So the World Cup begins today and after much worrying about South Africa being ill-prepared to host the tournament, much worrying about a host of star players picking up injuries and much worrying amongst the players on what colour boots to wear, it looks like it could be an exciting four weeks of football.
Exciting because I feel there is the potential for more than a couple of upsets that will cause a stir and yet again convey the magic of tournament football.
With the favourites, Spain, having a history of bottling it on the big stage, it leaves the race for the coveted crown fairly open.
Along with Spain - Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Holland, Italy and, not surprisingly, England have been some of the nations touted with a strong chance of claiming glory.
However, all those teams have huge doubts about their credentials to go all the way.
Argentina may have one of the most gifted footballers in the world on the pitch in Lionel Messi, but their former great Diego Maradona is in charge and he was, quite frankly, bonkers with his squad selection.
Leaving Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti at home despite them leading Inter Milan to Champions League glory is more than enough proof that, while it might not be cocaine now, Maradona is definitely on something.
Germany are missing Michael Ballack through injury and with former tournament hotshots Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose not firing on all cylinders this season, the former three time winners may struggle.
Brazil have ditched the flair and Ronaldinho too, with former World Cup winner, now manager, Dunga favouring a more conservative approach. This could be their downfall as their defence is hardly as robust as the Italians’ or the Germans’ but let’s hope stars like Robinho, Kaka and Fabiano defy their boss and bring some of that well loved samba style to South Africa.
Spain have a reputation for bottling it on the big stage but there is one country who are ahead of them in the league of the, eh, bottle jobs and that is Holland.
No matter how much class they have in their ranks the Dutch always seem to crumble under pressure but, with the likes of Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie in the squad, they could have a say.
The reigning champions Italy haven’t been touted about as much as I would have imagined. They were just edged out by Spain in Euro 2008 on penalties so they are far from also rans, but with captain Fabio Cannavaro the wrong side of 30 along, with a couple of other key players, maybe this squad is on its last legs.
Every time England qualify for a major tournament the phrases ‘this is our best chance’ and ‘this is our time’ are echoed around in the media.
Ironically, this year they seem to have tried to dampen down all that pre-tournament excitement and tried to be realistic when this time it is in fact their best chance since 1966.
England have always lacked something at the big tournaments, usually a player with pride, passion and the talent to take a tight game by the scruff of the neck and smash home a goal out of nowhere and this time they have Wayne Rooney, a much improved player over the last four years who is in top form.
However, penalty shoot-outs always have a say in the World Cup and that is England’s Achilles heel which could yet again be their downfall.
So with the so called big boys all with doubts hanging over them here’s hoping to some of the ‘smaller’ teams causing some upsets.
While there was cries of fixes, corruption etc when South Korea made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2002, it was nothing short of fascinating to watch.
The plucky Koreans did their nation proud when they played out of their skins to knock both Spain and Italy out along the way, before Germany finally defeated them.
This year there are a few teams who could cause an upset or two.
Ivory Coast, if they can be counted as an outsider with their surprisingly strong squad, have a superb chance of making a big impact in South Africa.
Serbia are well within their means of taking on the big nations with a number of players with big stage experience, including Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic, Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic along with Marko Pantelic of Ajax and not to mention Inter Milan’s Dejan Stankovic.
If Serbia finish second in their group they could face England and I’m sure Fabio Capello would rather different opposition than the robust and well-organised eastern Europeans.
It would also be a bit of a surprise to me if Portugal perform at this World Cup. Despite having one of, if not the best player in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo, they lack any real firepower up front.
However, the Real Madrid man could find the net enough times to give them an outside chance of success.
If we don’t get a shock with the results, then we’re sure to get a few with during the games as sadly no World Cup would be complete without a controversy.
Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ in 1986, Rivaldo’s despicable play acting in 2002, Maradona’s drug test failure in 1994, the sham game between Germany and Austria in 1982 and Zidane’s head butt in the 2006 final are just some of the incidents that have left a bitter taste over the years.
Will there be controversy in South Africa? Maybe. Diving? Without a doubt. Offside debates? For sure. Video technology? Sadly not thanks to Mr Blatter but that’s a whole different debate.
But let’s just hope there aren’t too many controversies, a few upsets, some moments of magic and more exciting football than you could shake a stick at. Don’t know about you but I can’t wait. Bring it on!
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