The 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals
Thursday, May 27, 2010
They’re almost here — in just a couple of weeks all that hard work will be put to the test. I’m talking about finals.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals.
So to help you get through this difficult time, I present my ill-thought-out, and almost certainly biased, study guide of what is about to kick off on June 11 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Favorites:
A quick search of the Internet will throw up a handful of names that will be fighting among themselves for the big prize in July. The top two are probably Brazil and Spain, with Argentina and England close behind.
Given its hugely successful history, having won the title five times and as the only team to have qualified for every World Cup, anyone would be a fool to bet against Brazil. Real fan favorites across the globe, they play an exciting game with almost everyone on the pitch seemingly attacking the goal.
Spain, meanwhile, is the current European champion and a few months back would probably have been clearly at the top of the pile. Since then, injuries have taken a serious toll on the star players on the team, and it remains to be seen whether or not they will make it back in time and if, when they do return, they will be fully fit.
It is easy to think Argentina should be a powerful force this summer with the current FIFA World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi, in its ranks and one of the best ever players, Diego Maradona, as its coach. But Maradona is an enigma, and has a proven record of going from hero to zero, or vice versa, in a heartbeat. Just ask any England fan about his two goals against us in ‘86.
That England are touted to be among the top teams this year should probably make me happy, and it is certainly true that under the iron-fisted rule of our (Italian) manager, we have had some great performances. But it is hard not to have serious doubts about which side will really show up. Time and again England have failed to relive the glory of our single triumph in 1966, and Monday’s warm-up game against Mexico did nothing to light any fires.
Team USA:
After a stunning victory over European champions Spain in last year’s Confederations Cup in South Africa, could this be the year that Team USA makes waves not just abroad, but at home too?
A lack of a global superstar among its ranks, and some serious injuries that have taken a chunk out of the squad, mean it is incredibly unlikely it could go all the way, but what if by some freakish accident the USA won the World Cup this year? To be really blunt, a lot of people, myself included, would be absolutely horrified.
Before someone goes and throws me and my tea into the ocean, I better make it clear that this is no anti-American sentiment. I would love it if the USA really took football to heart and became a serious force in the sport. But right now the country just doesn’t care enough. Any other country would go crazy if they won the cup. Here, I’m not even convinced everyone would even notice.
Home Sweet Home:
The host country for this World Cup might be South Africa, but this is Africa’s tournament. Whether or not you have a home nation to support, go adopt a second team from any of South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana, Cameroon or Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
Home nations have traditionally had great success, the tournament having been won six times previously by its host, and anyone who followed South Korea’s run to the semifinals as joint hosts back in 2002 should know that, with a bit of luck and with the whole crowd behind you, anything is possible. Should any of the African nations walk away with the crown, or even make a run to the final, don’t expect the party to stop for a long, long time. So reawaken your evolutionary roots and grab your own slice of what could be a wild ride.
Heroes and Villains:
French midfielder Zinedine Zidane ended his career by headbutting his Italian counterpart, Marco Materazzi, in the final in 2006. In a moment of insanity he reacted to verbal insults by the Italian and, however offensive Materazzi’s taunts may have been, was rightly shown a red card. The tournament’s best player walked off as a villain and will be forever remembered for that.
There will certainly be other contenders, but ahead of this year’s World Cup, another French player has already staked his claim on Zidane’s crown. Thierry Henry destroyed his own reputation and made a lot of enemies in Ireland with a blatant hand-ball that secured France their place in this year’s tournament. Anyone with Irish blood will likely still have a team to support this year though, whomever France are playing.
Heartbreak:
There will be penalties. At some point in the knockout stages, two teams will be unable to decide a winner by the end of regulation, sending the game into extra time and then almost inevitably into a penalty shoot-out.
Most football fans will tell you this is a horrible way to decide a contest, but it is really the only truly reliable way. Hearts will fill with dread both on the field and around the world as each player takes his turn to square off in front of goal, and ultimately one player will stumble under the weight of expectation on his shoulders. While you can lose a penalty shoot-out, you can never “win” — you merely survive.
As an England fan, my dreams are of winning the cup, but my nightmares are of being knocked out on penalties. To Germany. Again.
Trouble:
Football fans, the English in particular, have a bad reputation. Some of this is well-earned, but it is all too easy to get hung up on the headlines from the past and ignore the facts of today. English football went through a revolution in the early ‘90s, and the violent hooliganism of yesteryear was mostly replaced by a more family-orientated atmosphere.
In a similar vein, it is simple to look at the violent crime statistics in South Africa and fear for the lives of the traveling supporters. But these problems, while serious, are generally limited to specific areas of the country, and having already hosted several major international sporting events, such as the Rugby Union World Cup and cricket’s Twenty20 Indian Premier League, the South African authorities have shown they know what they are doing.
There will of course be some drunkenness, and some tourists will encounter problems, but by and large the tournament should be relatively peaceful.
Strife:
But whatever happens, it won’t be pain-free. That’s what I love and hate about football. Your team will set your heart racing with anticipation, make you dare to dream with a glimpse of the sort of play that on any given day could beat any team on the planet, and then drop you into a spiral of despair as their challenge comes to a shuddering halt.
Or maybe not. Just once, that dream could come true.
So get ready to put down those books, forget about summer school or internships, and concentrate on something more important for the next month.
Tom Taylor will be headbutting anyone who insults this column. At your own risk, send comments to tom.taylor “at” stanford.edu.
posted @ 8:39 AM,
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