Category: World Cup (Page 17 of 17)

      What Are We in For?

      June 1, 2006 /

      I can’t help but be concerned. The US team is waltzing along to Germany without a care in the world. The mainstream media gives them the happy nod, expecting them to do well. That opinion is, no doubt, bolstered by the ridiculously high world ranking, and their ignorance of all things soccer. What’s going to happen once the team gets a shellacking and is unceremoniously sent back home?

      Can you hear the jokes already?

      The sport is just struggling to its feet in this country. Most of the sports stories and talk, when soccer gets any attention at all here, are still condescending and derisive. The sense is, people are cautious now because they might have heard the US actually has a decent team, but they really can’t wait for them to bomb so they can get a cheap laugh and go back to talking about the only 3 things they all know anything about.

      I do think the US team is at least competitve, much better than they ever have been, but I still don‘t rate their chances this year. Things are just beginning to look up, and these things take time. Will a quick exit from the World Cup do irreparable damage now?

      I think it might.

      The MLS is eking by, and it’s important that it is, but even I struggle to get interested in most of their matches. If the national team doesn’t manage to live up to a respectable showing, I suspect the domestic soccer league will lose the fledgling amount of support it has earned so far. The message will be that soccer just isn’t America’s sport. Let the Europeans have that one and lets get back to something we can do. Right now, the likes of Landon Donovan and a handful of others are willing to sacrifice money and exposure by playing here. I’m afraid even a slight downturn now will bring them to say, “well, we tried”.

      As things are now, I can pretty happily get as much soccer on television as I like. Between Fox and Setanta, I can watch most of the English Premier League matches, a handful from the Championship (thankfully, since my Ipswich seems mired in it for life), The Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliega, even some French and South American matches. ESPN generally carries a Champions League match. I can get extensive daily news, and there are even soap opera themed shows if I really get desperate.

      All that is wonderful, but the truth is, those channels are losing money on that programming even now. They’re betting that they are starting out in a tiny market that will surely expand over time, and will eventually pay off. They honestly believe soccer is so good that it can’t possibly fail. A poor US showing could set them back years, and I worry they might just throw in the towel. It’ll be back to scouring the internet, and we won’t even catch a fleeting glimpse of the game from here.

      So I’ll be rooting very hard for the national team to do well. For purely selfish reasons. I want the greatest game in the world to be played here. I want to be able to follow it from here. Unfortunately, if the US only play to their ability, it could be the beginning of the end. Americans want to be the best at whatever they’re doing. They tend to ridicule anything they don’t understand. They don’t have much patience to begin with, and I’m afraid a hiccup might be all it takes for it to run out on soccer.

      I think a lot more hinges on the success of this Cup than many realize or would like to admit.

      Misc. Soccer, U.S. Soccer, World Cup

      Group A Preview

      June 1, 2006 /

      Germany, Poland, Costa Rica, Ecuador

      Of course the host country, Germany, heads the first group. It is one of the weakest and least interesting groups in the tournament. The only real entertainment value may come from how the supporters behave, since Poland is the other, and only real, competition in the grouping. For long and obvious reasons, these two countries don’t care for each other much and both have contingents of right-wing fans prone to violence. There might be more fireworks in the stands than on the pitch.

      Both should advance easily to the next round. Germany, led by the newest Chelsea multi-millionaire, Michael Ballack. A player that seems to get a lot more hype than he tends to deserve. Solid, no question, but he hasn’t shown the consistent brilliance he’s reputed to have. They also have the feuding goalkeepers in Kahn and Lehman, both thinking a bit too much of themselves, but both solid enough. They’re also coached by that lay-about, Klinsmann, who has taken a bit of stick for leisurely commuting from his California home. Germany has tried to go with youth and speed, but still don’t seem to have a strong offensive presence, and they have slipped a bit defensively trying to improve that offense. But, they are at home, and are comfortably good enough to sleep through the first round.

      Poland always seems to be right on the edge of having a very good team. They’re still in that spot, which means they’re just better than average, but looking up. For them it’s more about who is not on the team this time. Long time keeper Jerzy Dudek is out, along with one of their best scoring threats in Frankowski. Both of these omissions sparked more interest, and unrest back in Poland, than the players actually going to Germany. Zurawski, who plays his club football for Celtic, might be good for a couple, but it’s hard to see where their goals are going to come from.

      The other two teams are just afterthoughts in this field. Ecuador is a defensive minded team that is only a threat when they play on the top of a mountain. Down at a normal altitude, their opponents won’t be gasping–nor worried. Costa Rica is a team that needed smoke and mirrors just to qualify, and they’re going in the wrong direction. They tend to be aggressively offensive, but their leading scorer is the aging (aged?) Paulo Wanchope–that should say enough right there. They might be one of the weakest teams in the tournament this time around.

      Germany and Poland can put it on cruise control and coast through this round. Despite some more attention being placed on the offensive side of things, these two teams still will rely on their defense to get through. Expect a lot of 1-0‘s, and mostly boring games from this group. The German/Poland match might be worth a look, but the real battle will probably take place in the beer gardens. These two will advance but will struggle against better competition later. The hosts might surprise a few decent teams playing at home–that‘s a big advantage.

      World Cup

      Everyone in the world seems nervous

      May 31, 2006 /

      Ten days away from the start of the world cup and every soccer fan, or at least the writers, seem to be losing faith. No matter where you look, it seems every country is heading for trouble. Except, perhaps, the US, where as usual, barely a peep is heard about the national team. Ironically, they’re the team with the most to worry about.

      Even Brazil seems rattled right now. Edmilson is off due to a knee injury. Ronaldinho claims to be so tired he can barely stand. They’re even worrying about how many sausages Ronaldo has been tucking-in. While everyone else is tuning up with actual national teams, Brazil is playing against children (under-21 sides from club teams). I guess they know what they’re doing, but even the fans of the undisputed best team in the world are getting concerned.

      Most teams are still nervously tinkering with line-ups. Some of this is just to give the regulars a rest, and much of it is over-blown, but Germany is still desperately searching for a defense. Any idiot would know just to throw Ballack, Klose, and Schweinsteiger up front, but you’d think they’d have had the back sorted sometime before now. It doesn’t look like they can stop anyone. Klinsmann should have had nothing else to think about for months. Apparently, a California beach isn’t conducive to that sort of thinking.

      England has the whole Rooney saga. That’s shaping up to be their next ’if only …’ excuse. As in ’if only the plane hadn’t crashed in Munich’ , ’if only Maradona hadn’t cheated’, ’if only Becks was healthy’. They pull a new one out every four years–some lame, some not. They do look a bit lost right now with Owen alone up front. They actually look a little better with the novelty act, Frankenst–er I mean, Crouch in there with him, but Sven is right not to trust that. So the tinkering continues there. Including throwing a 17 year old who doesn’t even play for his club team into the mix. They’ll be ok with or without Rooney–but only ok, and that’ll never be good enough in Blighty. They’re right to be worried.

      Italy is being overwhelmed with the match fixing scandal. Practically everyone on the national team has a link to it. The consensus seems to be that that distraction is going to be too much for them, and they’ll quickly duck back home in shame. Maybe a proper problem like this is just what they needed to keep the focus somewhere else than on their game. The only other thing they’ve been whining about was that Luca Toni misses too many chances. He only led the universe in scoring–how many did they expect him to stick in? But, that’s the Italians. They have a habit of inventing disasters, maybe they’ll do better if they already have a real one. For ninety minutes they can just go out and play and forget about everything else. See if that works–nothing else was.

      Anyway, it seems no one is comfortable right now. That’s as it should be. The tension is building, and suddenly everyone has doubts. Beautiful, isn’t it?

      European Soccer, Misc. Soccer, South American Soccer, U.S. Soccer, World Cup

      Here it Comes

      May 31, 2006 /

      The World Cup. In just a few short weeks, the greatest sporting event on earth is going to bring most of the planet to a virtual halt. London will be left to the tourists. Spaniards will skip their siestas. Even the French will be bothered. Germany will be mobbed. From the poorest tribal village in Angola, to the coca fields in Costa Rica, to the beaches of Trinidad, people will be tuning in to follow the fortunes of their country. To discover the one team that can rightfully boast of being World Champions. Playing a game the whole world plays, but an infinitely better competition than that other world-wide event also held every four years. In the World Cup, there are no races were the winner and loser is separated by smallest fractions of a second. No judges to decide who makes the prettiest circles on the ice. Just two teams of eleven men with strength, quickness, and sublime skill, going at it full speed for 90 minutes. There will be heartbreak, controversy, and just plain bad luck to moan over. Villains to jeer. New heroes to cheer. But, at the end, one country will reign supreme. Champions of the World in the one true, world-wide sport. The beautiful game. Soccer.

      Sorry, it won’t be the US. Not this time. Their gaudy ranking of 4th or 5th in the world is frankly ridiculous. They had a surprisingly good showing in Japan at the last World Cup and then played nothing but minnows for the four years in between. They won’t get any respect in the rest of the world until they actually earn some. Mexico is not Brazil. Canada is not Italy. The US is a decent mid-level team that is about to get clocked by some powerhouses. Italy and the Czech Republic will advance from the group and the Americans will limp back home to the one country that will barely notice.

      No matter, there’s still so much to enjoy. Pick a team, there’s one for every imaginable taste, and go along for the ride.

      Brazil is the team that must be on everybody’s short list. They still boast the flashiest, most brilliant players. They’re sickeningly good. An absolute joy to watch if you’re a neutral, but 90 minutes of dread if they’re playing your team. They have the best player in the world right now in Ronaldinho. Their only problem is that sometimes they care more about putting on a show than winning one.

      The host country generally fares well, so Germany has to get consideration. They have an easy group and a possible meeting with a beatable England in the second round, so they could be well on their way without breaking much of a sweat. They don’t have a lot of firepower, but close games on their home turf are likely to fall their way.

      Surely, Italy can’t go on being snakebit forever. Their karma is awful, though, if you believe in such things, and it’s starting to appear that they do. Constantly playing for 1-0 wins is dangerous. Hopefully they’ve learned that by now. They are due for some good fortune if anyone is. But, the understanding is the refs will be legit in the Cup, unlike theirs at home. That could take some getting used to.

      My heart belongs to England. That’s where I learned to love the game. Their Premier League is the most exciting in the world along with being the easiest to follow from the States. I would love to see them win. They won’t, though. Injuries are nagging their already delicate team. Most hopes were shattered with Wayne Rooney‘s foot a couple of weeks ago. Their young, superstar striker will likely play, but will limp around ineffectually, much like David Beckham did in the last World Cup.

      Need a dark horse? Get on Portugal. Almost no one seems to be talking about them. Scolari is probably the best coach in the world, and this team is just rock solid throughout. He’s very good at taking a bunch of egos and getting them to play well together, and that’s what he has here. Figo in his swan song. The irksome, Christiano Ronaldo in what could be his break-out tournament. The always dependable Pauleta. They‘re going to be tough to beat.

      The truth is, any of about 16 of the teams have a legitimate shot at winning it all. With a little luck, and a great game on a given day, it could happen for any one of them. Part of the thrill is that for about 10 of the other teams, it’ll be considered a huge triumph to make it out of the first stage, and a couple of them will. You have to root for tiny Trinidad and Tobago, and war ravaged Angola just for making it there. Iran will be there, but their women won’t be allowed to watch. Every match will have story. Kick back with the rest of the world for the month. See what all the fuss is about. 6 billion people are not wrong.

      European Soccer, Misc. Soccer, South American Soccer, U.S. Soccer, World Cup

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