.

Minute 52: Henry gets the ball in acres of space in the box and instead of hiting it one time he dwells on the ball and Cannavaro steps in and clears. The French are really piling on the pressure here early in the second half.

Minute 53: Excellent counter attack from the French. For once they catch Grosso out of position and Ribery breaks and passes to Zidane who lays it off for Malouda but the young winger hesitates and Zambrotta dives in and clears. Zambrotta gets the better of him again.

Minute 55: Vieira goes down with what looks like a cramp or a strained hamstring. Vieira is subbed out and replaced by Alou Diarra. This is Diarra's first game in the World Cup since coming on as a sub against Togo. He's a quality young player but I'm not sure if he's ready for this stage. More importantaly Zidane loses his shield for the rest of the gam. Tme for Henry and Zidane to turn it up and carry the French team.

Minute 59: France is really dominating possession right now. How much more pressure can the Italians soak up? A long ball from Camoranesi finds no one. Again, Italy are you England in disguise? Why the long balls? knock it around a bit.

Minute 61: A great free kick to Toni who heads it in but he was well offsides before the ball was played. Scores are still level. Italians have made two substitutions bringing on Iaquinta and De Rossi for Perotta and Totti.

Minute 63: Henry breaks and is one on one with Cannavaro in the box. He beats Cannavaro but again Buffon is there to make the stop.

Minute 65: Cannavaro shows why he's been the best defender in the tournament taking the ball off Henry's foot then dribbling out the back before losing it.

Minute 70: Five minutes of nothing really. France is spending more time in the Italian half of the field. Ribery wins a free kick off Cannavaro. Buffon comes out to knock it away for a French throw in.

Minute 74: Cannavaro does a bicycle kick clearance. This man clearly deserves the Golden Ball.

Minute 75: Zidane lines up a free kick but sends it too long and it goes out for a goal kick for Italy.

Minute 77: Pirlo lines up a free kick from about 35 yards out. Dave Obrien says "he can be deadly with these." Well it looks like Pirlo hit it well but it was about a yard wide of the target.

Minute 82: France is getting nothing from Ribery and Malouda. Maybe the lights on the big stage are a little too bright for them. Zidane continues to be active in the middle of the field though and does not seem to be missing Vieira.

Minute 85: There's nothing from the Italians right now. France is keeping the ball in the ITalian half and there does not seem to be any outlets for the Italians.

Minute 86: Del Piero comes in for Camoranesi. The crowd is going wild for the introduction of the all time leading scorer for Juventus.

Minute 87: Claude Makelele takes a shot from outside the box but it goes well over the bar. That's pretty much like Ben Wallace taking a three pointer. Everyone knows it's gonna be off. The Italians are doing nothing like they were doing in the first half. They are creating absoolutely nothing going forward. It is all France right now.

Minute 90: Two minutes are added. Looks like we are going to to be playing 120 minutes today. Ribery is doing a lot of running looking to unlock the ITalian defense but the rest of the team looks tired. And there you have it. The Old Men of Europe are going to extra time. tied at 1-1.

First Half Diary: France 1 Italy 1

2006-07-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

The World Cup Final is finally here. It just dawned on me that in my previous post I bet against the team with the greatest player of the past 20 years and one of the top 3 players in the world. France's team is replet with players who have won championships in Italy, Spain, England and France. They have Champions league, World Cup and European Championship winners medals. The Italian team boasts only a few players who have won in Serie A and by my count only Del Piero, Gattuso and Pirlo have own the champions league. The championship experience definitely lies with France. But yet I'm picking Italy? I must be mental.

Things to watch for in today's game:

-Thierry Henry has played in six finals but has only a solitary goal to show for his efforts.
-Fabio Cannavaro is looking to be the first defender to have his name etched on the Golden ball.
-Can Gattuso, Camoranesi and Perotta slow down Zidane and Ribery?
-Can Totti and Toni cause the near impregnable partnership of Lilian Thuram and William Gallas some problems today?
-And the biggest story that everyone is reporting, can Zidane craft the perfect ending to an excellent career? We will find out over the next 90 minutes or, more likely, over the next 120. Let the games begin.

Minute 1: We've kicked off with the Azzurri passing the ball around between them early. Carelss giveaway in midfield by the Italians but Zidane plays it too far ahead. Already THIERRY HENRY IS DOWN from a collision with Fabio Cannavaro. Is this a Michael Owne situation? Henry is still down. The stretchers are out. Is Henry milking the clock already? He looks really out of it. Maybe Ronaldo put somethin in his food to pay back for '98. Marcelo Balboa gives his first contribution to the game "this could be a concussion."

Minute 3: We're still dealing with Henry here. This is no good for les Bleus. If Henry has to go out this will no doubt strengthen the claims that Henry is not a big game player.

Minute 4: On comes Henry, the pride of Guadalupe and play has picked up again. A good Italian attack ends with Zambrotta totally taking out Patrick Vieira's knees. Zambrotta gets a yellow card for his efforts.

MInute 6: PENALTY!!! Florent Malouda goes down after barely being touched by Materazzi. This is a shame that the game is being tarnished by Malouda's dive. Cagey stuff.

Minute 7: Zidane chips his penalty that goes off the crossbar and back down a few inches across the goalline. What a wonderful chip and it's game on. This isn't looking good. Italy needs two goals to win it against a French defense that's only given up one goal from open play.

MInute 9: I'm really hoping that another goal is scored here because to have the tournament decided on a dubious penalty like that would be unfortunate. ....Just like that Materazzi almost obliges me by heading the ball nearly into his own net. Corner for France but nothing comes of it. Before the game started many thought Materazzi would be the weak link for Italy. He's proving everyone right so far.

Minute 11: Collision on the right side between Grosso and Sagnol and both players go down as if they've been shot. Sagnol gets a yellow card and we continue playing.

Minute 13: We've seen nothing yet from the Italians in attack. The ball's been pinging around in midfield . The only real attacking threat from either side ended up Zidane scoring the penalty.

Minute 14: Great defensive header from Thuram on a Pirlo free kick. Corner for ITaly which comes to nothing. Pirlo has really come alive in the last two minutes. I still can't get over that early penalty decision. This game CANNOT end 1-0.

Minute 17: Longball from Pirlo finds no one on the other end. Italy, are you England in disguise?

Minute 19: WHOOOO!!! GOAL!!! Apparently poetic justice is on display here. Andrea Pirlo takes a free kick and Materazzi connects with it, rising well above Vieira to knock it in. You can't really say that it was poor defending from Vieira. He was just outjumped by a taller player. NOW we have a game on our hands.

Minute 21: We area halfway into the first half and I haven't heard Totti's name called a single time. Ditto for Henry (besides getting hurt). There sare two of the best players in the game but seem to always come up short in big games. Nothing would make me happier than to see one of them score the winning goal today.

Minute 24: The Italians are starting to get their flow going. Pirlo is playing extremely well but seems to be getting the ball too deep to make a difference.

Minute 25: First sign of Henry. He picks the ball up in the center circle and takes it into the box and passes to Ribery but the play is broken up by Totti. Again, Pirlo picks up the ball but about 10 yards from his box. He can't be effective playing that deep. Pirlo needs to get farther up the field and give the defensive duties to someone else.

Minute 27: Another corner kick for Italy and another great header from Materazzi but the ball is cleared by Thuram. All for naught anyway because a foul was called on the big defender.

Minute 29: Great play from Camoranesi so far. Everytime he gets the ball Italy look to do something positive. Camoranesi wins a free kick and now Totti is looking to take it from about 40 yards out. Predictably, the shot is blocked and the French take possession.

Minute 31: Not much out of the young French players right now. Malouda and Ribery are bystanders. Everything for France is going through henry and Zidane but the Italians are doing a good job at soaking up pressure. Another Italy longball finds no one. Again, Italy are you England in disguise?

Minute 33: Simone Perotta goes down clutching his foot after having it stepped on by Franck Ribery. He's writhing in pain. Without a doubt he will continue. This is the World Cup final.

Minute 35: Great play from Pirlowwho gets the ball to Gattuso in the box and it goes out for a corner. Luca Toni hits the bar with his header. The French defense on set pieces is looking very suspect. The Italians are taking advantage of their height.

Minute 36: Great dummmy by Henry to get the ball in the box but Cannavaro unbeatable as usual boots it out for a corner. Nothing comes of the corner and a goal kick for Italy.

Minute 38: Ribery and Malouda are getting eaten up. No positive sign from either of the youngsters. The same can be said for Totti who has contributed nothing to this game. Zambrotta and Grosso continues to push up and keep the French wingers on their toes. That's why everything is going down the middle. Should be interesting to see how the French play without having any width on either side of the pitch, er, field. The French respond by pushing Henry out farther wide on the left.

Minute 44: Materazzi man handles Ribery by the corner flag and breaks up a French attack. Still almost 45 minutes and nothing from Totti. How soon before we see Alex Del Piero?

Minute 45: Halftime. Good stuff from both teams. Should be an exciting second half. France really needs to improve on their defensive efforts on set pieces and Italy needs to get Pirlo farther upfield. Will Totti improve or will he have to be replaced by Del Piero?

Finals Preview

2006-07-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

The World Cup final on Sunday presents the most evenly balanced match up of the tournament (well, I suppose Saudi Arabia v. Angola was an even match up too). There is not much that separates the two sides, but I still have to pick a winner. I'm torn between wanting to see Zidane, Vieira, Barthez, Thuram and Henry win their second World Cup and seeing players like Del Piero, Pirlo, Cannavaro, Totti and Buffon get the world championship their excellence deserves.

Italy has been putting on one of the best defensive performances in World Cup history. I think Fabio Cannavaro has been the best player of the World Cup and Gianluca Zambrotta hasn't been too far behind. Cannavaro hasn't put a foot wrong in the entire tournament, making some timely interceptions and covering whenever the midfield gifts possession to the opposition to spark a counter attack. Unfortunately, offensive players get all the plaudits so the focus for Italy will be on their forward players like Totti, Toni and Gilardino.

France has witnessed a renaissance in the knockout stages. After their first two games I thought they might not even make it out the group stages, but they overcame a talented Spanish team and thanks to Roberto Carlos' statuesque figure on a France free kick they beat the Brazilians. Despite tiring against Portugal in the last 25 minutes the Zinedine Zidane penalty was enough to overcome the Portuguese.

When I look at the two teams I don't see any weaknesses. The only appreciable difference between France and Italy is that Buffon is an excellent keeper and Barthez is a joke. The French have won tournaments before (World Cup '98 and Euro '00) in spite of Barthez so this probably should not hold them back too much. Interestingly enough, the French overcame the Italians on their way to both of those titles. In '98 France eliminated Italy in the quarterfinals on penalty kicks and in Euro 2000 a David Trezeguet golden goal was the difference between the two sides.

Looking at France, I can see some of their players like Florent Malouda and Eric Abidal bottling on the big stage. Malouda and Abidal have been providing width for the French down the left side but they will have to overcome Mauro Camoranesi and Gianluca Zambrotta in order to do so. After watching Zambrotta dominate Philip Lahm, Bern Schneider and Bastian Schweinsteiger, my money would be on Zambrotta to continue his play against lesser lights of Abidal and Malouda.

The key then for France, as it has been this entire tournament will be how well Zidane and Henry plays. If they are going to beat the team with the best defensive record in the tournament they will need their best players to produce their best game. Successful attacks from the French have come from Vieira winning the ball then distributing it to Zidane who then beats his man and gets it to either Ribery or Henry. I think France will have some difficulty with this because Italy will likely employ a strategy similar to the one France used against Brazil. Gattuso will likely shadow Zidane with some help from Perotta or Camoranesi if necessary. It is important to nullify Zidane because without him the French can't get anything going from the middle of the field. Players like Vieira and Makelele are essential because their defensive abilities stop you from losing games but they lack the necessary ability going forward to win you games. If Zidane is marked out of the game then Henry will have to drop deeper to collect the ball and run at defenders with some space, something he is good at. I think if he picks up the ball deep he can cause Grosso and Camoranesi problems out on the left side and cause some disorganization in the Italian defense.

The keys for Italy will be how well Totti and Pirlo can launch the counter attacks. Once the ball is won by Gattuso he will be looking to outlet it to Pirlo who wil get it to Totti quickly. It comes down to whether Totti and Pirlo have enough to elude Makelele and Vieira, the two outstanding defensive midfielders of their generation(with apologieis to Roy Keane). The Italians look like they have been getting stronger as the tournament goes on. With each game they have gradually improved while the French against Portugal looked like a tired team that did just enough to get the victory. What it comes down to on Sunday is one game with both teams looking to play their best. The question I ask myself is this: If both teams play the best they can play, who will win? I think that answer is France. If Zidane and Henry are on their game there are few players still breathing who can stop them. If my net worth depended on it who would I pick? France, without a doubt. In big games Zidane is always ready to perform. Two goals in the World Cup final in 98 and a spectacular volley in the Champions League final in 2002 is proof of that. However, I think this Italian team has been playing excellent this tournament and I think they will have just enough to win the game. I think Italy wins this game and Fabio Cannavaro gets his name on the Golden Ball.

I Want to Shoot Myself.

2006-07-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Sun is reporting that Sven Goran Eriksson may be bringing his brand of boring football to my homeland, Jamaica for a whopping 3 million pounds. Good work if you can get it. I'm not too excited about this. Sven would definitely be a step up from our current coach, but I would prefer the Jamaican football association go after someone like Guus Hiddink or Louis Van Gaal. I think with the right coaching Jamaica can progress from the CONCACAF region. We have the talent. What we lack is a coach who can organize the players on the field to get the most out of them. I don't think Sven is the right man for the job. Besides, he wouldn't even be willing to commit to the job full time since he would want to juggle coaching our national team with coaching a club team somewhere in Europe. Three million pounds for a part time employee seems a bit steep. Hiring Sven would break the bank. Right now the Prime Minister is talking about redirecting funds from other areas to finance our bid to land Sven. Good to see landing the Swede is more important than redirecting some funds to fix up my old school, Flankers All Age School. Way to go Portia Simpson Miller.

Winning XI

2006-07-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Here is my World Cup Starting XI and my second team. Enjoy.

First Team
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders: Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, William Gallas and Miguel
Midfielders: Zinedine Zidane, Andrea Pirlo, Michael Ballack, and Patrick Vieira
Forwards: Miroslav Klose and Thierry Henry.

Second Team:

Goalkeeper: Petr Cech
Defenders: Ashley Cole, Juan, Cristoph Metzelder, and Ricardo Carvalho
Midfielders: Cristiano Ronaldo, Stephen Appiah, Ze Roberto, and Juan Roman Riquelme
Forwards: Ronaldo and Luca Toni

Institutionalized Choking

2006-07-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

The above piece of copyright infringement, pilfered from the London Times, shows the success rate of teams in World Cup shoot outs. The Germans are an amazing 17/18 all time while the Brits have the lowest percentage of any team to have taken more than ten penalty kicks. After viewing the chart and the accompanying story, which can be found at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,28782-2253631,00.html, I am now convinced that penalty shoot outs aren't the complete guessing game they are portrayed to be. Portugal keeper Ricardo and German keeper Jens Lehmann both correctly predicted which way each penalty taker would shoot. It is therefore not at all surprising that their teams were victors in their respective shootouts. I just wanted to post this chart as further evidence of the propensity of the Brits to fold whenever the chips are down.

German v. Italy Preview

Germans have not beaten the Italians in World Cup match. The Italians beat the Germans in march 4-1. Why then am I picking Germany to win this game? Home field advantage. The 12th man in the stands. Germany has been playing the best attacking football of any team remaining in the tournament but Italy have the best defensive record having not allowed a single goal from the boot of an opponent. Totti and Toni had good games in the quarters, albeit against Ukraine. There's really no case to be made against Italy. I think they have the better team but the Germans are playing at home. Germany 1-0?

Quarterfinal Roundup.

2006-07-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

By now it should be clear to everyone who reads this blog that I don't know nearly as much about soccer as I profess to know. This weekend's games proved that much. I picked Argentina to beat Germany and they lost. I say that Klose only scores against small countries and he comes out with a huge goal against Argentina. I though England's luck would continue against Portugal and Portugal sent them crashing out of the tournament. Finally, I thought Brazil would overcome France but France elminated the Brazilians again. I know very little my friends.

What surprised me the most about the quarterfinals was that France's plan actually worked. They used Makelele and Vieira to hound the ball all over the midfield and as soon as they won the ball Zidane was always in place, just a few yards back, to receive the ball and turn defending into attacking. The reason I didn't think this would work was that I thought Brazil would have moved the ball much better than it did. Unfortunately, despite the changes that I thought would improve the team, it just didn't pan out. Parreira brought in Juninho and Gilberto Silva and moved Ronaldinho farther forward than he had been playing all tournament. I thought these changes would have brought a more fluid attacking style because now Ronaldinho could get the ball higher up the field and closer to goal where he could creat instead of being jettisoned to the left side like had been for most of the tournament. This was not to be, however, as both Vieira and Makelele turned in great performances, tackling and harrying the Brazilian attackers for most of the game. Once they got the ball and gave it to Zidane it was a treat to watch the old master up to his old tricks again. In the first minute, on his first touch, Zidane slid the ball back with his right foot, turned, pirouetted, and left two Brazilian defenders in his wake. From then on he continued to school Brazilians including a "sombrero" where he flicked the ball over Ronaldo's head and took it down effortlessly and was on his way. Initially I though that if France were to win it would be because they defended with about eight players but this was not the case. On balance I would have to say that the best team on that day won. The loss could not be attributed to anything that Brazil didn't do but more so that France did everything right and, in truth, probably should have had more goals scored. He'll also have to explain how he got outcoached by such a half with like Domenech but the truth is that with Zidane playing the way he was playing there was no way France were going to lose.

In the other game on Saturday, Portugal eliminated England on penalties. This is the fifth major tournament of the last seven that England have been eliminated on penalties (World Cup '90, Euro '96, World Cup '98, Euro '04, World Cup '06). Before the tournament started I wrote in this about the England team:

Traditional also rans. The English team always seems to show up at the major tournaments overhyped and then eventually crash out sheepishly.Two things make me cautious about picking them to make it beyond the quarterfinals though:

1.) Where will the goals come from? Michael Owen has been out since January and hasn't played a competitive match in months. The game against Jamaica can hardly count as competitive since the English walked all over my homeland 6-0. Wayne Rooney the other top English forward has been out with a broken foot for four weeks. His return to the squad may be a little premature and risky. This puts a lot of pressure on poplocking(watch out for his breakdancing if he scores in the cup) forward Peter Crouch who is previously untested at the international level.
2.) Pairing Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard may prove to be a disaster. Both players on their own are probably among the top 10 midfielders in the world. However, their qualities are so similar, they both like to attack, that it may leave a gaping hole in the midfield if they both go forward. It would be best if England played Gerrard with Michael Carrick, a naturally defensive midfielder instead of both Lampard and Gerrard. But it would be hard to justify leaving out a player of Lampard's obvious quality. Because of these two question marks, I have picked the English to go out in the quarterfinals against Portugal, much like in Euro 2004.

Sure enough, I was at least right about England. They just didn't score enough goals in the tournament to deserve to win it and Lampard and Gerrard looked a shell of themselves for the entire tourament. Both players missed their penalties while the much maligned Owen Hargreaves converted his. Two things may have prolonged England's participation in the World Cup: the presence of Jermaine Defoe or Darren Bent(Bent was the top English scorer in the English Premier League this year but was left off the squad. He's definitely a bigger goalscoring threat than Crouch and the same could be said for Defoe.) and a more willingness by the coaching staff to include Aaron Lennon in games at the earlier stages. Lennon came on for Beckham on Saturday and with his first touch set up one of England's best chances of the day. Lennon has something that Beckham does -- an ability to run at defenders and beat them one and one. Beckham is better at free kicks but more of the game is played in open play and it would have been good for England if they had the young player out there supporting the attack.

So the semifinals look like this: France v. Portugal and Germany v. Italy. By picking winners in these games I run the risk of removing all doubt as to my idiocy. Here goes: Germany v. France in the final. Since 1950 only the 1978 World Cup final with Argentina and Holland, was played without either Brazil or Germany in it. Since the Brazilians are now home I'm picking Germany to be in the final. They have homefield at advantage. They are on a roll. The Italians look strong and if the game wasn't on German soil I'd be picking Italy. I actually think they have the better players on the field and they still have not been scored on by an opponent this whole tournament. In the other game, I'm picking France because they beat Brazil. That's really it. Fans of Portugal and Italy must feel very relieved that I didn't pick their team since, judging by my picks in the quarterfinals I have no idea about these things.

Who Taught You Octogan?

2006-06-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

Before we get into the soccer stuff a quick question...Was anyone else aware that you are supposed to leave two spaces after a period before you start a new sentence? I never knew this! Being a summer associate at a law firm suddenly has made me aware of all the minor details. Just wanted to ask that question because I've never really come across that rule in all my years of writing. Ok on to the futebol......

The past two days are what you would call "a slow news day" in the journalism business. Not that I'm actually in the business, but I'm familiar with the term. Anywho, I've been wondering what I will write about to maintain interest in this blog while there are no games. What I came up with is about as nerdy as I am -- a reading list. Interest about soccer usually crests at the beginning of the world cup and troughs once it ends. Hopefully, many will maintain their interest once the tournament is over. To that end, below I've listed some of my favorite books on soccer. Before anyone asks, yes I've read them all and yes I think they are worth the read otherwise I wouldn't suggest them. Without further ado....

1. Futebol Brasileiro, Soccer the Brazilian Way
In my humble opinion, this is one of the best books written about soccer. It's rich with cultural stories that helps you understand why the Brazilians are so good at what they do. For example, every year there's a huge soccer tournament in the Amazon. It's got more teams than march madness. It's a completely amateur tournament yet communities prepare for months getting ready for the tournament holding try outs, etc. The most interesting thing about the tournament to me is that every team gets to bring a beauty queen for the pageant. If you are eliminated from the tournament but your beauty queen wins the pageant you are suddenly reentered into the tournament. Now, there's a rule I like. Can you imagine if all the college teams had to bring the best looking girl on campus to march madness to compete? How high would be the scrutiny be for these women? Just wondering. There's also the story about the shocking defeat to Uruguay at the Maracana(to this day still regarded as the lowest moment in Brazilian soccer historyThe best discovery for me in reading this book was the Brazilian soccer star Garrincha. To many Brazilians, Garrincha was greater than Pele and he is widely regarded as the best dribbler. He is known as much as a cautionary tale as he is for his skill since Garrincha became a chronic drunk and died pennyless.

2. Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football
This is another personal favorite because the book takes an interesting look at Dutch soccer. Instead of looking at Dutch soccer in a vaccuum, the book finds inspiration for the Dutch emphasis on spacing on the field coming form their artists. Dutch painters were obsessed with spacing on the canvas and there's also the famous line that 'god created the earth but the dutch created the netherlands.' Given that the country is basically a series of dams, the Dutch have always had a knack fo rmaking the most out of their space. Their football, the book contends, is no different. Thankfully the book does not take itself too seriously and does a good job of conveying its main point.

3. Barca: A People's Passion
The book was wirtten on the 100 year history of FC Barcelona. The beautiful thing about this book is that it really shows that Barca has always been a team for the great artists of the game. From the days of the great Hungarian Ferenc Puskas to the magnificent Johan Cryuff to the irrepressible Diego Maradona to the toothy Ronaldinho, Barca has always been the home to the world's most artistic players. With FC Barca being the pride of Catalunya it was always at a disadvantage whenever it played Real Madrid while Franco was in power because Real Madrid was Franco's team. That is why FC Barcelona's motto is 'more than a club' because the team represents everything that Catalunya stands for and for a while under Franco Barca's home stadium the Camp Nou was the only place where the Catalunyian flag could fly.

4. Dynamo
If you needed another reason to hate the Nazis this book gives it to you. Long before Dynamo Kiev was the team that gave the world Andriy Shevchenko and Sergei Rebrov the team provided the Ukrainian city of Kiev with the soldiers who fough to the death and was the last line of defense when the Nazis came. The only way these men stayed alive was because they were good at soccer. A truly moving book.

5. The Untouchables
Yeah, yeah yeah, it's not a book. Instead it's a video chronicling Arsenal's unbeaten season. Aresenal went through the 2003/2004 season undefeated...the first time that's been done in England's top flight in over 100 years. This video chronicling the amazing season is a must have for any Arsenal fan. The video has every Arsenal goal from that season and interviews of all the players. The biggest surprise from the video was how many instrumental goals Robert Pires scored that season. His performance that season would put to shame anyone who would suggest that Frank Lampard is the best goalscoring midfielder in the Premiership over the past five years.

6. Tor!
A comprehensive history of German football. I would have never thought that Shalke 04 was one of the big dogs of German football way back when. The book explains why German teams have those crazy acronymns like "VFL" at the beginning of their name. The greatest revelation I got from the book was that German football was mostly an amateur sport until 1963 due mustly to a general distrust of professionalism in sports. Most of the German sports clubs were a make up of amateur athletes and the Germans saw no reason why football should be any different. Really good read.

A Kloser look at Klose

2006-06-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Miroslav Klose is at it again. The 28-year-old German forward exploded on the scene in the 2002 World Cup with a hat trick in the opening game against perennial world powerhouse Saudi Arabia. Klose went on to score two more goals against such giants as Cameroon and Ireland, bringing his tally for the 2002 World Cup to 5 which was second only to Ronaldo. In the 2006 World Cup Klose opened up in style again with two goals against a Colossus Costa Rican side. He added two more goals against mighty mighty Ecuador bringing his World Cup tally to nine goals. What should be evident from the foregoing is that Klose hasn't actually scored a goal against any team of repute. He's made his bones being the sandlot bully. As my friend Ilan reminded me, though, once you're in the record books they don't go back and see who you scored the goals against. That's very much true and maybe I'm nitpicking a bit but of Klose's nine goals none of them have come outside of the group stage. He looked lively against Sweden on Saturday and was responsible for setting up the two goals for Lukas Podolski. Kudos to him but I'm not ready to join the bandwagon just yet. A man who has made the rounds of club football in Germany between Kaiserslautern and Werder Bremen(Klose scored 25 goals in the Bundesliga this season in 23 starts and scored 4 goals in the champions league in 9 starts.) doesn't really get the blood flowing. If and when he plays for Bayern Munich or a top side in Europe he'll be validated in my eyes. But if Klose bags a hat trick against Argentina then maybe I will join the chorus of people praising him.

Roll Back The Clock.

2006-06-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

There's a saying in soccer that 'form is temporary while class is permanent.' The jist of it is that anyone can have a good game or a couple of good games but the truly great ones never lose their ability to rise to the occasion. This could never have been truer in yesterday's two games. Both Ronaldo and Zidane rolled back the years to treat viewers to some vintage performances. Ronaldo's goal against Ghana was a treat. Ronaldo beat the offside trap and was sent in one on one with the keeper. Ronaldo did a stepover and faked right and the keeper went right then Ronaldo went left and the keeper was flat on his back. He toe poked an easy finish to put Brazil ahead. Ronaldo could have added a second had Adriano not been selfish and gone for goal when Ronaldo was free with acres of space in front of goal for an easy tap in. With his 15th goal Ronaldo is now the all time leading scorer in the history of the World Cup. His place in history is secure, not that it was ever in jeopardy.

In the later game Zidane was all over the field looking like the Zidane of old. Changing the pace of the game at will and getting the ball to his teammates in positions where they could do damage. His stoppage time goal was brilliant even if he was a shade offside when he got the ball. Zidane picked up the ball about 25 yards from goal and took on Spanish defender Carles Puyol. Zidane faked left then went right and turned Puyol inside out. Just when Iker Casillas started moving towards the far post Zidane shot near post to put the French comfortably ahead 3-1.

It's funny because I was calling for both players to be benched after the first game of the tournament. What they proved is that the great ones, as they get older, may not be able to deliver every game but once the chips are down they rarely fold. ........

Brazil did not look impressive against Ghana but they got the result. They won 3-0 so it's a bit nitpicky of me to find fault with their game. They were probably happy to let Ghana have the ball because the Ghanaians couldn't shoot. Why exert yourself when you can sit back and let your opponent eat up possession then squarder their chances by shooting high and wide over the bar? I think the way the tournament is going teams are more concerned about the result than how pretty they look. Sven Goran Eriksson has already gone on record saying that his England team are not here to entertain. I usually expect that type of attitude from small nations woh are just happy to be on the big stage and want to stay as long as they can so they defend and foul the whole game. Big nations like Brazil, England, Argentina, Germany and Italy have an obligation to the game to entertain and to set an example for the way the game should be played. That may be a little idealistic of me but at least Brazil and Germany are sticking to playing open attacking football.

Right now everyone is just grinding out results except for the host nation. This tournament reminds me of Euro 2004 when Greece won the tournament not by playing football but by preventing everyone else from playing. Greece played the majority of the tournament with about eight men behind the ball and frustrated their opponents. They would get a goal and defend it for the rest of the game. England, Italy and France could all be said to be guilty of this type of play. Of the teams that came to the tournament to play open attractive football only Brasil, Argentina and Germany are left. Teams like the Czech Republic, Ghana and Spain are all home now. The quarterfinal games don't offer much promise for an improvement in play. In the England v. Portugal match you should expect England to show up with their five midfielders to slow up the game, hope they are fouled somewhere around the box and put their hopes on a Beckham free kick. France will probably do something similar against Brazil and the Italy v. Ukraine match will be as entertaining as watching paint dry. I'm expecting penalty kicks in this one. Argentina v. Germany should be the connoisseurs choice. Both teams have been attacking all tournament and I don't expect their matchup to be much different. The quarterfinal matches should be a good indication as to where the future of the game is going. If England and France win it will give motivation to teams who just want the result and could care less about entertaining. For the sake of the game I will be pulling for Brazil and Portugal. I hate to be so dramatic but it's that serious.

The Weekend.

2006-06-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

The refereeing is threatening to ruin the Cup. At this point we should all be talking about Maxi Rodriguez's goal against Mexico(my winner for Goal of the Tournament), David Beckham's beautiful free kick goal that rescued a hapless Ingerlund, and how the Germans so effortlessly brushed aside a Sweden team that, by most accounts, looked like the best team in Group B. Instead, all the focus is on the Russian referee who doled out 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards in the Portugal v. Holland match. The referee lost control of the game from the moment Mark Van Bommel went Eric Cantona on Cristiano Ronaldo and kung fu kicked him iin his thigh. Next up was Khalid Boulahrouz to put a hurting on Ronaldo and the cards kept piling up. Before you knew it the Portuguese lost Costinha and Deco and the Dutch lost two other players.

There's no question here that the referee let the game get out of hand and he should not referee another match. In fact, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the referee also deserved a yellow card for his performance. Go figure. But as much as I would like to join in with everyone else and kill the messenger, I'm afraid the true culprit is FIFA president Sepp Blatter. Before the tournament began Blatter wanted referees to issue cards for tackles from behind, time wasting and anything that the referees thought did not comport with FIFA's emphasis on fair play. Yesterday's referee did just that: he gave cards for everything that looked remotely dangerous. The same can be said for the German referee who called a penalty on U.S. defender Onyewu right before halftime in the elimination game against Ghana. Ditto for Graham Poll who gave three yellow cards to Josip Simunic in the Croatia v. Australia match. The referee in the Italy v. U.S. match also lost the plot, sending off three players. These referees are the best in the world. They didn't become bad refs overnight. What is spurring them on to such poor officiating is the FIFA directive ordering them to crackdown. Granted, any new law leaves room for interpretation and the referees should use common sense in implementing FIFA's directive. We don't know, however, what pressure they are under or what penalties they will incur for failing to follow the letter of the law. As a result, we get referees issuing yellow cards for fouls that otherwise would only yield a warning to the player to cool it and then play would resume.

What is lost in all of this is the focus on what actually happened on the field(Yes, in America it's called a field and not a "pitch." Few things annoy me more than American announcers calling the soccer field the "pitch." Let's try not to poach everything from the Brits and try to create our own lexicon for the game). Maniche's goal was a result of beautiful passing in the box, the type of play we usually associate with the Dutch. Dutch football probably took a greater hit than any other from this tournament. The reason being is that the Dutch have always pride themselves on beautiful, fluid attacking football going back to the days of the old Cryuff Ajax teams of the 70s all the way up to their heartbreaking defeat against the Brazilians in 1998. Since then, however, the Dutch have failed to develop any talent similar to that of Van Basten, Gullit, Bergkamp or even a midfielder like Davids. Consequently, the missed the Cup in '02, were eliminated at the quarterfinal stage of Euro 2004 and, despite their passage into the round of 16, failed to score a single goal from the 27th minute of their second game in the group stages against the Ivory Coast. This is a time for reflection on Dutch Football and just how they will get it together for Euro 2008.

The main thing that stuck in my mind from the Dutch attack on Sunday was how easily Portugues right back Miguel handled Arjen Robben. It got so bad in the second half that Robben had to switch to the opposite side to get away from Miguel and receive the ball. Also, the announcers kept calling for Van Nistelrooy to enter the game but he hasn't looked like a dangerous player since 2004(Marelo Balboa who announces the games for ESPN has little knowledge of the game, even though he played in three World Cups for the U.S. I'm convinced they just give him a sheet of statistics and he just parrots off whatever information is on it). The one bright spot for the Dutch as my favorite Dutch commentator Ernst Bouwes pointed out is that the Dutch are young and have a talented crop of players coming up(Their under 21 side won the European Championship).

Looking forward to the quarterfinal matchup between England and Portugal, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to go John Kerry on this one and flip flop. Before the tournament started I had Portugal winning this match. Now, however, they have to play without Deco and Ronaldo. They still have Figo and Maniche which gives them a punchers chance, at the very least. They also have Phil Scolari who ousted the English team from the '02 Cup with Brazil and also coached the Portuguese when they defeated England on penalty kicks in Euro 2004. I think it's time for England to have a coming out party. They haven't played well in a single game, yet the keep on winning. Beckham is pretty much a passenger on the field until there is a free kick. To his credit though he has taken them well and has contributed as much as anyone, except maybe Joe Cole, to Ingerlund being this far in the tournament. Who knows, maybe England will prove me wrong and win it all. It wouldn't be the first time this tournament I was wrong. I was a real fool for picking Sweden to beat Germany. Nothing I saw indicated that the Germans would go down against the Swedes while everything the Swedes showed in the group stages suggested they were a misfiring side, not ready for the big time. When Larsson missed the penalty kick in the second half, I knew it was all over for the Swedes. In truth, it was over in the 13th minute. By then Lukas Podolski had already scored two goals for the Germans to put them ahead 2-0. Next up for the Germans is Argentina. I had this quarterfinal matchup in the run up to the tournament and I have Argentina winning it still. I'll have front row seats for this one. Let's hope the referees don't ruin the night in Berlin.

2006-06-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Before, I get on with the footbal, can someone please tell me who the %#$% is Taylor Hicks? I've never heard of this guy before and he has the number one song in America. Have I been living under a rock? Someone please inform me. Now on to the real business....

The real World Cup begins today. Now that the minnows like Togo, Saudi Arabia and definitely the U.S. have been sent packing we can really sit back and start enjoying high quality matches at every turn. The second round is not without party crashers, however, as Ecuador and Australia unexpectedly made it through the group phase. On to the matches.

Germany v. Sweden
Sweden looked like one of the better teams in the grou pstages. If they finished better they would have won all three of their games. Germany seem to be moving away from the old stereotype of Germans as boring calculating players. They're playing like South Americans.

Prediction: Sweden wins. I'm going out on a limb. I'm contradicting myself here because before the tournament started I picked Germany to win this matchup. They have done nothing for me to go away from this but I"m trying to be a genius here. From watching Sweden's games I think they play good positive football and so does Germany. The only difference is I think Sweden does a better job of doing it. I think Sweden have better players at eveyr position, except whoever has to match up with Michael Ballack. Klose has been converting his chances while Larsson and Ibrahimovic have not. I'm hoping they will get it together to win this game. Germany has homefield advantage which may propel them over the top. I try to stay away from intangibles and go with the team with the most talent and I think Sweden is a more talented team. Sweden should keep the ball out of the middle of the field because Michael Ballack will eat them up. Play it on the wings to Wilhelmsson and Ljungberg and let the good times roll.

Argentina v. Mexico
Mexico go home. Get your shinebox and go home. It's that simple. They have no chance. There's no need to analyze this. Argentina are better. They will win. Like ESPN's Michael Davies said, if they played this game 10 times Argentina would win 11. I agree.

Italy v. Australia
The Italians rigged the tournament to get a free pass to the semifinals. Who did Silvio Berlusconi pay off to get Australia in the second round and the winner of Switzerland v. Ukraine in the quarterfinals? The Aussies s hould be heading home with their tails between their legs after the Italy match. They've overstayed their welcome. The way they've played you'd think this was a rugby tournament. They've fouled more than any other team by my unofficial count. I think Italy wins this one effortlessly.

Ukraine v. Switzerland.
Yawn....Yawn....Yawn...This is the one game of the second round that I will not watch and I will not tivo. Ukraine has Shevchenko and 10 guys who nobody has ever heard of(Rebrov who most of us know is on the bench). Switzerland has, well, they have 11 guys nobody has ever heard of. Predictoin: the team with Shevchenko.

England v. Ecuardor
This should be a stroll in the park for England but these days nothing seems easy for England. The only back up forward on the team is a 17 year old who even the manager admitted that he has never seen play. Midfield is a crisis because Beckham hasn't had a good game yet this tournament. Gerrard and Lampard can't play together and Owen Hargreaves is the answer but the manager has opted for Michael Carrick instead. The recipe for victory: Give the ball to Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney and get out the way. Gerrard can be effective too but only if Sven lets. him. I got England 2-1.

Portugal v. Holland
The Portuguese are notorious Dutch killers. In 2001 they beat the Dutch in Rotterdam and tied them in Portugal to stop the Dutch from progressing to the '02 Cup. In 2004 the Portuguese eliminated the Dutch from the semifinals of Euro 2004. In 2006 the Portuguese will eliminate the Dutch from the Cup by the score of 2-0. It should be an exciting game with Robben, Ronaldo, Figo, Deco and Van Persie all on the same field. My money is on the Portuguese to send the Dutch back home to sniffing Tullips and hanging out in coffee shops.

Brazil v. Ghana
"1,2,3, Black Star shines eternally." Only a fool would pick Ghana. Brazil wins by many many goals. Essien watches from the sidelines helplessly as Brazil walk all over the Black Stars. Let me take this opportunity to apologize to Ronaldo. I said he was washed up and he should be benched then in the next game he scored two goals. Yeah, my bad. BUT, that was Japan and this is Ghana. You can't really get a good indication of where he is against these teams but he definitely shut me up because I didn't think he had it in him to tie Gerd Muller for most World Cup goals.

France v. Spain
Poor Spain. They finally are gelling and look impressive and they are paired in the second round against a French team out to prove they aren't the chokers that the Spaniards have always been. If I was picking solely on which team is in form I'd have to go with Spain. They looked impressive agianst the Ukraine and Tunisia then looked to be in cruise control against Saudi Arabia. They played 11 reserves. Joaquin looked unstoppable, but the rest of the team looked out of sorts. Spain lost momentum with this game, I think. It reminds me of my fantasy footbal league where one guy was 12-0 and then chose to rest all his starters. He lost all his momentum and ended up losing to me in the finals of the league when my team was only 10-6, I think. The moral of the story is when you have momentum you keep it. You don't squander it. I think Spain has bad karma. I'm picking, gulp, France. Allez les Bleus! I keep picking France b/c they have my favorite player in Henry. I'm keeping the faith.

That's it and that's all. I'm off to bed. I'll probably keep a diary on both games tomorrow. Let the games begin. The real World Cup is finally here.

"We Did it For Africa," Michael Essien

2006-06-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Anyone familiar with this blog knows that I've been partial to the African teams in this tournament. I think with the social problems in these countries and the lack of resources to properly develop the talent, the African nations are always at a disadvantage. I always cheer for the African teams because they show up to play attacking football. They have a devil-may-care attitude and play as if they have nothing to lose. When you play an African team you know you will get opportunities to score and you know they will be coming at you for 90 minutes looking for a goal. Ghana, more than any African team, really exemplified this spirit in their three games in the group stages. Whenever they got the ball around the box you knew they were going for goal. Given their positive attitude it was no surprise to see Ghana defeat the U.S. If they can hang tough with Brazil, their likely opponent in the next round, it would be a great boost for African football. It will take some doing since Essien will be suspended for that game thanks to a cheap yellow card from the ref in today's game.

Early in the tournament I thought the African sides were not performing to their potential but they have come around and none of them should feel embarassed about their performance in this tournament, with the exception of Togo who have let the financial row with their government overshadow their performance on the field. If Togo can take a point off the misfiring French team tomorrow that would be another shot in the arm for African soccer.

The Ivory Coast, probably one of the most talented teams in the tournament will go home with a vitory and two losses but those losses came against two of the top sides in the world in Argentina and the Netherlands. Angola, who also will be going home, only allowed one goal in their three matches and will leave the tournament with two points. Tunisia is probably the only African side to have really been put to the sword after their 4-0 beating against Spain. Tunisia, however, still have an opportunity to qualify for the round of 16 if they can defeat the Ukraine.

The Black Stars are the undisputed gem of this tournament. Drawn in a group against perennial World Cup powerhouses Italy, the Euro 2004 semifinalists Czech Republic and Quarterfinalists from '02 in the U.S., Ghana made it to the round of 16 in their debut. I'm looking forward to their game against Brazil not because I think they will win it but because I know I'm going to be treated to some positive play from both teams from start to finish. I mean, you know the Black Stars are called the "brazilians of Africa" too bad they are going up against the Brazilians of the world. Either way, kudos to Ghana for making it out the group.

What Today's loss means for American Soccer:
I think today's loss set American soccer back a good eight years. All the good work from '02 is forgotten and the players looked more like the confused players we saw in France '98. Moving forward, I think the U.S. needs a new coach. Bruce Arena proved himself to be a fool by coming out in a 4-5-1 formation in a game where he needed to have an attacking lineup. It is telling that the only time the U.S. played with two forwards in this tournament was after Eddie Johnson came in during the second half of today's game. You can't sit back and play with fear at the international level and expect to win game. The 4-5-1 formation indicated a fear of Ghana's midfield and that Arena was playing for a draw, which is stupifying considering they needed a victory. Firing Arena is the first tep the U.S. should take moving forward. Second, Donovan really needs to leave the MLS. He needs experience playing at the highest level. You don't get ready for the top players in the world by playing in the MLS. The MLS is a decent league but it is not yet at the level where it has the kind of talent to match the top leagues in Europe. If Donovan is ever going to realize his potential he needs to do so playing in Europe. Other plays in the side like Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson should also be playing in Europe, if they are good enough. The U.S. should really consider dropping Onyewu from the team. Yes, he has that cool nickname "Gooch" and the brotha is out there playing with braids but come on, he's a gots to go situation. Everytime his name was called during the tournament it was in relation to something negative. Maybe he will improve over the years but on this evidence he has no business wearing that U.S. shirt.

Third, and most important, the U.S. needs to start playing in Copa America. The tournament has the top sides from the South American CONMEBOL region like Brazil and Argentina. Though the U.S. is a CONCACAF side this should not be a hindrance to their participation since Mexico, another CONCACAF side, also plays in the tournament. Playing in Copa America will give the U.S. a good indicator of just how good they are two years prior to every World Cup. I've said this over and over again but I just don't think that teams like Barbados and Panama can give the U.S. the kind of challenge it needs to get ready for the big tournaments.

If these three changes are made, it is likely we will see an improvement in the talent level of the American player. As the players get better so will our performances in the World Cup. Many will moan about the group that the U.S. was in, but if Ghana, World Cup debutants, can make it out the group the U.S. can't complain. Additionally, some will feel the U.S. were undone by the referees penalty at the end of the first half of the Ghana game. The penalty decision was harsh but the U.S. still didn't score the goals needed to progress. Even if the penalty wasn't given the final score would have been 1-1 and that still would not have been eough for the U.S. to move on to the next round.

Today is a sad day for American soccer and fans of American soccer. The sport will now occupy the backseat it has always occupied in America. My boasts that soccer would soon be a major sport in America now appear sillier than ever. I don't doubt that the sport will eventually flourish in America but the team's performance in the '06 World Cup has really set American soccer back to the days of 1998 where they finished last in the World Cup. Hopefully the team will have a better showing in Johannesburg in 2010.

Second Half Diary U.S. v. Ghana

2006-06-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

Second half is underway. Still no sight of a second forward to support McBride. ESPN just flashed a statistic that the U.S. is 0-13-1 when tralining at halftime in a World Cup match. U.S. is also 0-8-1 in World Cup matches and have been outscored 26-6 in those matches. Time to close the coffin on these bums.

Minute 50: so far nothing worth noting has happened in the second half. When will we see Eddie Johnson? This guy Arena is a prized fool for playing 4-5-1 in this match.

Minute 54: Corner kick for the U.S. but before that a Ghana player goes down. More time wasting by the Africans. He gets up just before the stretcher gets there. The U.S. corner amounts to nothing and Ghana counterattacks and forces Keller to make a good save. Corner to Ghana.

Minute 58: When is Arena going to make a substitution to change the game? Still playing with one forward and not really getting anything going forward. Ghana is just sitting back and defending and counterattacking. Ghana takes off a forward and adds another midfielder so the numbers are even in midfield now.

Minute 60: On comes Johnson for Cherundolo. Now the U.S. is playing with two forwards let's see if this changes the game at all.

Minute 63: Ghana attacking once more but Dramani doesn't play the ball across the box into the path of the open forward. Wasted opportunity by Ghana.

Minute 66: U.S. aatacks down the left and McBride has a golden opportunity but he puts his header off the post. That's more like it from the U.S. They're starting to put Ghana on the backfoot in this last half hour of the game. They still need two goals to move on. Bocanegra takes a shot from outside the box which is deflected out for a coner. Donovan takes and Onyewu puts his header over the bar.

Minute 68: The 4-4-2 formation has really changed the game for the U.S. if the lose you have to wonder why Arena didn't start the game like this.

Minute 70: Three straight U.S. attacks have come to an end because of offsides. Ghana is executing the offside trap really well.

Minute 72: Goal kick by Ghana ends up in a shooting opportunity for Appiah who had Keller beat at the far post but the shot was deflected by Conrad.

Minute 74: In comes Bobby Convey off goes Eddie Lewis. More fresh legs for the U.S.

Minute 76: More time wasting by the Ghanaians. Dramani goes down. The refs says there's no foul. Dramani stays down and the clock continues to run. Dramani is really milking this now as he's being stretchered off.

Minute 79: Ghana are masters of timewasting at this point. The keeper is fouled and he stays down for a good two minutes. Time is running out on the U.S. They've scored 1 goal in 260 minutes of the World Cup now they need two in the last 10 minutes.

Minute 81: Bobby Convey is fouled outside the box by Mensah. Donovan takes the free kick and sends it well high and wide of the target. Absolutely rubbish. Get him outta there.

Italy Update: Italy now leads 2-0 on a goal from Pipo Inzaghi. Pipo beats the offside trap from midfield and rounds the keeper to put Italy up 2-0. Looks like Italy will advance as group leaders.

Minute 86: more timewasting from Ghana. Pingpong goes down and is stretchered off. He mliks another minute off the clock. This is comical at this point. The U.S. are losing 2-1. They need to throw everyone forward right now. THey can't worry about giving up another goal becuase 2-1 might as well be 3-1. Either way you're still going home.

Minute 90: The referee has added 5 minutes of stoppage time. That's a bit much but it looks like he's making up for all the timewasting by Ghana in regular time. Even in extra time Ghana is wasting time. Appiah picks up a yellow card for wasting time. Three minutes of stoppage time gone. Ghana only has to hold on for two minutes and they will likely face Brazil.

Minute 90: Game over. Ghana wins 2-1. Ghana advances with Italy from this group. A few Ghana players fall to their knees and kiss the turf and pray. The U.S. and Czech Republic will be going home. They are probably the biggest disappointments of the tournament thus far. I'm off to work.

U.S. v. Ghana First Half Diary

2006-06-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

Let's get the game underway. It's been close to a year since Donovan has scored for the U.S. Will today be the day he breaks the scoreless streak? Let's go.

Already with the playing of the national anthems Ghana seems like a more spirited and raucus bunch. U.S. are starting with a 4-5-1 formation with Brian McBride as the lone striker. This is a strange choice. Why go with five midfielders and one forward when you need a victory? McBride will need a lot of support from the midfield players. Ghana opens with a 4-4-2. The five U.S. midfielders will probably slow things up for Ghana in the midfield.

Word from the Italy game: Baros is back for the Czechs. This is a good sign for the Czechs and should take some pressure off the midfield.

Minute 2: both teams just knocking the ball around right now. Nothing really threatening from either side. just trying to get a feel for the game.

Minute 3: An early cross into the box causing confusion in the Ghana defense and draws out the keeper. I got no idea what he's doing off his line.

Minute 5: Yellow card for Michael Essien. He will miss the next game if Ghana goes through. These referees are so card happy this tournament. This is ridiculous. Essien got the ball.

Minute 7: Ghana is looking relaly flat. We see the second yellow card of the game on an unintentional handball by Eddie Lewis.

Minute 9: Ghana wins the first free kick of the gam after the Ghanaian midfielder megs the U.S. defender and is upended right outside the box. Let's see what Ghana does with it...wasted effort as Appiah plays it to Essien who shoots well wide.

Minute 12: Ghana is showing nothing in attack so far. The first 12 minutes of this game have been played almost exclusively in Ghana's half of the field. Ghana is giving the ball away cheaply right now.

Minute 16: U.S. wins the first corner of the game. Taken by Donovan and headed on target by Dempsey. Easy save for Ghana's keeper.

Minute 18: Another foul by Onyewu slows the game down. Onyewu is probably the most overrated player on the U.S. team. The only time I hear his name is when he fouls someone. So far the U.S. has gotten absolutely nothing from Donovan and Beasley.

Minute 20: The five U.S. midfielders are really bottling up the Ghana attack. Not sure if this kind of defensive posture is what the U.S. needs in a game where a victory is the only acceptable result....Ghana wins its first corner. Too bad the referee calls a foul.

Minute 22: GOLAZO!!! Claudio Reyne gives the ball away cheaply to Dramani who goes in and slots the ball pass Kasey Keller 1-0 Ghana. It will take a Herculean effort now by the U.S. to win this game. The need two goals and they have yet to score in the tournament. The giveawy by Reyna was criminal and now he is being stretchered off. It doesn't look like he was touched by the Ghana player his studs just got caught in the grass.

Minute 26: Now Ghana's keeper Kinson is down. I suspect he's just milking the clock but I could be wrong.

Minute 28: You really have to question Arena's choice of five midfielders and one forward. This formation is not known for producing goals especially when you are using a foward who depends on good service and another forward to drop and colect the ball.

Minute 29: Good Ghana counterattack: Essien plays the ball through to Pingpong who slots the ball just a yard or two wide of the far post.
Update from Italy game: Italy leads 1-0 on a Massimo Materazzi header from a Totti corner.

Minute 32: Ghana appears to be in complete control of the game at this point. The goal has changed everything and the U.S. appear to be sleepwalking right now.

Minute 35: Mcbride heads a ball down to Donovan who puts it well high and wide of the target. Donovan's disappointing tournament continues. It's been 17 games in the national team since he's scored a goal.

Minute 38: Donovan is starting to push a little farther forward now to join McBride in the attack. They still don't seem to be threatening the Ghana keeper. It's all too easy for Ghana right now. They knock it around a little and then move forard.....A nice U.S. counterattack comes to nothing. Eddie Lewis crosses into the box but there's no one there on the end of it to convert.

Minute 40: Reyna is being subbed off. On comes Olsen. The way things are looking this is the last time we'll see Reyna in a U.S. shirt.

Minute 41: Olsen's first mark in the game is to foul Essien and give Ghana a free kick about 30 yards away from goal. Wasted effort. Goal kick for the U.S.

Minute 43: GOLAZO!!! Beasley's first contribution to the game comes on a nice run where Ghana gives the ball away around their box and Beasley squares for Dempsey who blasts it into the net past the Ghana keeper. It's 1-1. Game on!! Ghana basically gifted that chance to the U.S. by failing to clear the ball properly with three players around.

Minute 45: PENALTY!!! Onyewu fouls Pingpong in the box and the referee awards a penalty which will be taken by Appiah. Appiah steps up and calmly deposits it into the roof of the net. 2-1 Ghana. Like I said before, this guy Onyewu is overrated. You only hear his name when he fouls. Ghana are back on top and the U.S. are up against it.

Halftime: Ghana leads 2-1. The U.S. still needs two goals to progress. Italy is leading the Czechs who are now playing with ten men. Arena needs to switch the formation to 3-5-2 and go for broke or 4-4-2 at the very least.

U.S. v. Ghana Preview.

2006-06-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

The U.S. v. Ghana game starts in little under an hour. Ghana will be without goalscorers Gyan and Muntari. The U.S. will be without defender Eddie Pope and midfielder Pablo Mastroeni. A few bullet points about this game:

- the U.S. has never won a match on European soil.
- Kasey Keller has never won a World Cup match in Europe
- The U.S. has only one shot on target so far, the lowest number of any team.
- To advance the U.S. needs to beat Ghana and hope Italy wins. Otherwise they need to win by more than four goals if the Czechs beat Italy (a tall order for a team with only one shot on goal thus far).
- A Ghana victory would see them through to the second round where, if Italy does not tie Czech Republic, they would play Brazil. Here's what Ghana's coach Ratomire Dujkovic had to say about the potential of playing Brazil in the second round: "Facing Brazil, well, you know the Ghana Black Stars have a nickname, the Brazil of Africa," he said. "So that will be a great match, two Brazilians." After defeating the Czech Republic, Ghana's president had this to say: "We've beaten the second-best team in the world, who else is left?" Needless to say the Ghanaians are a confident bunch going into today's match.

The key to the game may be how well the U.S. is able to slow down Ghana's midfield. The trio of Essien, Kuffour and Appiah has been impressive thus far. They attack constantly for 90 minutes and never seem to tire. Ghana needs to continue playing their wide open football but a failure to pay attention to defensive duties may leave them exposed at the back. The game will also be a test for Donovan and Reyna because they are up against a truly world class midfielder in Essien who will harass them both for 90 minutes. If the U.S. are going to win this game they are going to need to attack down the wings because I don't think Essien or Appiah will be giving an inch in the middle of the park. The U.S. should have ample opportunities to get on the scoreboard and get shots on target because judging by Ghana's first two games thir main focus is to attack and worry about defensive duties later. Ghana is probably the one team the U.S. will face in the tournament that is similar to their CONCACAF opponents they faced in qualifying.

If U.S. coach Bruce Arena cannot get his tactics right to win this game it may be time for the U.S. to look elsewhere for someone to lead this team. Someone like Hiddink or Van Gaal, men with the tactical nous to succeed on the world stage, may be the ideal replacement for Arena. My prediction for the game is a Ghana victory. I like their strength iin midfield and I like their shoot on sight approach. The only cause for caution is that they are without their key forward Asamoah Gyan and that makes me wonder where the goals will come from. With Essien and Appiah attacking and patroling the midfield I put my money on Ghana coming out of this one as victors.

In the other game, I suspect Italy will defeat the Czechs. They Czechs again are without their forawrds and the burden is on Nedved and Rosicky to score. If they get too far upfield like they did against Ghana the defense will be exposed and Italy will make them pay. So from the supposed group of death I have Italy and Ghana advancing. More to come after the games.

Yellow Card Update.

2006-06-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yellow card trouble has taken some of the steam out of the Netherlands v. Argentina matchup. Robben will be sitting out along with the entire Dutch backline because of yellow card danger. For Argentine, Crespo, Saviola and Heinze are supposed to sit out for the same reason. As a result, nothing will be made clearer from this game because neither team will field its first choice lineup. Bring on Messi and let the games begin.

Portugal 2 Mexico 1

2006-06-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

Game over. Portugal moves on as group winners and Mexico are runner ups as I predicted. The ref handed out 8 yellow cards and 1 red card in this one. Seems like a bit much to me. Angola and Iran tied 1-1 which means they are both going home.

Update: Still 2-1 Portugal.

2006-06-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Mexico misses a penalty as Bravo sends it over the bar. Still 2-1. Luis Perez gets his second yellow card for diving. Mexico is down to ten men and trailing by a goal. Angola and Iran are still tied 0-0.

Update Portugal 2 Mexico 1

2006-06-21T07:33:00.001-07:00

A Fonseca header from a Mexico corner brings Mexico back in the game. It's now 2-1 to Portugal. Game on! Angola still hasn't scored yet so I think no matter th eoutcome Mexico will be moving on.

Update Portugal 2 Mexico 1

2006-06-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

A Fonseca header from a Mexico corner brings Mexico back in the game. It's now 2-1 to Portugal. Game on! Angola still hasn't scored yet so I think no matter th eoutcome Mexico will be moving on.

Update Portugal 2 Mexico 0

2006-06-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

A Rafa Marquez handball in the box leads to a Portugal penalty which Simao converts to make it 2-0 in the 25th minute.

Update: Portugal 1 Mexico 0

2006-06-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

Simao makes a run down the right and draws three defenders then lays it off in the middle of the box to Maniche who calmly deposits it in the top of the box. 1-0 to Portugal. Can Mexico really be on their way out at the expense of Angola? Stay tuned.

Group B Wrapup and Preview of Today's Games

2006-06-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

England will move on as Group B winners after their 2-2 draw with Sweden. The result also means that Sweden will progress as runners up in the group. The big news from this game is that England forward Michael Owen will be out for five months after damaging ligament in his knee. Surely now Eriksson looks like a fool for bringing a 17-year-old to the World Cup who has no experience instead of bringing Darren Bent or Jermain Defoe as cover for his strikers in case of an injury. England will field the gangly Peter Crouch and Wayne Rooney up front for the rest of the tournament most likely. I think they would be better suited with a 4-5-1 formation with Rooney as the only forward. In midfield they should start Hargreaves as he can do most of the dirty work and allow Gerrard and Lampard to get farther up the field. Yesterday was the first time Lampard looked good in an England shirt and it's no coincidence it happened in a game where he was freed of any defensive duties and was able to hang around the 18 yard box the same way he does for Chelsea. When he and Gerrard are the only central midfielders England loses something from each of them because their natural instinct is to attack but they have to share the defensive duties. Switching to 4-5-1 would likely allow Eriksson to get the most out of both players whlie not sacrificing too much defensively by putting Hargreaves in the game.

The outstanding England player so far has been Joe Cole. His goal yesterday is a contender for goal of the tournament. Most of the attention has been on getting Rooney back but in Joe Cole they have a player who can change a game and dominate from the wngs. He was involved in everything that England did well yesterday. . . . looking forward to the next round England must improve on their defense on set pieces. Both of the Sweden goals came on set pieces and they hit the crossbar on two other set piece efforts. Ecuador, their second round opponent, may not be the type of team to make them pay for their defensive shortcomings but moving on in the tournament this is something to keep an eye on. As for Sweden, their only problem thus far has been their finishing. They've looked good in attack and strong defensively but the end product just hasn't been there. If they are to beat Germany they will need better finishing from Larsson and out of form striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic(Here is Zlatan's take on shaking Finnish defender Sami Hyypia out of his boots: "I went left. He went left. I went right. He went right. I went left again. He went to get a hot dog.") . . . Paraguay and Trinidad(Paraguay won 2-0) are eliminated for the tournament and can begin plotting on the 2010 tournament in Johannesburg.

Today's Matches

The day begins with the Portugal v. Mexico matchup. Portugal have looked strong in both their games but they haven't truly been tested. Today's match against Mexico will be as good an indicator as any as to how good Portugal is. I picked Portugal to win this group before the tournament started and I'm not about to waver now. I look for Cristiano Ronaldo to seize the day and put on a star performance. With Deco, Ronaldo and Figo in the lineup I want the Portuguese to turn on the style and run over the Mexicans. Mexico did not look too strong in their tie against Angola. They will be looking to improve on that performance going forward. THey will need to because a loss by Mexico and an Angola win over Iran may result in the Angolans moving forward. My prediction is that Portugal will win this game and win the group and Mexico will move foward with the Angolans and Iranians making their return trips home beofre Saturday's second round games.

Group C will offer us the match of the tournament so far with the Netherlands facing off against the Argentines. These two have had memorable matches in the '78 finals which Argentina wn and in '98 where Dennis Bergkamp scored one of the greatest goals I've ever seen in a World Cup(Look it up on You Tube. Bergkamp takes down a 50 yard pass effortlessly turns his defender inside out and puts it in the roof of the net. Beautiful stuff!) Today's game should be the first test for the Argentines because their six goal romp came agaist little leaguers from Serbia. The key to this game will be how well Van Persie and Robben can attack down the wings and whether Cocu and Van Bommel can put a leash on Riquelme in midfield. Before the tournament I had Argentina winning this game I don't see any reason why I should change now. I want Pekerman to start Messi so my proclamations of him being the best player under 24 being proven correct. IN the other Match the Ivory Coast should finally get a victory over Serbia & Montenegro. I feel bad for Ivory Coast because in any other group they probably would be moving on to the second round but htey can lick their wounds on their return flight to Abidjan.

Injury Update

2006-06-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

Michael Owen went down in the first minute of the game and was stretchered off the field. Looks like his World Cup is over. Might be a knee injury according to reports.

Group A Comes to A Close.

2006-06-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Germany's 3-0 win over Ecuador made them winners of Group A. Ecuador will move on to the second round as runners up from the group. I got the prediction right that Germany would win the group but I didn't expect Ecuador to make it past the group stages. If their performance in this game is any indication of what we should expect from them in the next round they won't be around too long. Germany came out attacking from the first whistle while Ecuador looked like they were just happy to be moving on to the next round. Two Miroslav Klose goals and another by Lukas Podolski was enough to give the Germans a deserved victory. Germany should feel confident moving on to the next round because of how they've played in the three group matches. With the exception of the two Paolo Wonchope goals the Germans could hardly be faulted for making any errors. They've looked dangerous going forward and have been strong defensively. Their win means that England and Sweden will be battling out to avoid the Germans because the winners get Ecuador who did not look like the team we saw in the first two games. As for the other members of Group A,Poland and Costa Rica (Poland won the match 2-1), thanks for coming. See you in Johannesburg in 2010.

Short England v. Sweden Preview.

2006-06-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

Wayne Rooney makes his return to the England starting lineup today for their game against Sweden. With all the hype surrounding Rooney it is important to note that he hasn't scored a competitive goal for England since Euro 2004. Both teams will be trying to avoid Germany who right now are leading Ecuador 1-0 in the 22nd minute on a Miroslav Klose goal(Klose is now three goals behind Klinsmann for second all time on Germany's World Cup scoring list with 8). It should be interesting to see how long Rooney can go coming back from his injury. I think England will win this game because the Swedes have been misfiring all tournament. Nothing would make me happier than to see England lose but I don't think Sweden will be the team to do it.

Fatman And Robben

2006-06-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

The World Cup is not a place for an old man to have his last hurrah. You bring an aging team to the World Cup and younger, faster teams will make you pay. The way Ghana ran rampant over the Czech Republic highlights the problem that teams without youth tend to have. Experience is always good in big tournaments but if you field a team that is too ancient you probably are going home early. Tournaments like the World Cup are usually a place where a star is born and older men are laid to rest. Michael Owen announced his arrival on the world stage in '98 with his goal against Argentina and now at just 26 he seems to be over the hill and second choice to Wayne Rooney.

Carel Bruckner doesn't have a choice to play younger players in the Czech team. His best players are his oldest. The only good midfielder under 30 is Tomas Rosicky. The others like Poborsky and Nedved have already seen their best days. Raymond Domenech and Carlos Pareira have young talent on the bench who can improve their teams but choose to keep them there. Domenech has a keeper in Gregory Coupet who has won the french league title four years in a row and has been playing in the Champions League. Coupet is probably one of the best keepers in Europe yet he is kept on the bench in favor of Fabien Barthez. Barthez's best days are behind him. Now is not the time to get sentimental and reward him for being on the World Cup winning team in '98. Similarly, Zidane should be laid to rest once and for all. He's probably the greatest player since Diego Maradona, but those days are long gone. Right now he's an old man who looks out of place and can't go the distance in an international match. Bench him and bring on Franck Ribery. Ribery has more pace and distributes the ball quicker. His quickness would probably help Henry in attack. Another change would be to take off another aging player, either Vieira or Makelele because they both have the same strengths. Bench Vieira and bring on Vikash Dhorasoo.

Brazil look to be in cruise control and Pareira doesn't mind because they have won both of their games. You come to the World Cup to win it, not to play with flair and lose. To that end, Pareira will probably keep Ronaldo in the side because although they haven't been that impressive they haven't been in danger of losing any of their two games. They are on top of their group and they are going to be waltzing into the second round. If it aint broke don't fix it. For the most part I feel the same wa about the Brazilian team but Ronaldo's inclusion in the team doesn't make much sense after watching the first two games. He is a hero from days gone by who should be laid to rest if for no other reason to preserve his legacy. When people think of Ronaldo they think of the player from '97 and '98 but he's not that player anymore. He's got all the individual and team accolades. His place in history is secured. He's just going through the motions and this point. Bench him and bring on Robinho. Robinho brings everything to the table that Ronaldo used to bring: speed and great technical ability when he's on the ball. The drawback to Robinho is that he doesn't finish as well and he's not a true center forward so if he's on the field the tactics would have to be changed to accomodate his talents.

The Spanish and Dutch team seem to have to understand this phenomenon. Van Basten left big name players like Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert and Roy Makaay back home in favor of younger players like Van Persie, Van der Vart and Robben. Robben has been a revelation in the Dutch team. He was single handedly responsible for seeing off the Serbians in their first game and in the second game against the Ivory Coast he played team ball and allowed Van Persie to get in on the action. The young Dutch team is playing with a sense of flair and adventure that they probably would not have if they were playing with the older players who were big names in the late 90s but today are washed up has beens.
Luis Aragones of Spain has also benched big name players in favor of talented youngsters. Instead of starting Raul, the golden boy of Spanish football, Aragones has gone with David Villa and Fernando Torres up front. Aragones also played 19 year old youngster Cesc Fabregas yesterday who was responsible for setting up the first two goals for Spain. The biggest surprise in the Cup for me has been how well Fernando Torres has played. I’ve always referred to El Nino as “El no no” because for all the hype surrounding him he hasn’t performed well on a big stage. However, what he has shown so far in the World Cup is if you surround him with good players he can be effective. He was given good service from Fabregas for his first goal against Tunisia which put them to rest. Granted, Ukraine and Tunisia aren't world beaters in international football but he is doing what he is supposed to: laying bums to rest. He scored a nice goal against the Ukraine with the one time volley off the Carles Puyol headed pass and scored two more against Tunisia and could have had a hat trick.
In truth, the Dutch and the Spaniards probably won’t be playing for the title on July 9th but with the young talent they have on the field they have given themselves a better chance than the French who are still holding on to the glory days of ’98. Brazil probably has enough talent to carry Ronaldo for a few more rounds of the tournament but I suspect if they come up against a strong side like Argentina they will need to have 11 players whose best days are still ahead of them.

U.S. ties Italy; Man Bites Dog.

2006-06-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

In journalism school you are taught that 'dog bites man' is not news. It happens everyday. If man bites dog, however, you have news. Saturday's three World Cup matches were classic 'man bites dog' situations. First, the U.S. tied with Italy. This was an unexpected result for many reasons, especially since the U.S. looked so out of it against the Czech Republic. After getting back from Chicago and watching the game on Tivo the bizarre result made more sense given the way the game was played and officiated. When the referee doles out three red cards in a game it's as good a sign as any that he has lost control. First, notorious enfant terrible Daniele De Rossi elbows Brian McBride in the face. De Rossi is rewarded with an early trip to the showers for his troubles. At this point with the game tied 1-1 and the U.S. had to feel good with a man advantage. Cue Eddie Pope and Pablo Mastroeni to hit the self destruct button. Both players got sent off and with a full 42 minutes remaining the game is reduced to a circus. With so much open space on the field both teams had ample opportunities to go ahead in the game but some poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping kept both sides level at full time.

The second 'man bites dog' result was Ghana's 2-0 win over the Czech Republic. In truth, this could easily have been 4-0 or 5-0 as the Ghanaian midfield ran rampant for the entire game. Ghana's win was their first ever win in the World Cup and it sets them up to advance from the group if they can defeat the U.S. in their final group match. If they defeat the U.S. Ghana will have to do so without their two goalscores Muntari and Gyan who will both be suspended for the final game. Give Ghana credit for their win and the way they capitalized on the open space in midfield left by Nedved and Rosicky who were busy attacking and paid little attention to defensive duties. Whenever the Czech attack brokedown Essien, Appiah and Muntari had close to 20 yards of open space on the counterattack because the Czech midfield was playing too high up the field and the de fense was no pushing up. Had it not been for Petr Cech, Ghana could easily have scored four or five goals.

Finally, Portugal's 2-0 win over Iran booked their passage into the second round of the tournament. The result was never in doubt as goals by Deco and Ronaldo secured the victory. The reason this is significant is because the win gives Portugal their first appearance beyond the group stages since the days of Eusebio in '66. Much was expected out of Portugal's 'golden generation' of Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Jao Pinto, et al but they failed to live up to the hype at the senior level. Figo is the only one to realize his potential and it was nice seeing him out there as the Portuguese moved forward.

Sunday's Games were more of the 'dog bites man' variety. There was no surprise in the fact that Brazil defeated the Aussies 2-0. Two things stick out from this game: Ronaldo's poor play and Dida's shabby goalkeeping. Dida was out of position on at least three occasions and had Harry Kewell been a little more calm in front of goal the scoreline would have looked very different. A better team will make Brazil pay for Dida's mistakes if they continue. As for Ronaldo, the Brazilian attack has looked toothless when Ronaldo is in the game. At this point I see no reason for his inclusion in the starting XI for Brazil. The attack looks more dynamic when Robinho enters the game and there is more movement and interplay between the forwards and midfield. I've always supported Ronaldo because of his marksmanship in front of goal but I think that skill is no longer with him. Even if it is he isn't getting himself into positions to receive the ball and do something with it. . . . So far the best player for Brazil has been Kaka. With all the pre World Cup hype surrounding Ronaldinho it is Kaka who has impressed the most. Ronaldinho has drifted in and out of the first two games and has not made any significant contributions so far. I don't understand why the commentators have been jocking Brazil and talking about the "samba" and the "movement" and the "magic" when no such thing has been on display. They have looked a little above average, at best. They have done nothing in the first two games to suggest they are better than Argentina, Spain or even the Netherlands. Everyone knows they have the talent to win the Cup and they are still my favorites to do so but at this point they are looking like a very beatable unit.

France's 1-1 tie with South Korea also should not be surprising. Given their performance in their last five World Cup games the result should be expected. I thought France would win this game and after 45 minutes they looked very much the better team. An 81st minute Park Ji Sun goal however kept the scores level at the end of full time. Thierry Henry missed some chances that he would normally put away. His performance in the Champions League final and yesterday is only strengthening the argument that whenever the chips are down Henry normally folds. King of England he very well may be, but on the global stage he has done little to merit his title as the world's best forward. He's always been my favorite player so I've given him the benefit of the doubt at every turn but with every anonymous moment in a big game I find it harder and harder to defend him. The problem with the French team doesn't start and end with Henry. Zidane is a shell of his former self and he should be benched. He is not the player he was in '98 or even '02 when he helped Real Madrid win the Champions League. Right now he's a man living off reputation. He still has the so called 'feathery touch' but his movement and speed of thought both appear to have slowed to a crawl. France needs to make wholesale changes because after the Swiss 2-0 defeat of Togo this morning they need a big result against the Togolese to move on to the next round. Both Zidane and left back Eric Abidal will miss the game due to suspension. Look for Trezeguet to finally start alongside Henry and the French to use a 4-4-2 formation. . . . the Japan 0-0 draw with Croatia on Sunday is a typical 'dog bites man' situation and therefore doesn't merit any attention.

That's it and that's all. Admittedly, this post is a little dense but I had to fit in all the weekend's activities in one post since I was gone for four days. The blog will resume its daily updating schedule from here on out.

Second Half Diary: Czech Republic v. Ghana. Ghana 2 Czech 0

2006-06-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Just got back from my girlfriend's graduation and see that Ghana is leading the Czech Republic 1-0. Looks like Ghana scored in the second minute: fastest goal by an African team in the World Cup. This is as good a chance that an African team may have to advance to the second round. Let's get the second half underway.

Minute 46: The Czechs looked to have tied the game up with a Nedved header but he was offsides. Ghana's blushes are spared if only temporarily.

Minute 47: Already 4 mentions by the announcers that a Ghana victory will keep the U.S. hopes alive. No mention of that little thing about beating the Italians.

Minute 49: Lokvenc picks up a yellow card for fouling the Ghana midfielder. I didn't see the first half but I imagine not having Koller and Baros due to injury must have something to do with the Czechs failing to score in this game.

Minute 52: QUick kick by the keeper. Ghana back on the counterattack with a 2 against three the Ghana player skips by two Czechs to force Petr Cech into a great save. Corner kick for Ghana.

Minute 53: Is Ghana that good or were the U.S. that bad? Right now Ghana is four goals better than the U.S. in terms of their performance against the Czechs. The Ghana midfield just keeps on running. Besides their good ball skills the most impressive thing is that they never tire.

Minute 56: This looks more like Czech football. Great combination play from the midfielders. Ball played into the box and Rosicky dummies. Czech player drives the ball high at the keeper. Save. Corner for the Czechs.

Minute 58: Announcer claims that Ghana is running out of steam. I just don't see it. They seem to be running much harder than the Czechs and are defending and getting the ball into the attack quickly. Then again, I didn't see the first half but on the evidence of the first 14 minutes of the second half, Ghana looks the fresher team.

Minute 64: The Czechs are enjoying a good spell of possession but that final pass is missing. Not having a target man to finish off the impressive buildup play is probably what's frustrating the Czechs.

Minute 64: here come the Ghanaians on a swift counterattack. Ujfalusi brings down the Ghanaian attacker. PENALTY!!! THis is where Petr Cech will prove his worth possibly.

Minute 66: Red card given to Ujfalusi for dissent. The same guy who commit the foul. The penalty still hasn't been taken.

Minute 66:Asamoah Gyan misses. HE HIT THE POST!!!! Typically poor finishing by the Africans. Ghana cannot afford to hang their heads here. They're about 20 minutes away from the second round because surely they will defeat the U.S. in their final game. They need to hold on to this advantage.

Minute 70: Neither Rosicky nor Nedved seem to be given the time to dwell on the ball like they had against the U.S. The Ghana midfielders are shutting them down quickly and forcing them to think about the second pass as soon as they receive the ball. The only answer the Czechs have right now is the hopeful long ball. I think it all boils down to not having their two first choice forwards. It's similar to how poorly Brazil played when their forwards weren't on their game.

Minute 72: Another excellent save by Petr Cech. He's really keeping the Czechs in this game right now.

Minute 75: First real error from Cech. He comes out and leaves his goal wide open but Ghana tries to be a little too cute and fail to put away the Czechs. Right back come the Czechs and Rosicky wins a free kick.

Minute 78: More neat play by the Ghanaians around the box. Essien shoots and the shot is saved by Petr Cech.

Minute 79: Once more the Ghanaians come and once more Petr Cech saves. At this point it's clear that Petr Cech is good but the Ghanaians are poor finishers. GHana's forwards are shooting straight at Cech everytime. The goal is really big, you know.

Minute 82: FINALLY!!! Ghana beats Cech. It's 2-0. Muntari finishes off a good series of passes by Ghana. He goes high. Cech goes low. Worse yet, Cech is beaten at his near post, something I wouldn't expect. This is over 2-0. All Ghana has to do is beat the U.S. and they are in the second round. These Ghanaians are really hamming it up right now.

Minute 87: The announcers are talking about how the Ghanaians have taken it to the Cechs and indeed they have bue the point they are neglecting is that the Czechs have played without their top two forwards. The result has been that Rosicky and Nedved have had to be higher up the field without any cover and when they fail to score the Ghanaians have the middle of the field wide open to attack.

Minute 89: Ghana goal called back because of offsides. Ghana is just romping through the Czech defense right now but some typically poor decision making by Ghana is keeping the score respectable.

Minute 90: Ghana 2 Czech Republic 0. That's it and that's all. Ghana now needs to beat the U.S. and they are on to the next round. This turns the last day of the group play into something major because the Czech Republic v. Italy game which previously was expected to just stroll through and rest their top players now becomes crucial for the Czechs. Of course if Italy beats the U.S. they are through to the next round. Next up U.S. v. Italy. Time for me to eat lunch with the g/f and her family so I will be missing that game.

Halftime: Holland 2 Ivory Coast 1

2006-06-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

A Robin Van Persie wonder goal from a free kick gave the Dutch a 1-0 lead then beautiful Dutch football ( series of four passes around the box) set up Van Nistelrooij to score the second for the Dutch. The only setback for the Dutch is an Arjen Robben yellow card for diving in the box in an attempt to win a penalty. It looked like there was contact to me though. A Didier Zokora shot from about 25 yards that cannoned off the bar is all the Ivory Coast has to show for their efforts for about 38 minutes until Barkari Kone went on a one man run to send a shot into the far post beyond the outstretched arms of Edwin Van Der Saar. After the goal, the Ivory Coast grew in confidence and should have tied the score had it not been for a poor pass by Drogba on a 2 on 1 counterattack which was broken up by Giovanni Von Bronkhorst. Prior to the five minute spell it was all the Dutch. Every attempted longball to Didier Drogba was being sent back by the Dutch as Johnny Heitinga is doing an excellent job controlling the big forward. Worse for the Ivory Coast, Drogba picked up his second yellow card of the first round for running into the Dutch keeper. This means that the Ivory Coast will have to play without their captain against Serbia & Montenegro.

The only cause for concern for the Dutch at this point is that as the first half comes to a close the Ivory Coast is dominating in midfield and putting the Dutch defense under pressure. Also, they have only had two shots on goal after about 40 minutes. However, their two shots have produced two goals. Despite the 2-1 scoreline, the Dutch are looking almost as good as Argentina at this point. That the Ivory Coast are being competitive in this game is a testament to their own attacking talent, but they lack the defensive organization necessary to keep out goals to give them a chance to win against top opponents. Their attack though has been as exciting as anyone else's in the Cup save for Argentina.

The Argentina v. matchup should be the game of the first round. It should be noted that the last time the tournament was held in Germany in 1974 the Dutch were in the finals. Just something to think about. The Dutch are up 2-1 at halftime. Looks like the Ivory Coast dream of moving to the next round is over. African teams have played six games now and they've only got one point to show for it. This can't be good.

Argentina 6 Serbia & Montenegro 0

2006-06-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I'd get much of an opportunity to watch any soccer this weekend but I got up early enough to catch the Serbia v. Argentina game. Argentina won 6-0. Uhm, let's all just give the Argentines the cup right now. If Argentina can turn in this type of performance again in July I just don't see anyone beating them. At no point in the game did the Serbians look like they were going to threaten Argenina. It's a good thing that Serbia & Montenegro no longer exists(Montenegro is now its own sovereign state) because if they are going to show up to the World Cup playing like this they have no business here. They didn't command the ball. THey didn't tackle and they didn't attack. Much of that was due to Argentinian mastery because they had the game on ball and chain for 90 minutes. Everyone got in on the action including young Lionel Messi. For months, I've been the driver of the Messi bandwagon and it's nice to see him doing his thing in the World Cup. Within two minutes of coming on to the field Messi set Crespo up for his second goal of the World Cup and scored the sixth shortly thereafter.

Next up is Ivory Coast against the Netherlands. Unfortunately, I have to go buy some slacks to wear to this graduation so I will only catch the first half of the game. I've been on the Ivory Coast bandwagon and I'm really looking forward to them making a genius out of me.

Out of Commission.

2006-06-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

Since I will be away at my girlfriend's graduation all weekend starting today, I will not be updating the blog until Sunday. Until then, though, I have added three new posts to keep those who visit this page occupied while I'm gone. Many thanks to everyone who visits the blog and thank you for your comments and criticism. I'll be missing all the weekend's games as I will be in various ceremonies. Well, only true love can get me to miss the world cup. I did think about bringing a Sirius Satellite Radio to the ceremonies so I wouldn't miss a beat. I came to my senses though...

Thoughts....

2006-06-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

So Brazil wins a game only 1-0 and suddenly it’s a cause for a world crisis. Forgive me, but I didn’t know the other 31 teams were supposed to show up simply to provide Brazil with a scrimmage on its way to its coronation. Brazil gets everyone’s best game because everyone wants to say they beat Brazil. The fact that they won, sustaining a strong challenge from the Croats is enough for me. “Three points is three points” seems to be the mantra of this World Cup. That being said, the Brazilians did not look as out of sorts as many people have reported. Sure, Ronaldo and Adriano looked like they were sleepwalking through the game, but the other nine players played an excellent game. Kaka showed up provided Brazil with a classy goal and Ronaldinho, though below his level of excellence did manage to have a decent impact on the game. Once the forwards start getting more involved in the game it may be trouble for the rest of the teams in the tournament. I picked Brazil before the tournament started and I still believe they have the best team in the tournament. Despite other teams looking much better than them in their first game, Czech Republic and Spain to name a few, we all know that this year’s World Cup will not be won in June. It is the team that looks the best in July that will lift the Jules Rimet trophy. Brazil showed up to win 7 games and take the trophy home. They have one of those victories out the way and there are six more to go. They’ve been in the finals of the last three World Cups and there is little to suggest to me that they will not be there this time around. The only potential pitfall is if Ronaldo truly is washed up and Adriano is as overweight and lazy as he seemed on Monday. These two players are key for Brazil because they are in charge of scoring the goals. They are the ones who are charged with the duty of finishing the hard work done by the midfield. Without an end product, the pretty football that Brazil plays is useless. Time will tell if Monday’s game was a harbinger of things to come, but I believe the Brazilians will get it right as they go forward…..

Ivory Coast v. Netherlands.
The Ivory Coast desperately need a victory here. They need a win if for no other reason than to validate my claim that they would be this tournament’s surprise team. Unfortunately they are playing one of the tournament favorites. The Dutch looked excellent in their opening match but there have been some problems in the Dutch camp with some players feeling like Arjen Robben was hogging the ball. Arjen Robben is not Diego Maradona. He can’t win the Cup by himself. If the Dutch are to progress they will need him healthy and fresh in July when it really matters. Now is not the time to be expending extra energy if you don’t need to. Allow the rest of your teammates to do some of the running and stay fresh so you can call on some reserves when you face teams like England and Portugal as the Cup progresses. As for the Ivory Coast, it’s pretty straightforward stuff: don’t give away the ball too easily and pass it to Drogba as much as you can and see what he can do with it. It’s that simple. If they don’t do this if they will lose. If they get Drogba the ball consistently then they have a shot at winning. . . . The crowd may play a factor in this game. The Dutch fans will be out in full force since they are so close to Germany. What should be a nice thing though is that since both teams’ primary color is Orange we should be able to see the stadium covered in Orange all around. Maybe the Ivory Coast will mistake some of the Dutch fans for their own. Something tells me though that the race difference will make it clear who is supporting who, despite the similar color of the jerseys. I’m going out on a limb and sticking with my pre-tournament pick that the Ivory Coast will beat the Dutch. Come on Elephants, make me look like a genius. Sidenote: this is the beauty of picking an underdog. If you are right you are a genius if you are wrong then what the heck the Dutch were clearly better what did you expect?

France v. South Korea:
France needs to score and then work from there. It's now 360 minutes since they've scored a world cup goal. They need to shake up the lineup a bit. That's it and that's all. Allez les Bleus!

Africa Please Stand Up

2006-06-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

The first round of the world cup is behind us and no team from Africa has won a game. Togo lost 2-1 to South Korea. Ivory Coast lost by the same margin to Argentina. Ghana were shut out 2-0 by Italy. Angola lost 1-0 to Portugal. Tunisia, who had the best chance and should have won, tied 2-2 with Saudi Arabia. Simply, this aint a good look for Africa. Are they just here to make up the numbers? The African continent has been badgering FIFA for an extra spot in the World Cup for years but when you go an entire round of the World Cup with just a single point from your five representatives, you don’t deserve an extra spot. In fact, one could argue that they should lose a spot based on their performances in the first round of games. Every other region has a win in the World Cup. It is a puzzling state of affairs because Africa has some of the top players in the world (Essien, Eto’o, Okocha, Drogba) yet they rarely show up with any consistency in the World Cup. All the African nations this time around, with the exception of Tunisia, are World Cup debutantes.
Traditional African powerhouses like Nigeria and Cameroon are back home watching the Cup in Lagos and Yaounde, respectively. There are myriad reasons why this is the case. First, there is a lack of resources to cultivate talent. Many of Africa’s most talented players are poached from their home countries at a young age and are developed into top players somewhere in Europe. If players were developed in their home country there would be a proliferation of talent on the continent but the European teams that take these players have no incentive to develop African football because by doing so they harm their own interests in maintaining their position of dominance. If this sounds a little too political, it’s totally unintended. The point is that because Africa does not have the resources to develop players many of the nations do not have the consistent flow of talent of players who can play the game at the top level unless they can make it to Europe to hone their skills. If they fail to do so they are stuck somewhere in Africa playing on dirt fields without adequate equipment. This is simply no way to prepare for a big match against Italy because countries like Italy has the resources to provide top training facilities, trainers and proper coaching.
It is not a question of talent because Africa produces great talent consistently. One need only look at the World Youth Championships where African nations are consistently either in the finals or winning the tournament. The problem is that as players get older and you have to rely on more than just raw talent, Africa gets left behind.
Another problem, which is related to the first, is that once the players make it to Europe they no longer feel an obligation to come back and play for their country when it’s time to do so. The ones who do often come back with a superstar attitude and don’t want to train with the team or ask for higher compensation than their teammates.

Still waiting for an African team to win a game at this World Cup.

Worse yet, the players end up developing a loyalty to their clubs because they pay them a salary that they could never make in Africa unless, of course, they were the head of a kleptocracy and appropriated the nation’s natural resources like oil and diamonds but that’s another discussion altogether. During qualifying many of Africa’s top players failed to show up for games because their clubs would not release them to play for their countries. For example, the gem of Nigeria, Jay Jay Okocha(so nice they had to name him twice) failed to show up for many of the country’s qualifiers because he was busy with his club games. Because the players don’t show up to help their nations qualify and take qualifying seriously there is no consistency in who makes it to the world cup. Moreover, many players who could qualify to play for African nations opt not to do so. Opting instead to gain naturalized citizenship in Europe and play for those countries instead of their country of birth. One need only look down the birthplace of some of the players on the French side and you will see what I’m talking about. Simply, there’s no reason a teams of such limited talents as Togo and Angola should be in the Cup over Nigeria and Cameroon. Togo and Angola, though, don’t have players playing in the top leagues in Europe so they may still feel a loyalty to their national team that helps them qualify for the World Cup over more talented opponents. The World Cup will be in South Africa in 2010. Under the sizzling African heat hopefully the Europeans will wilt and the Africans will probably finally have a performance befitting the massive amount of talent that exists on the continent.

U.S. v. Italy Preview

2006-06-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

The U.S. game against Italy should be a no contest. It's not that the U.S. doesn't have a good team but they don't have the players who are as good as Totti, Toni, Cannavaro, Pirlo, et al. Make no mistake, if the U.S. were drawn in a group where they could play World Cup minnows such as Tunisia, Togo, or Trinidad they would likely be marching on and America would have something to feel good about, but the U.S. are among the big boys this time around and we are seeing just how far they have to go before they can be among soccer's elite nations. Landon Donovan can dominate MLS but he isn't ready to be among world beaters like Totti Nedved and Rosicky. He doesn't have the ability to play with consistency against top teams. Sure, he can produce a moment of magic to get you a goal. Against top opponents you need to be on top of your game for 90 minutes and Donovan isn't ready to sweep aside players the class of which he will be facing over the next week or so. This is unfortunate because everyone was looking forward to the U.S. building on their performance from '02. I certainly wanted to see the U.S. do better because I have a vested interest in seeing the game flourish in America. I don't want to have to wait until I go to Oktoberfest to see a Bayern Munich match in order to see a good game. It would be nice if I could see a top game on U.S. soil but I don't think America is there yet.

The World Cup performance in '02 was a little overblown. Sure, they got to the quarterfinals which is a difficult feat but they didn't really beat anyone of repute. They ran rampant against Portugal but Portugal are far from world beaters. Since the days of the "Black Pearl" Eusebio in the 60s the Portuguese haven't really done much on the world stage. The U.S. should be credited for hanging in there with eventual finalists Germany but we shouldn't get carried away. The U.d. like many upstart nations are capable of a flash in the pan performance but they are not yet expected to do well consistently. A few examples will illustrate this point. Turkey made it to the semifinals in '02 and are not in the tournament this time around. Cameroon were quarterfinalists in 1990. They are watching the '06 cup somewhere in Yaoundé. Denmark were in the quarterfinals in 1998 and went out in the first round in 2002 and aren't even in the tournament in '06. I give these examples simply to show that flukes happen in the world cup and the U.S. performance was just that, a fluke. That doesn't mean they don't have a solid squad but they are not yet at the level of consistency that we have come to expect from the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Italy.

I think the reason many Americans are disappointed in the U.S. team's performance agains the Czech Republic is twofold. First, there was a lot of hype around this team leading up to the cup and they were touted as "the best American team ever." That they may be but Americans read that as 'we have one of the best teams ever' in the Cup.

U.S. Coach Bruce Arena has the look of a man devoid of ideas.

This led everyone to believe that they were going to show up and run rampant in their group and they were seriously humbled by the Czech Republic. The Czechs gave them a real beating and only the Ukraine's performance against Spain was worst. The second reason is that America is obsessed with Rankings. We are the home of the BCS and the AP Top 25. We look to rankings to give us an indication of who is good. Since the U.S. were ranked fifth by FIFA we all believed that they were the fifth best team in the world but the FIFA rankings don't weigh "strength of schedule" so to speak. So while England is playing warming up by playing the Netherlands, Germany and Spain(all teams of top pedigree) the U.S. is playing nations like Jamaica, Panama and Barbados...places known more for their nice beaches than their soccer pedigree. Playing these teams do not give us an indication of how good the U.S. is in relation to other top countries but because FIFA's rankings only look at the result and not the opponent the U.S. ended up with an inflated ranking.

I understand I'm getting well ahead of myself here because the U.S. could very well defeat Italy and end up beating Ghana and progressing to the next round. As much as I would love to see this happen, I doubt the likelihood of this outcome. Here's how I see the Italy match playing out: The U.S. comes out attacking wildly putting the Italians under pressure early. The Italians keep them at bay for the first ten minutes. The U.S. continues to come at the Italians and finally a carelss pass by the U.S. leads to the Italians counterattacking. After a few swift passes it's 1-0 Italy and we are back to another Czech Republic situation. I don't think the Italians will blow out the U.S. because they tend to be defensive minded and as we saw in the Ghana game, they do give their opponents an opportunity to get back in the game. I don't think the U.S. has midfielders the class of Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah to capitalize on this. If the U.S. beat Italy I will be the first to say I was wrong and own up to my idiocy but come on. The Italians haven't lost in 19 games. They looked impressive against a strong Ghana side and unlike previous Italian teams they showed a desire to attack first and defend later. If Luca Toni and Gillardino show up and play in a similar way that they played against Ghana it's lights out for the U.S. on Saturday. Additionally, the U.S. have never won a game in Europe. Who in their right mind would pick them unless they were influenced by blind nationalism?

Spain 4 Ukraine 0

2006-06-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ukrainians brushed aside from the word go. This was a no contest. IT wasn't so much shambolic defending from the Ukrainians as it was simply scintillating stuff from the Spaniards. They had the Ukraine chasing shadows in midfield for the entire game. Whenever the Spaniards had the ball it looked like they could score at will. This should be a great confidence boost for Spain but the World Cup isn't won in the opening game and there's still plenty of time left for them to choke like they do in every tournament. At least for now Spain is looking better than anyone else has so far in Germany. With the 4-0 win Spain now has the highest margin of victory and the Ukrainians have taken over last place in the World Cup from the U.S.

Spain up 2-0 at halftime.

2006-06-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

It's halftime and the Spaniards have a two goal lead. So far they've looked as impressive as anyone else in the tournament. They are controlling the ball and passing it well in tight spaces. The Ukrainians seem to have your typical 'happy to be here' demeanor of first times in the World Cup. The Spaniards had 60% of the possession and whenever they had it they always looked likely to score. Their first goal came on a corner from Xavi that was put in by Xabi Alonso. Spain's second came on a deflected David Villa free kick and just like that they were up 2-0 and bossing the game.

Right now the Ukrainians only job is to keep the score down and not end up getting embarassed like the Americans who currently are in last place in the World Cup. So much for that top five ranking by FIFA.(You don't prepare for the Czechs and Italians by playing Panama and Barbados).

(Spaniards awarded a very dubious penalty to start the second half and suddenly they are up 3-0)

Random Thoughts....

Am I the only one tired of ESPN's announcers' lack of knowledge about the game? Instead of analyzing all they do is cheerlead. In yesterday's Brazil game you could hear the announcer's saying "the ball is like a yo yo to the Brazilians." That it may be but it sure didn't look like it yesterday when the Croats packed the midfield with five players and slowed the game down considerably.

When will an African team finally get a poin in this world cup? Pele said by 2000 an African team would win the World Cup. Needless to say he was woefully wrong and there are a slew of reasons this hasn't happened yet but would it be too much to ask for one of them to show up and play well? My guess is Tunisia will take three points off Saudi Arabia today.

Will everyone stop bashing the U.S. for getting crushed by a superior team? It's not like they lost to Togo. They lost to the Czechs who by an large had a better player at every position than the U.S. did. To lose 3-0 is embarassing but no objective observer that I spoke with gave the U.S. any chance to win this game. Ditto for their game against Italy.

Is it just me or does Ronaldo look woefully out of place on a soccer field recently? It's not just yesterday's game but all through this past season for Real Madrid. I thought he would turn it on for the Cup but he's continued his dismal display in Germany. What's worse is that there's no adequate replacement for a player of his talents so he may end up playing in all three games in the group phase.

With France failing to score a World Cup goal in 360 minutes, isn't it time to shake the squad up a little bit. The old gang, Zidane, Thuram and Makelele should all be benched. Domenech is probably kicking himself for not bringing Ludovic Giuly to the World Cup. Aragones had the balls to bench Raul and the Spaniards are currently doing the Flamenco all over the Ukrainians. Maybe Domenech should look to bench some of his stars who are beyond their prime.

France 0 Switzerland 0

2006-06-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

France looked pretty rubbish in this game. It's now been 360 minutes since the French last scored a goal in World Cup play(Emmanuel Petit in the 90th minute of the '98 final against Brazil). Thierry Henry did little to silence his critics that he is notoriously missing in big games as he failed to impose his will on the Swiss in this game. All the worst fears of French fans were confirmed as they looked disjointed for the parts of the game I was able to catch. The return of Zidane, Makelele and Thuram was enough to get the French through the qualifiers but much needs to change if they intend to get a win off the South Koreans in what is now suddenly a must win game. In truth, the French were lucky to escape this game with a point as Switzerland had a clear opportunity to win the game in stoppage time but Alexander Frei placed his header wide. South Korea is now on top of the group with three points after their 2-1 win over Togo.

Next up: Brazil v. Croatia. I'll be sneaking down to the conference room on the 7th floor to keep tabs on this one.

Today's Action.

2006-06-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

The World Cup kicked off on Friday but everyone knows the tournament doesn't really start until Brazil plays. The Brazilians square off against Croatia today and everyone is expecting a victory for Brazil. It would nice to see the Croats keeping it close. If the Brazilians win big suddenly it starts looking like the other 31 teams are just here to make up the numbers and give Brazil a workout.

What to Watch For:
The Brazilian attack features Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaka. It should be a beauty to watch these four players link up with each other. Though Ronaldinho has received much of the press leading up to the tournament, it is likely that the difference for Brazil in this tournament will be the finishing of Ronaldo and Adriano. Since Ronaldinho's been jettisoned to the left wing it will be up to the players who are left to play center forward -- Ronaldo and Adriano -- to score the goals. They are more than capable. Another thing to keep an eye on will be to see how Kaka and Ronaldinho play together. I've always felt like whenever Kaka plays you need two balls on the field: one for Kaka and one for the rest of the team. . . . The Croatian player to watch in this one is forward Dado Prso

Today's Other Games:

France v. Switzerland:
These two teams were paired in the same qualifying group for the world cup so they are familiar with each other. All eyes in this one will be on Thierry Henry. Henry needs a big game here no doubt about it. The surprise package in this one could be World Cup debutante Franck Ribery. The young frechman is an exciting winger and it should be interesting to see how he fits into the French team.

Togo v. S. Korea:

Currently in the 55th Minute and tied 1-1. Togo are down to ten men. Togo are playing much better than expected. I expected them to look like a bunch of donkeys in this one but they're looking good against the quarterfinalists from '02.

Who Da Man?

2006-06-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

France and Brazil kickoff their world cup campaigns today. This means all eyes will be on arguably the two best players in the world: Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho. The burning question is which one is the best player. Both players have already won the world cup with Henry winning with the France squad of '98 and Ronaldinho winning it with Brazil in '02. Henry has also won the European Cup with France at Euro 2000. Additionally, both players are excellent at club level as well. Prior to the infusion of Russian capital at Chelsea Henry led Arsenal to two league titles, the most memorable of which came in 2003 when Arsenal went through the league without losing a single game, a feat that hadn't happened in England's top flight in over a century. Ronaldinho has been equally impressive leading Barcelona to two consecutive league titles in La Liga and also leading the Catalan giants to the champions league title this year over Thierry Henry's Arsenal.

Though both players have already won the World Cup they both still have something to prove as this time around they are expected to contribute more than they did when the won the cup. In '98 Henry was a young forward with little experience or responsibilities. Indeed, he did not play in the final game of the '98 tournament and that was Zidane's team anyway. Similarly, in 2002 Brazil was Ronaldo's team. Though Ronaldinho made key contributions it was Ronaldo who won the golden boot and scored the two goals against Germany in the final game. This time around the pressure will be squarely on each player to deliver. A strong case can be made for either player being the best in the world and I will try to do just that.

The case for Henry:
Henry's greatest strength is that he has no weakness. He scores goals and creates goals. In 2002, Henry lead the premier league in goals and assists. He has scored at least 25 goals in the past four seasons for Arsenal. His combination of speed and precision is deadly because as we have seen at this world cup there are many forwards who can get open for a shot but very few are clinical in their finishing in front of goal. Henry is one of those forwards. Another beauty of Henry's game is that he can play anywhere on the field in an attacking position. He's not a traditional forward in the sense that he is not always central. He pops up all over the field, on the left wing, in the center of midfield or around the box. If there is one criticism that can be levelled against Henry it's that he hardly scores a goal with his head and he sometimes over elaborates and doesn't make the straightforward play.

The Case for Ronaldinho:

At only 26 years old Ronaldinho is already in the conversation of greatest player ever. If he leads Brazil to the world cup this summer his only peers will be Pele and Maradona. He's won the world player of the year the past two years and has won the award as Europe's top footballer twice. It's hard to argue with his accolades: world cup winner, two time spanish league winner, champions league winner and winner of the confederations cup(utterly meaningless but an accolade nonetheless). He is an irrepressible character on the field. It seems that no matter where you place him he exerts his influence on the game. To see him with the ball at his feet is always a privilege and a sight of horror for opposing defenders. Unlike Henry, his talents aren't as easily quantifiable in goals and assists. His teammates are often the benefactors of his hard work. For example, Rivaldo will be credited with the goal that equalized the game with England in the quarterfinals of '02 but if you remember it was Ronaldinho who picked the ball up at midfield and turned Ashley Cole inside out and laid the ball on a platter for Rivaldo to finish. That play was typical Ronaldinho. In his three years at Barcelona the team went from not winning the league in six years to winning the league twice and winning the champions league for only the second time in their storied history.

So...who's better? It's hard to say but it is difficult to argue against Ronaldinho given his individual accolades as two time world player of the year. Despite what opinions exist right now it will likely be settled over the next month. In the end, I think it will be the man in the yellow jersey and the funny looking teeth hoisting the Jules Rimet Trophy.

Second Half Diary. Czech Republic 3 U.S. 0.

2006-06-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

U.S. puts in Eddie Johnson in the game for more offense. Let's see how the second half turns out.

Minute 48: more straightforward stuff from the U.S. to start the second half. Nothing imaginate, nothing creative. The Czech defense can deal with this type of an attack with no problems.The U.S. needs to get the ball down the wings for a few crosses in the box because attacking directly down the middle has offered little so far.

Minute 56: Looks like the life has been sucked out of the game. With the U.S. failing the threaten the Czechs they are sitting back and defending comfortably and not really threatening to attack at all.

Minute 61: After an hour gone, the U.S. are still trying to find their way into the game but they haven't looked thretening at all this game. the Czechs are having their way with this game. It's all one big stroll in the park really.

Minute 68: Another screamer off the foot of Tomas Rosicky. This time his shot is saved by the post. Rosicky had tons of space to shoot. no defense by the U.S. team. This is all exhibition stuff from the Czechs at this point.

Minute 76: Excellent counterattacking play by the Czechs. Nedved splits the U.S. defense with a pass to Rosicky and he's off to the races. Rosicky chips Keller to put the Czechs 3-0. This is effectively game over unless the U.S. pulls a rabbit out of their hat.

Minute 90: Game over. 3-0. Lackluster performance by the U.S. things are not looking good.

As I predicted, Koller's height was a problem for the U.S. and Rosicky would be man of the match. I don't often pat myself on the back, but I feel like I'm allowed an opportunity here. Also, much like I feared if the Czechs scored first it would turn into a mauling and effectively that is what happened. The U.S. world cup campaign is over. The won't get a result against Italy so now it comes down to playing for pride against Ghana in their last game.

Next up on ESPN's coverage is Italy v. Ghana. There won't be a running diary for that game since I'll be at work. Hope everywho who visits is enjoying the blog.

Reality Czech: First half diary Czech 2 U.S. 0

2006-06-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Time to get the show on the road. President Bush was on Espn2 telling the U.S. team to "Give 'em hell!" Well let's see if they take heed to the presidential directive.

ESPN just scrolled down the starters and U.S. is playing with just one forward and five midfielders. This is as sure a sign as any that the U.S. will be defensive in this game and hope to contain the Czechs.

Minute 4: Already four fouls agianst the U.S. Not a bad idea to be physical with the Czechs to start the game. Onyewu gets a yellow card for his foul on Nedved.

Minute 5: Karel Poborsky crosses the ball in to 6'8'' striker Jan Koller and just like that it is 1-0 to the Czech Republic. This is what I feared, Koller's size being a problem for the shorter defenders. This could be a long day for the U.S. Let's see how the react to falling behind. Interesting tidbit: the U.S. has never won a game where the opponent scored first.

Minute 11: After 10 minutes the U.S. has hardly looked threatening. Crosses are coming in from the wings but no one is getting in on them. A little combination play among the midfielders may loosen up the Czechs a bit.

Minute 14: The Czechs seemed to have settled in a defensive/counterattacking posture after getting the early goal. They are allowing the U.S. to come forward and hoping to catch them napping on the counterattack. The U.S. midfield is not doing anything to trouble the Czechs and Donovan and Beasley have gone missing already.

Minute 16: First real U.S. attack ends with Donovan getting fouled and a yellow card to the Czech defender. Looks like the U.S. team is finally awake.

Minute 21: there's no rhyme or reason to what the U.S. is doing. At some point they will have to open up play a bit and drop their midfield players deeper to pick up the ball and cause problems for the Czechs because right now there is little to suggest the current formation will trouble the Czechs.

Minute 27: The Czech defense is not giving the U.S. an inch to operate. Every attempt at attcking whether it's chipping the ball in the box or pasing it around is easily repelled by the Czechs. The Czech Republic is looking far too comfortable right now.

Minute 28: UGH! A swift U.S. counter attack ends with a Claudio Reyna shot ricocheting off the post. Easily the best moment of the game for the U.S.

Minute 33: It lookws like the only chance the U.S. has at making this game competitive is to speed up the game. As long as the game is played at a slow pace the Czechs will control the game. The only problem is if the U.S. opens up and loses the ball they could be harmed by a czech counterattack.

Minute 36: Another contender for goal of the tournament scored by Tomas Rosicky after a careless giveaway by the U.S. around their penalty area. From about 35 yards out Rosicky unleashes a rocket and there was little the U.S. keeper could do to stop it.

Minute 43: Koller goes down clutching his hamstring. Looks like he's done for the game. The Czechs bring on some guy I've never heard of. Where is Milan Baros?

Minute 45: It's halftime. The U.S. had little to offer in the first half while the Czechs scored two goals and seem to be in command. With Jan Koller out the Czechs may bring on Baros in the second half to wear down a tiring U.S. defense. The U.S. needs to come out firing in the second half looking to score before the 60th minute if they are to have a chance.

Australia 3 Japan 1

2006-06-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Second half sub Tim Cahill came on to inspire the Socceroos to a 3-1 victory. Japan led most of the way until the Aussies woke up in the 83rd minute scoring three goals in eight minutes. The game was pretty much a snoozer with both teams failing to impress for large parts of the game. Insert Cahill and suddenly the Aussies began to threaten. Cahill's second goal was a beauty, shooting from outside the box and ricocheting off the far post and in. John Aloisi scored Australia's third goal to put the game out of reach.

Time to shower and get ready for U.S. v. Czech Republic.

Time for the U.S. to Get Going.

2006-06-12T00:54:00.000-07:00

The U.S. kicks off its world cup campaign today against the Czech Republic. It's a game they can ill afford to lose. A loss would effectively end the world cup campaign before it gets started. If the U.S. lose this game they would need to beat Italy and Ghana to have a realistic chance of progressing. Italy is among the most consistent teams in World Cup history and you can usually pencil them into the quarterfinals. They've won the World Cup three times and finished runner ups twice. With the strong Italians looming, Monday's game is a must win game if the U.S. hope to reach the heights of 2002.

At 6'8'' Jan Koller may be a giant problem for U.S. defenders.

The Czech Republic are ranked second by FIFA and the U.S. is ranked fifth. However, anyone who knows anything about the FIFA ranking system knows that these rankings are artificial and hardly give any indication as to which country has the better team.

On paper, the Czechs seem to have the better team. They have the world's second best goalie in Peter Cech(Italy has the best in my opinion, Gianluigi Buffon). Their midfield is better with Pavel Nedved, Tomas Rosicky and Karel Poborsky. They have players playing on the top teams in Europe including former European player of the year Pavel Nedved. The Czechs also have more experience playing in high pressure games as many of their players have played in the champions league and have won titles in some of Europe's top leagues. The U.S. team is not without its strengths, however.

They were quarterfinalists in the 2002 tournament and jumped on Portugal in their first game last time, taking a 3-0 lead before the Portuguese knew what hit them. The U.S. will need a similar performance this time around if they are to repeat the performance of 2002. What they lack this time around will be the element of surprise. The U.S. are no longer pushovers. Teams take them seriously and if the Czechs come into the game seriously I think they will be able to defeat the U.S. team. For the U.S. team to win they will need a big game out of Landon Donovan.

Landon Donovan, the key to U.S. hopes against the Czechs.

Donovan has an extra incentive to give his best since the world cup is in Germany, a country where he twice failed to make it as a footballer on Bayer Leverkusen. Donovan is the best American player and he needs to play like it if the U.S. are to have a chance. Additionally, if DeMarcus Beasley gets into the game early the U.S. can gain some early confidence. The U.S. needs to use their speed, probably their only advantage, to create opportunities for stirker Brian McBride if they are to have a chance in this game. The biggest key for the U.S. will be getting the first goal. I don't think winning this game is beyond the U.S. if they are allowed to play to their strengths but if the Czechs score first, the U.S. may end up getting mauled because there are few European teams that attack quite like the Czechs.

The key to the Czech attack will be Tomas Rosicky. Rosicky is a skilled midfielder who passes and dribbles the ball well and rarely makes a bad decision on the ball. His distribution to Milan Baros and giant striker Jan Koller will be a pivotal part of the Czech attack. If the U.S. defenders, namely Oguchi Onyewu and Eddie Pope can cope with Koller's size, they will still have to deal with the Czech midfield attacking options in Nedved and Rosicky.

My head says that the Czechs will win. Indeed, I picked the Czechs and the Italians to advance from this group. My heart, however, is with the U.S. team. I live in America and I want to see the sport thrive here. The only way for it to do so is for the U.S. team to do well consistently at the world cup. The difficulty with this is that few teams do consistently well at the world cup. With the exception of Brazil, Germany and Italy, most countries are hit or miss. In 2002 the defending champions, France, went out in the group stages. The thing happened to two time champions Argentina. Failing to advance from the group stages for the U.S. team, when paired with Italy and Czech Republic, along with traditional African power houses Ghana, would not exactly be failure for the U.S. team. What is important is that the team shows progress and progress is not necessarily making it farther than they did last time but to show that they are getting better and able to compete against the top European sides.

Many Americans figure since the country is good at everything else, why not soccer? An ESPN poll also suggests that many Americans could care less who wins this game. 37% of over 43,000 people polled said they will not be watching the game at all. The Americans will have to depend on something other than national support to spur them on and hopefully that will be their confidence in their own abilities. If they come out timid their campaign will be over early. My prediction is a 2-1 Czech Republic victory. However, my pick that Poland would score five against Ecuador shows that I'm hardly infallible.

Today's other games....

Australia v. Japan: Effectively a third place game in group F where Brazil and Croatia are favored to progress from the group. I'm picking the Socceroos to win this one solely on the basis of their coach Guus Hiddink who was responsible for guiding the South Koreans to the quarterfinals in '02.

Italy v. Ghana: nothing would make me happier than a Ghana victory in this game because it would blow the group wide open. The Ghanian midfield trio of Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah and Samuel Kuffour will be instrumental in determining how far their team progresses. For the Italians Francesco Totti is tipped to return and play some part in today's game. He is the most talented Italian player but, by way of comparison, he reminds me of Arod in baseball. A great talent who always seems to disappear when the chips are down. . . . I'm picking Italy to win this one in a low scoring affair. Catenaccio style, baby.

2006-06-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Easily the best performance of the World Cup was by Arjen Robben this morning for the Netherlands in their 1-0 victory over Serbia & Montenegro. Robben ran the S&M defense ragged for 90 minutes with his penetrating runs popping up all over the field. Robben tends to be at his most dangerous when he is attacking from the wings and cutting inside and he was able to do that whenever he wanted in this game. The rest of the Dutch team looked pretty good, with Robin Van Persie the other notable performance. After the game was over I got about 15 text messages about Robben being the best player we've seen in the tournament so far. I would have to agree. That's it for this weekend. I've been up like a madman for 26 hours straight since 5 a.m. saturday morning watching soccer and going out. I need to get some rest so I'm going to watch my favorite tennis player, Roger Federer get destroyed by Nadal then watch Mexico then get some sleep. that's it and that's all.

First Half Diary: Requiem for the Elephants.

2006-06-10T12:03:00.001-07:00

Before a ball is kicked, ESPN2 shows a shot of Diego Maradona in the stands and instantly I'm reminded that the Ivory Coast has almost no chance against the Argentines. Well, let's see what happens. Let's get it on....

Minute 3: Akale gets the first attack of the game and sends in a cross to Didier Drogba. Drogba heads it well wide. My guess is the perm got in the way of Drogba hitting the ball cleanly.

Minute Minute 6: Good possession from the Ivory Coast. They are showing some early confidence. So confident that Akale shoots from about 40 yards out and kills a pigeon about 50 yards above the goal. Shot well off target, to say the least.

Minute 11: We are already 10 minutes into the game and there's been no sign from Argentina that they are the better team. THe speed of the Ivory Coast down the wings looks to be giving the Argentinians trouble. I still can't get over these grown men with permed hair for the Ivory Coast. Snoop need to get all these guys together for a music video.

Minute 14: Argentina don't look to have any ideas of how to go at the Ivory Coast. I'm expecting to see Tevez and Messi in this game at some point....

Minute 15: Ivory Coast keeper bobbles a header and it looks like the ball crossed the goal line but the referee does not call award Argentina a goal. Let the debate begin about instant replay in soccer.

Minute 17: The surest way to tell that the announcer thinks he's talking to an uneducated audience is his use of cliches drawn from other sports. The announcer keeps talking about balls and strikes in baseball, defensive traps in basketball...Let's just keep the commentary to soccer, please.

Minute 20: Ivory Coast look like they are clearly the better team. Pekerman needs to bring on players who can run at the Ivory Coast. Again, where are Messi and Tevez? The two most talented Argentinian players are starting the game on the bench. Riquelme can control the game but he needs someone to pass the ball to.

Minute 24: Just like they drew it up I suppose. Riquelme free kick into the box, Ivory Coast defense fails to clear the ball and Crspo scores. 1-0 Argentina. Not impressive stuff but still a lead for the Argentines.

Minute 30: Almost getting tired of the basketball references by the commentators. One more and I'm switching to Univision.

Minute 35: Excellent play by the Ivory Coast. Cross headed down by Drogba to Keite who heads it straight at the keeper. Espn's stat says Argentina has had 61% of the possession at this point. Sure looks like the Ivory Coast has had more of the ball than the number suggets.

Minute 38: Argentina drops Saviola back to the midfield he passes the ball off from the center circle and then 10 seconds later he pops up in the box and scores a goal. Argentina 2-Ivory Coast 0. Game over. I guess we won't be seeing Messi and Tevez soon.

Minute 45: 2-0 to Argentina at halftime. This one is pretty much over. Ivory Coast had a good opening 15 minutes that had me believe they had a chance. Once Argentina scored it was pretty much over. I won't blog on the second half unless Ivory Coast scores a goal and makes it close.

First Half Diary: Requiem for the Elephants.

2006-06-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

T&T is TNT; ya know, On FIRE!

2006-06-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today is a beautiful day to be Caribbean. Jamaica didn't make the cup but Trinidad represented the Caribbean really well drawing 0-0 with Sweden. I did not expect this result and I'm as surprised as you are. I was more surprised at Sweden's finishing than anyhting else. It is not like the Ecuador game where Ecuador totally shut down te Poles. Sweden had the majority of possession, 54% and they forced the T&T keeper to make eight saves. T&T didn't really defend well or stop the Swedes, the Swedes just had poor finishing and Shaka Hislop made some fine saves to keep the game even. I don't want to take anything away from T&T, however. As the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup they really gave a good account of themselves and they should continue to bask in the glow of their result at least until their next game against England. Though, I imagine this is a result that will live on in the minds of all Trinis for quite some time.

England defeated Paraguay 1-0 on an own goal deflected in by a Paraguayan defender. England looked listless for large parts of the game and seemed to lack ideas in midfield. The only two players who stood out were Joe Cole and Frank Lampard, who forced the Paraguayan keeper into some clutch saves down the stretch. Michael Owen was out the game after 60 minutes. I'm not sure wha to make of that but it's as good an indicator as any that he is no match fit. England did not look that good but it was their first game and maybe they need some time to gel.

Up next, Argentina v. Ivory Coast. I picked the Ivory Coast as my tournament sleepers so let's so how they perform against one of the tournament favorites. I'll be keeping a running diary of the game. Stay tuned.

Day One Reflections and Looking forward to Day Two

2006-06-10T04:20:00.000-07:00

Day one of the World Cup was an embodiment of what the World Cup is about. First, we saw the home team, spurred on by the home crowd, play an all out style of attacking football that we rarely see from the Germans. In the 12 years that I have been watching soccer closely yesterday was the first time I have ever been impressed by the German national team. The goals by Philip Lahm and Torsten Frings were absolutely beautiful. I couldn't see Germany playing this well away from home soil but having home field advantage allowed them to be more daring than they otherwise would have been, I think.

Second, Ecuador beat Poland. As some of you may recall I expected Poland to have an easy time with this game and to score about five goals. I couldn't have been more wrong. Unfortunately I did not see the game so I can't say much about it except that I learned my lesson: don't bet too heavily against a team you haven't seen play. I had seen Poland in the qualifiers and they looked like a good team but I had never seen Ecuador play. I had no reason to believe that they had a chance against Poland but from what my friends tell me they totally dominated the game. Shows what I know.

England v. Paraguay kicks off in 90 minutes. I expect England to win, but I will be pulling for them to lose. I'm hoping that Paraguay can cause them some problems and frustrate the English midfield. I think the player to watch in this game will be Joe Cole. He gives England something extra coming from the left wing that they haven't had in over a decade. Look for an English victory in this one but don't be at all surprised if Paraguay makes a game out of it.

Argentina v. Ivory Coast is the game I'm really looking forward to. The elephants are my adopted team for this world cup since my homeland, Jamaica, failed to make the cup yet again. Everything will fall on the shoulders of Didier Drogba in this game. Let's see if he can deliver. It may be too much to ask given Argentina's pedigree.

I'm off to the showers then off to the local Santa Monica pub to watch a few Englishmen drink away their sorrows after an English defeat, hopefully.

The Stain on the Beautiful Game

2006-06-10T03:10:00.001-07:00

As the Ivory Coast and Angola kick off their world cup campaigns this weekend, I feel compelled to draw attention to an issue that for the most part has been neglected by FIFA and many of Europe's top leagues. By now most of you have either seen or heard about the story of racism in Europe's soccer leagues. The sight of banans thrown on the field and the sound of monkey chants are a common occurrence in some of Europe's top leagues. They should not be. Organizations like Nike have done admirable things to attempt to raise awareness about racism in the game but I think it will take the national federations and FIFA to stand up and really make a change. The reason why the practice persists is twofold, I believe. First, racism seems culturally entrenched in some countries across Europe and is not taken seriously as a distinct problem.

Thierry Henry, the face of Nike's campagain against racism.

For example, Spanish coach Luis Aragones called Thierry Henry a "black shit" and thought nothing of it. Neither did the Spanish football association as he was fined only 3000 euros for his comments. A small financial penalty is not enough of a deterrent to encourage a change in behavior. Simply, 3,000 euros is nothing to Luis Aragones. Fining him that amount will not result in a change in his behavior. Stiffer sanctions would be more likely to encourage a change in behavior.

"Another case in point would be the downfall of 'Big' Ron Atkinson, a well-respected TV analyst and ex-manager of Manchester United, who, after watching a lacklustre performance by the English team Chelsea against Monaco in the semi-final of the Champions League, correctly believed they'd blown their chances of reaching the final. He was particularly upset with defender Marcel Desailly, the French World Cup winner who he felt had performed with less than 100% effort. Five minutes after the game's conclusion and with his link to the UK broadcast terminated, Atkinson was still muttering to no one in particular about Desailly's disappointing display. "He's what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy thick nigger," he declared, confident that his microphone had long been switched off. (quote taken from www.popmatters.com).

When individuals at the institutional level of the game are involved in racism it only emboldens those in the stands to join in because if it is not deemed as a problem institutionally there is no example set for the fans to exhibit some modicum of decency towards black players.

Racism is not seen as a distinct problem to be treated but is often lumped in as a form of hooliganism. This could not be farther off the mark. Hooliganism, as a practice, is indiscriminate destructive behavior by a group of rabble rousers. No one in particular is targetted just those who are not wearing the jersey of the team your support. Racism, however, specifically targets players for abuse on the basis of their skin color.

Also, hooligans rarely, if ever, harm individuals who play for their team or support their team. Yet, many black players are often racially abused by their own fans. For example, Espanyol(Spanish team in the first division) goalkeeper Carlos Kameni is often showered with racist taunts and bananas from his own supporters.
It is time for FIFA president Sepp Blatter to get serious about racism. If I were in his position I would ensure that national leagues implemented sanctions that would dock teams three points (the equivalent of a victory) for the first time monkey chants echoed in their home stadium or a banana or object of any kind was hurled on the field. The second occurrence would result in a stiff financial penalty with a further penalty of 6 points docked for this behavior. If teams continue to fail to control their home crowds then a demotion to a lower league would seem fair to me. There are obvious objections to these proposals, not the least of which include suspicion that teams would send their fans to games of their rivals to taunt black players in an attempt to get their rivals docked points or even demoted. This, however, misses the point. The teams need to be able to control the crowd. Regardless of who is in the crowd teams should have a strategy in place to ensure that players can concentrate on playing the game without worrying about being hit my objects or abused on the basis of their race.

The second reason I believe that racism is not taken seriously is that many of the places in which racism occur do not have a large enough black population to weild any political clout. To my knowledge there is no Spanish, Italian or Russian equivalent to the NAACP. If there were maybe there would be domestic pressure to implement change, but without this players are often fighting the battles themselves. The only threat they have however is to walk off the field. Samuel Eto'o the Cameroonian from Barcelona threatened to do this earlier this year but eventually decided against it and continued playing. What I think would be a stronger statement would be if a white player walked off the field because of racist chants. It would be akin to the northern whites who got involved in the American civil rights movement and gave it a level of legitimacy it otherwise would not have had without them.

The world cup is soccer's grandest stage. I would hate to see it tainted by a racist outburst during the next month. However, if it were to happen it would bring high profile global attention to the problem and force FIFA's hand and make them act on the issue. It should go without saying that racism has no place in the world generally and definitely not in soccer, the beautiful game.

Mighty Mighty Ecuador.

2006-06-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

Ecuador took the first scalp of the tournament by defeating Poland 2-0. I didn't see this coming. For those of you who did, you're smarter than I am. I didn't get to see the game since I am at work. I forgot to record it on my dvr so I will have to catch highlights later one. I'll update once I'm off work in a few hours.

Second Half Diary

2006-06-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Minute 46: The Germans get ready to kick off the second half and it just dawned on me that my blackberry is not working. This means that any work email that’s been sent I haven’t been able to get. Time to take a break from the game and give my assistant a call to see if anyone is looking for me.

Minute 50: I thought I was on to something picking Lukas Podolski to impress at the world cup but it seems like everyone else picked him to do so as well. Guess that was an obvious pick. … It doesn’t look like the Germans are missing Ballack much. It’s an easy stroll in the park for them whenever they are going forward. I’m still waiting on that third goal.

Minute 61: Klose strikes again. His second goal makes it 3-1. Philip Lahm involved again with the cross over to Klose who heads it at the keeper who makes the initial save but Klose finishes.

Minute 65: Just got a call from my assistant letting me know someone is looking for me. I’m feeling a little nervous about this decision. I call the person back to find out what is the urgent matter: HA! Turns out he wanted to make lunch arrangements so after I’m done watching the game I have lunch on the firm at 11:45. The life of a summer associate. Can’t be beat.

Minute 69: Philip Lahm again is causing the Costa Ricans problems all day. He is my top contender for man of the match, despite Klose's two goals.

Minute 70: Tim Barowski hasn't embarassed himself filling in for Michael Ballack. In fact, I haven't noticed a single contribution that he has made to the game. That's a good thing. If he's anonymous that means he's not making any mistakes. Just like that Barowski is off the field after 72 minutes of service to the team.

Minute 73: Paolo Wanchope scores again! Much like I predicted at the end of the first half. It's ridiculous the type of defense the Germans are playing. The offside trap just is not working for the Germans. Nor is this offensive styel suiting the Germans well when the opposition breaks and comes at them. This should be a no contest but Klinsmann's dedication to the offside trap is really keeping the Costa Ricans in this game. I noted in my first half blog that the Germans needed to slow the game down and pass around more. Instead they are trying to go for the fourth and fifth goal where old German teams would have been happy with the 3-1 scoreline and just kill the game off.

Minute 79: Miroslav Klose is off for Oliver Neuville. A like for like swap, forward for forward. I don't like this change. The Germans need to just park the team bus in front of their goal and kill the game off. No need to go for the fourth goal right now and let the Costa Ricans catch you on a counter attack which they have been successful at doing all game. I gotta admit though, the two Costa Rican goals were offsides and the ref just didn't call it.

Minute 85: Bernd Schneider gives us our first flop of the tournament. Referee waives off the penalty appeal.

Minute 86: Torsten Frings scores a goal that he will replay for the rest of his life. From about 40 yards out Frings puts it in the far corner, upper 90, and the keeper has no chance. My description of the goal will do it no justice so do yourself a favor and catch the replay of this goal. So much for German conservatism this year. They are playing all out attack. This is the type of play I would expect from world cup newcomers who don't know any better but the three time winners, Germany, are going all out attack.

Minute 90: Game over. 4-2 Germany. It's a wrap. This is a deceptive result for Germany. Against a better team they would not have gotten four goals but it's likely they would have given up about three goals against a better team. Great way to start the world cup though.

I'm off to work. Gotta make my 11:45 lunch appointment and then get some hours of research in so I can finish my assignment by Monday. As a result, there will be no diary of the Poland match. I expect Poland to win and win big.

First Half Diary.

2006-06-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

Minute 1: I'm rationalizing not being at work right now. I figure since I've been going in to work at 7:30 all week I have earned the two hours I will have to watch this game. Anyway, I have my blackberry so if I'm needed I can be reached. Not sure how I will respond to an urgent call but I don't foresee that happening.

Minute 3: Germans are holding the ball and playing keep away in the Costa Rican half. Careless giveaway by the Costa Ricans gives Torsten Frings the first shot on target from about 30 yards out that is deflected out for a corner. Nope...looks like they will call it a goal kick instead.

Minute 6: Amazing goal from the Germans scored by Philip Lahm. Lahm beats his man and puts him on his back then rips a shot into the far post that knicks the bar and gets in from about 19 yards right outsdie the box. 1-0 Germany. The Germans can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Minute 10: This is shaping up to be a no contest. The Costa Ricans keep giving the ball away right around their own box and giving the Germans too many easy chances to shoot on sight.

Minute 12: Oooops, the Germans botch the offside trap and Paolo Wonchop breaks away and slots a goal past Jens Lehmann to tie up the game 1-1. This really takes the air out of the German sails. The suspect German defense gets exposed already. Let's see how they respond in the next five minutes.

Minute 17: Great response from the Germans in the five minutes I said they needed to respond. Genius stuff, Ricardo. After great work by Bernd Schneider on the sidelines he pulls it back to Bastian Schweinsteiger who squares it acros goal for Miroslav Klose to slot past the keeper. This is the second consecutive World Cup that Klose has scored in the first game. He had a hat trick last time against Saudi Arabia.

Minute 22: The Germans seem to be playing a little too freely. They have the lead but it seems the Costa Ricans are always getting a chance to come back at them with a scoring opportunity. Germans need to pass around in the Costa Rican half and draw them out and capitalize. Seems silly to criticize them with a 2-1 lead though.

Minute 30: What is going on with the ESPN score ticker? The score is up there but the time is not. This is annoying me. Yellow card for the Costa Rican Fonseca(?).

Minute 37: The game seems to have slowed down with fewer opportunities for Germany and the Costa Ricans seem totally out of it........Wonchope almost beats the offside trap again. Bet on Wonchope to score again if the Germans keep this up..........

Minute 38: Clear handball in the penalty area by the Costa Ricans but no call from the ref. Germans are starting to come back in the game and control it nicely playing the ball around by the Costa Rican penalty area.

Minute 40: Wondering why there is no crazy hairdo in this game. The closest thing to it is Lukas Podolski's mohawk but there's nothing to match the stylings of Djibril Cisse or the pioneer of the crazy hairdo Taribo West.

Minute 45: Halftime. Germany 2-Costa Rica 1. The Germans could have had another goal in this half with some better finishing. They look like the better team but the offside trap they are playing may give the Costa Ricans a chance to get back in the gam in the second half.

Bracket.

2006-06-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Before the Cup kicks off I want to get my predictions out so it doesn't seem like I'm bandwagoning when the moment of truth arrives. If you scroll down you will see my picks to make it out the group stages. On then....

England beats Poland in the second round but lose in the quarters to the Portuguese who defeat the Dutch in the second round.

On the same side of the bracket I have Brazil defeating the Czechs and going on to beat the Spaniards who will defeat Korea. Brazil defeats the Spaniards in the quarterfinals and go on to beat Portugal in the semis.

On the other side of the bracket I have Germany beating Sweden then losing to Argentina in the quarters who will defeat Mexico.

On the bottom side of that half of the bracket, I have Italy defeating Croatia then losing to France in the quarters who will defeat the Ukraine. France beats Italy in the quarters and loses to Argentina in the semis.

Argentina loses to Brazil. Brazil wins its sixth cup.

The entire bracket presupposes that I picked the first and second to advance from each group correctly or the matchups won't come out as predicted.

It's Christmas in June.

2006-06-09T01:23:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for this day since June 30, 2002( the day of the final of the 2002 world cup). Finally, we're here. It's the first day of the world cup. Germany v. Costa Rica will get us started. German captain Michael Ballack is out of the game with a calf strain. I don't think this will have much of an effect on the outcome of the game but it may make the Germans seem a little disjointed at times without Ballack in there organizing. The Germans should still have a stroll in the park regardless. Anyway, things kick off in about 8 hours. I'm off to bed. I will keep a running diary throughout the game that I will post once the game is finished. Take a deep breath and enjoy the next 31 days. The greatest event on Earth, the World Cup.

2006-06-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Everyone who doesn't watch soccer has asked me the same question, why haven't you talked about Beckham? The reason is, I believe Beckham is a good player but not one worth mentioning when you talk about the best players at the world cup. Due to his marketability though, it was a bit of oversight on my part to not at least mention him, his team and their chances to lift the cup. I will attempt to do that here.

The English team has little chance to win the world cup. Sure, they are a good team and among the favorites to lift the trophy but I just don't see how they can do it. Part of what makes the English team thrive is that they have great media backing. They are more pop than substance. if an English player is good he is suddenly elevated to godlike status because of the English media machine. Beckham by an large is a useful player. He is good. He is probably the best at crossing the ball from the wings and is a good taker of free kicks(you know, bend it like beckham). However, a player with simply those talents should not be the most recognizable face in world soccer.

David Beckham, trophyless in the last three years.

By way of comparison it would be like Shaun Marion being the most famous NBA player. Sure, he's good but the most recognizable face of the NBA? Many would find that preposterous. I feel the same way about Beckham. Fortunately for him he has three things working in his favor: 1) He's white, he speaks english and he's from Great Britian(home of soccer's top media machine). That's always a plus. When it was time for Real Madrid to choose between Beckham and Ronaldinho 3 years ago Real chose Beckham because he could sell more shirts and they felt Ronaldinho was "too ugly to market." Well, Ronaldinho went to Barcelona Real Madrid's chief rivals. In the three years since Barcelona has won the league title twice and the champions league. Real Madrid has not lifted a single trophy since Beckham has been there, but he has sold a lot of shirts because he's white and marketable.

The Beckham phenomena has worked for Wayne Rooney as well. Sure, Rooney is a fabulous player but is he that much better than Cristiano Ronaldo(young Portuguese player and Rooney's teammate at Manchester United), if at all? Is Rooney better than Adriano(Brazil), Messi(Argentina), Tevez(Argentina)? All these players are in Rooney's age group but they don't have the benefit of being English so they don't get the same marketability. They are all, however at least as good as Rooney is. This is no knock on Rooney because he is a fantastic player, but I want it to illustrate that when a player is English and he is good his talents are a little exaggerated in relation to those around him. Michael Owen is another example of the English media hype machine. What has he done since his goal in World Cup '98 except go to Real Madrid and sit the bench and then was offloaded to make room for Robinho, a young player who won't even be starting for Brazil at this year's world cup.

There are two English players who I feel are probably as good as anyone in their position: Steven Gerrard and John Terry. Gerrard proved his worth against AC Milan in the champions league final two years ago, bringing his team from three goals down in the second half to win the game.

Stevie G, a true G.

He is the only reason his club, Liverpool, has been hanging around the top of the league standings for the past few years. The rest of the English squad is a collection of average to slightly above average players who are overhyped. All sizzle, no steak. I think at the world cup you need to have the best player in the tournament to win it or a collection of players good enough to overcome other good teams. The world cup is not a place where underdogs win the tournament. The cream almost always rises to the top. I'm afraid neither England nor Beckham fit the bill this time around.

The Injury Report

2006-06-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Injuries can wreck a world cup campaign. Here is a list of players whose world cup future is looking bleak.

Wayne Rooney, pictured right, has a broken bone in his foot. Rooney hasn't been able to play or train in the last month and a half but he is in the England squad for the world cup. As their best player I can see why they brought him to the cup, but the world cup is not a place to bring a player who is not fit to play.

Rooney won't be ready for the big time in Germany.

All the players he will be facing will be in top form and, despite his talent, it may be a bit much to ask for him to come back this soon and dominate a world cup after not playing for what will be two months.

Djibril Cisse(France) broke his leg in a friendly match against China today. He will be missing the World Cup. Unfortunately for Cisse this is the second time in as many years that Cisse suffered a break to his leg. His presence will be missed by the French team because despite all of Thierry Henry's brilliance it was Cisse who led the French national team in scoring in the qualifiers. Cisse gives the team an extra dimension with his speed which gives him an ability to go around defenders. With Cisse out, French coach Ramond Domenech may opt to go with the statuesque David Trezeguet.

Who wouldn't want this man at the world cup?

Although Trezeguet is a clinical finisher he has a tendency to disappear from games because he relies on getting the ball in the box for simple tap ins. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about not having Cisse at the world cup will be that the world will not be blessed with Cisse's ridiculous hairdos.

Michael Ballack(Germany) The best player and captain of the German team may miss the first game of the world cup due to a calf strain. Ballack did not train with the team on Wednesday and anxiety is running through Germany. However, young striker Lukas Podolski isn't feeling it. Asked how he would play in his first game Podolski responded, "I am relaxed. We just have to go out and blow away the Costa Ricans. I like that attitude.

Those are really the only major injuries that may affect the cup. Ronaldo has blisters but I expect him to be playing.

Going out on a Limb.

2006-06-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

After ruminating and vacillating on this issue for days, weeks, months I am going to finally put my head on the chopping block: The Ivory Coast will make it out of their group. Did I really just type that? Am I mental? Well, maybe but I'm going to go with my instincts. Why am I picking them to make it out? Well, four reasons at least:

1.) Didier Drogba.Everything the Ivory Coast does starts and ends with Didier. He is their best player and their captain.

Didier Drogba, aka the permed wonder.

He often looks like a man amongst boys(albeit a man with a really bad perm. check the photo to the right.). He's tough to handle in the air and on the ground and will give Dutch, Argentinian and the Serbian defenders more than they bargained for.

2.) Arouna Kone. I've only seen Kone play three times and on all three occasions he was the best player on the field. In the finals against Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations he was head and shoulders above everyone else. Even though the team eventually went out on pentalties my lasting memory of the game was Kone dribbling up and down the sidelines and beating every defender in front of him. Kone plays his club football in the Netherlands for PSV(Dutch Champions two years in a row) and I think this experience will serve him well when the Ivory Coast play the Dutch in the group stages.

3.) Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue. I know these two better than any other Ivory Coast players because they play their club football for my favorite team, Arsenal. Toure is a versatile defender. He can defend with the best of them but has the dribbling ability to take the ball deep in opponent's terrtiroy and he is not afraid to shoot. Eboue may turn out to be the surprise of the tournament. He's one of the fastest players I've seen in his position(right back) and often gets forward as much as he defends. IF Leo Messi plays for Argentina in their game against Ivory Coast it should be interesting to see the young duo face off in a battle that may decide the outcome.

4.) I just don't think the Dutch are as good as advertised. Although my guts picked them to come out the group stages I have them going down immediately to Portugal. They are a young and inexperienced team. I don't doubt their talent but similar to Germany I doubt whether they are ready for the big time. Arjen Robben, probably the best player in the Dutch side, is injury prone. Robin Van Persie has a tough time controlling his temper and Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy hasn't played a competitive match in almost 2 months now. None of this bodes well for the Dutch.There you have it. I have put my head on the chopping block and picked the Ivory Coast to advance from the group stages. I'm preparing to eat a serving of humble pie if my prediction is all wrong though.

For the Unitiated...

2006-06-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

At the request of my good friend and chief antagonist, Vic Sears, I have decided to backtrack a little bit and give a little overview of the world cup for those who new to this whole kicking a ball with your foot thing. So here goes.....

The world cup occurs once every four years. Over the course of roughly two years teams from all over the world in different regions compete against each other for qualification. The U.S. plays mostly small Caribbean islands and their big rivals Mexico (that explains why they both will always qualify). The region that gets the short end of the stick is Africa. To make it as an African nation you must win your qualifying group. Unlike the U.S. and European region where the top two from the qualifying groups making the Cup.

After qualifying is over, 32 teams are placed in eight groups of four and the World Cup begins. In the group stages each team plays three games. The top two teams from each group advances to the knockout stages and then it's single elimination for the rest of the way.

The World Cup begins Friday with Group A. Germany plays Costa Rica at noon eastern time on ESPN2.

What to Watch for: German playmaker Michael Ballack has missed training this week due to injury. It should be interesting to see if he has recovered fully to inspire the team the victory. Also should be nice to see if Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski can live up to their immense potential. It all starts here.

The Germany v. Costa Rica match will be followed by Poland and Ecuador at 3 p.m. ET.

What to Watch for: Can Poland score 5? Seriously, this should be a cakewalk for the Poles. No contest. Also look to see if Poland's Nigerian born striker, Emmanuel Olisadebe, will get some playing time. He'll be easy to spot: the black guy playing with all the white guys.

Saturday's games will be posted after the completion of Friday's games. Though for those who can't wait you can find the full world cup schedule here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/worldcup/fixtures?&lpos=wcnav&lid=gn_sn_WC+fixtures&cc=5901

Predictions.

2006-06-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

Group A

I have Germany and Poland progressing from this group, with Germany being group winners. I believe the Poles have a better team than Germany, but the Germans have homefield advantage and that might be enough to overcome their inexperience and allow them to top the group.

Group B

I don't think this group will be as straightforward as everyone thinks. Paraguay have made it to the second round in the last two world cups and I suspect they have more than an outside shot to progress this time. Even so, it would take a brave man to pick them to come out of this group ahead of England and Sweden. I have England finishing first and Sweden second.

Group C

Similar to Paraguay, I think the Ivory Coast can cause some problems in their group. I want to be brave enough to pick them. My buddy Cheick has me convinced that this is the year of the elephants, but I'm not yet completely convinced. I have Argentina and the Netherlands coming out of this group. Argentina first, the Netherlands second.

Group D

No surprises here. Angola and Iran will not threaten Portugal or Mexico. The Angola v. Portugal match should be interesting since it will be another Colonizer vs. the Colonized matchup. Maybe Angola can do what the Senegalese did to the French in '02 but I'm not betting on it. Portugal first, Mexico second.

Group E

The toughest group to pick. I truly believe that either of these four teams, Ghana, Czech Republic, Italy or the U.S. could finish first. I think the first match in the group Czech Republic v. U.S. will go a long way in clearing everything up. Whoever loses this game will be going home after the group stages. I really don't want to have to pick but if my feet are held to the fire I'd go with Italy and the Czech Republic, in that order.

Group F

The best match from this group will likely be Brazil v. Japan. The main reason being that Japan are coached by arguably the best Brazilian player from the 80s, Zico. Nothing else seems intriguing here. I'm picking Brazil and Croatia to finish first and second, respectively.

Group G

France and South Korea progress to the next round with France winning the group. Togo and Switzerland go home. The Togolese will probably leave us some good memories with their antics and wild hairdos but that's about it.

Group H

It would not surprise me at all if traditional world cup underachievers, Spain, were to go out in the group stages. This would be a new low for them since their group includes first timers the Ukraine, 2002 whipping boys Saudi Arabia(they lost to Germany 8-0 in the opening game last time in 2002 giving up a hat trick to Miroslav Klose of all people). I figure the talented spaniards with Xavi, Raul, Fabregas and Puyol will probably top the group and move on along with the Ukrainians.

I realize I didn't pick a single upset. I don't feel the need to be a genius. I think the cup will be pretty straightforward as I noted before. Of course someone won't make it as far as they should, but on balance I think the better teams will progress. Tomorrow I will update with my picks for the knockout stages.

Welcome.

2006-06-05T12:25:00.001-07:00

This blog will serve as a sort of running diary of my thoughts on the 2006 world cup. As soccer fans from around the world descend on Germany, I will be posting my thoughts from Los Angeles. By way of introduction, I will go through my thoughts on the favorites and some teams that may surprise us in the coming month.

THE FAVORITES:

1. Brazil: Any discussion of the world cup must start with Brazil. As five time winners, they are the masters of the beautiful game. This time around they are as likely to win it as ever. With Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano and Kaka, Brazil boasts probably the most exciting attacking lineup the world has seen in decades. Their ability to play together will likely what makes the difference between whether they are winners or also rans. My main concern is how will Kaka and Ronaldinho play together. Both players are at their best when the ball is at their feet and they are orchestrating everything from midfield. It will be interesting to see if one ball will be enough to share for Kaka and Ronaldinho. In either case, they are blessed with world cup marksman Ronaldo who is two goals shy of tying Gerd Muller as the world cup's all time leading scorer. I picked Brazil to win the cup. They are the only non-european team to ever win a world cup in Europe and I expect them to repeat that in Germany.

2. Argentina: The Argentines are one of the few countries, along with France, who do not fear the yellow jersey of Brazil. Much like Brazil they are blessed with Amazing attacking talent: Crespo, Tevez, Messi, Saviola, the list goes on. There will be no question as to whether the Argentines will be able to score goals. They are solid at the back with Roberto Ayala anchoring the defense. Their ability to progress in the tournament, though, falls on the shoulders of one man: Juan Roman Riquelme. For Americans, you can liken Riquelme to a quarterback or a point guard, he is always at the center of what the Argentines are doing. He can slow a game down, he can speed it up, make the incisive pass, whatever is necessary to win the game. Unfortunately, the manager, Jose Pekerman, may favor a more conservative approach which will shackle Riquelme's talents. If Riquelme is allowed the free reign to pop up wherever he feels in midfield, the Argentines will be hard to stop, especially with Juan Pablo Sorin cleaning up in midfield behind Riquelme.

3. Italy: Talented team. Their best player, Francesco Totti has been out injured for the past four months so it will be interesting to see how he recovers and if he will be fit enough for the tournament. Totti, historically, has underachieved in big tournaments (he was sent home for spitting at an opponent in Euro 2004). Luca Toni is the player to watch. Had a good season for his club. Big player, hard to beat in the air. He's come out of nowhere. I'm not really sure how he will handle being on the big stage. In midfield the Italians will need something extra out of Andrea Pirlo and Del Piero to pick up the slack if Totti is still out injured. There's no need to mention the Italian defense because, as ever, they are strong at the back with Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta. If the Italians are able to overcome the media speculation about their own corruption, I think they are one of the teams who will be there in the end.

4. France: I won't say much about the French except they have as much talent as anyone else, except Brazil but something does not seem right about this team. They don't appear to have the proper balance in midfield to truly threaten the opposition. Not to mention the fact that many of the players they are depending on -- Zidane, Thuram, Makelele and Vieira all have their best years behind them. If, however, Zidane and Henry are at the top of their game I see no reason why they couldn't make the finals and give us a rematch of 1998 with Brazil. This might be too much to ask, but since Thierry Henry is my favorite pl ayer I have the French making it at least as far as the semifinals where t hey will lose to Argentina.

5. England:

Traditional also rans. The English team always seems to show up at the major tournaments overhyped and then eventually crash out sheepishly. This time around, however, things may be different as the English team features a crop of world class players who are in their prime. Steven Gerrard is as good as any midfielder in the world and the same can be said for John Terry in central defense. David Beckham's passing will be instrumental and the unpredictability of midfielder Joe Cole will give the English team an element of surprise they've lacked in the past. Two things make me cautious about picking them to make it beyond the quarterfinals though:

1.) Where will the goals come from? Michael Owen has been out since January and hasn't played a competitive match in months. The game against Jamaica can hardly count as competitive since the English walked all over my homeland 6-0. Wayne Rooney the other top English forward has been out with a broken foot for four weeks. His return to the squad may be a little premature and risky. This puts a lot of pressure on poplocking(watch out for his breakdancing if he scores in the cup) forward Peter Crouch who is previously untested at the international level.
2.) Pairing Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard may prove to be a disaster. Both players on their own are probably among the top 10 midfielders in the world. However, their qualities are so similar, they both like to attack, that it may leave a gaping hole in the midfield if they both go forward. It would be best if England played Gerrard with Michael Carrick, a naturally defensive midfielder instead of both Lampard and Gerrard. But it would be hard to justify leaving out a player of Lampard's obvious quality. Because of these two question marks, I have picked the English to go out in the quarterfinals against Portugal, much like in Euro 2004.

6. Germany: Home teams always do well in the cup. Home field advantage should be enough to propel an inexperienced German side to the quarterfinals. Players to watch on the team are Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Michael Ballack will of crouse be influential as always.

POTENTIAL SURPRISES:

1. Cote D'Ivoire: Every world cup is blessed with an African team that impresses everyone with their play. Last time around it was the Senegalese. In '94 it was the Nigerians. In 2006 look for the Elephants to fill that roll. Team Captain Didier Drogba will prove a lot to handle and Arouna Dindane and Arouna Kone could frustrate opponents with their trickery on the ball. In the end, though, overcoming a group pairing with Argentina and the Netherlands may prove too much for the Elephants.

The Ivory Coast is actually the only team I can see upsetting the balance of the tournament. Ultimately, I think the usual suspects will advance through the group stages, but if there's one team that may be able to throw a monkey wrench in everyone's preditions it may be le Cote D'Ivoire.

Tomorrow I will post and explain my entire bracket for the world cup.