| World Cup 101
By Patryk Fournier June 5th, 2006 |
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It's not always a given that the major advertising campaigns tied to big sporting events will work out as planned (see Michelle Kwan and Bode Miller’s failed ad campaigns for the Torino Olympic games) but barring some miraculous unforeseen event, Nike and Adidas, two major shoe companies battling for the advertising spotlight at this year’s World Cup look like they have done an exceptional job at succinctly summarizing what this year’s tournament will be all about. Adidas, based out of Germany has the inside track on the host country angle and Nike wisely adopted team Brazil and their star Ronaldinho as the focus of their campaign. And when it comes to World Cup 2006 all meaningful discussions about the tournament have to start with praise and admiration for Brazil’s squad of uber-talented futbol virtuosos. Samba Style: The Brazilians enter the tournament as defending champions and overwhelming favourites to repeat. You only have look as far as Brazil’s Fab 5 to see why the team is considered the class of the tournament. Two-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Ronaldinho leads the Fab 5 group that also includes fellow midfielder and AC Milan talent Kaka, and forwards Adriano from Inter Milan and Ronaldo and Robinho from Real Madrid. Only four of the Fab 5 will start at any given time and Robinho looks to be the odd man out for now although some critics would argue that Brazil’s co all-time goal scoring leader should play the role of sub. Ronaldo had a tumultuous club season in Madrid and enters Germany with questions about his conditioning, as he has in the past. Despite the criticism of Ronaldo he is only three goals away from unseating German striker Gerd Muller as the all-time World Cup leading goal scorer. Even if he does bare a striking resemblance to the notorious Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks, Ronaldinho is without question the best player in the world. If there was ever a time where an iso-cam was called for in soccer it would be to showcase Ronaldinho’s array of skills, tricks and tremendous vision. He’s already captured the Champions League and La Liga trophies so it would seem only fitting for him to cap off his year with a glorious treble. Oww Canada: You know that the state of Canadian soccer is bad when the team that edged them out for a WC spot (Trinidad & Tobago) is 1000-1 to win the cup. It seems like the only way that Canada will make an appearance in the World Cup anytime soon is if they host one, you know because the host country receives an automatic bid. The Brits: The support and expectations that face Team England each year is a little like the unwavering encouragement family members give each other after someone gives an idiotic answer on Family Feud. I recently saw a show where they asked the families to “Name a known fact about John Lennon” and one of the ladies provided the all-time anti-Mensa answer of “He’s still alive!” Despite the absurdity of the answer the other family members didn’t miss a beat and responded with the encouragement of “Good answer”. English supporters may not say “Good answer” but they provide plenty of optimism and greet each new tournament with the belief that “This is our year”. Despite all the optimism England has only delivered one World Cup victory in the history of the tournament. This year’s team is probably the most talented squad in recent memory even without the presence of Wayne Rooney - star striker, offensive sparkplug and England’s hope for the future. Rooney is currently out with a fractured metatarsal injury (broken foot), the same injury that be felled Beckham at the 2002 WC. Rooney’s availability for team England will hinge on the results of his June 7th MRI. The best case scenario would see Rooney return for the knockout stage of the tournament to be June 30/July 1. The loss of Rooney cannot be understated. He was unreal at Euro 2004 teaming with fellow striker Michael Owen to form a dangerous offensive threat. In his absence England will deploy 6’7 striker Peter Crouch alongside Owen. In their most recent tune-up match, Crouch delivered a hat-trick in helping England rout Jamaica 6-0. If Crouch maintains his starting role look for him to play a vital target role on Beckham’s crosses, free kicks and corners. If the Crouch experiment fails, England may deploy Steven Gerrard as a roaming forward – a concept they’ve experimented with lately. Even without the impact of Rooney in the line-up England stands a good chance to qualify to at least the semi-final stage. Che cosa sta accendendo?: Drama normally follows the Azzurri but never has the drama and scandal been to this magnitude. Much of Italian football is under investigation for match-fixing, illegal betting, referee tampering and bribery. Serie A powers Juventus and AC Milan (where the majority of the Italian squad comes from) may end up being relegated to either Serie B or Serie C once the investigation finishes, so certainly its understandable how this could play on the minds and be a distraction for the players. On the other hand, normally at this time talk is usually focused on the Azzurri’s previous failures and whether or not they’ll live up to immense expectations. Perhaps the scandal will provide reprieve from those lofty expectations and allow the Italians to focus purely on their play and deploy their talents to the fullest. Players to Watch: David Beckham, England: At age 31, this will likely be Beckham’s last World Cup performance as an impact player. At the 2002 WC Beckham performed admirably despite labouring through the same metatarsal injury that’s afflicting Rooney right now. Becks has looked terrific in England’s pre-World Cup international friendlies and if he continues that same form he’ll be a big story in Germany. Arjen Robben, Holland: Robben was a revelation for Holland at the 2004 Euro Championships. He gives Holland great pace down the left side, wears opponents down with his speed, scores goals, and will set up Van Nistelrooy and Kuyt with plenty of scoring opportunities. Holland will go as far as he takes them. Francesco Totti, Italy: Totti will once again be the focal point of Italy’s attack but the extent of his impact will be based on how he recovers from his broken fibula and ankle ligament injuries suffered in February. To alleviate some of the pressure on Totti’s normally free-roaming do-it-all role the Italians have experimented with a 4-2-2-1 formation that pairs Alessandro Del Piero with Totti directly behind number one striker Luca Toni. Totti will be motivated to have a strong tournament and erase the memories of a poor 2002 showing and an embarrassment filled 2004 Euro Championships which ended in Totti’s suspension for spitting in the face of an opponent. Michael Ballack, Germany: The expectations for Germany are high simply because they’re the host country, even though they don’t match the talent level and solid play of other elite teams. Ballack will be under a microscope playing a vital role in front of his countrymen. As a central midfielder Germany will rely on Ballack to gain possession of the ball, help on defense, score and set up the strikers. Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine: The new Cheslea man is making his debut in his country’s first ever World Cup appearance. Shevchenko was dominant in helping Ukraine qualify for the World Cup pacing them with six goals in twelve games. He has always come up big for his club teams in major tournaments so there’s reason not to think that he won’t do the same on his international stage debut. Youth Movement: In each World Cup there are some guaranteed certainties: an African club will advance further than anticipated, Spain will do their best Ottawa Senators impression and underachieve with a talented roster and a couple of young players will overcome their lack of experience and thrive on the international stage. Most recently at the 2004 Euro Championships, Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Arjen Robben (Holland) and Wayne Rooney (England) became legitimate stars. This World Cup boasts no shortage of young talent and the best bets for a breakthrough will likely come from this talented group: Lionel Messi (Argentina), Ryan Babel (Holland), Niko Kranjcar (Croatia), Johan Volanthen (Switzerland), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Ruslan Rotan (Ukraine), and Theo Walcott (England) Place your bets: Unlike its American sports counterpart by the same name, the World Cup brand of football doesn’t exactly make for the most appealing game to bet on, especially in the round robin stage where there are too many chances for ties to creep in and ruin a bet. Perhaps because of that, betting firms have found other creative ways for betters to enjoy soccer’s grand tournament. William Hill, a UK-based betting firm has posted odds on the hairstyle that English captain David Beckham will sport for the tournament. The bet was obviously fashioned to appeal to the huge buzz that Becks’ faux Mohawk hairstyle created at the 2002 tournament. In addition to the Beckham bet, another popular novelty bet has been created to piggyback on English striker Peter Crouch’s wretched goal celebration. Crouch’s robot dance moves have set off a betting craze. The odds on him performing it once in the tournament are 2-1, 3-1 if he does it twice and 4-1 for three or more. Darkhorse Teams: Ukraine has had the good fortune to be placed in a relatively weak group with only Spain serving as the competition to win the group. Outside of Shevchenko and his innate talent to score, Ukraine also boasts offensive talent in Bayer Leverkusen’s Andriy Voronin and talented playmaker Ruslan Rotan. Ukraine got to the World Cup by way of knocking out Greece, Denmark and Turkey. If Ivory Coast were in another group other than the Group of Death with Holland, Argentina and Serbia & Montenegro they would be a heavy favourite to advance to the quarterfinal stage. Even with their scary group seeding I believe Ivory Coast has enough to surprise people and advance out of this group. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba led Ivory Coast to their first ever WC appearance by pumping in 9 goals in 10 qualifying games. Defensively this team is capable with two defenders (Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure) from Champions League finalists Arsenal. Finals Prediction: Brazil vs. Italy It’s all about avoiding a draw with Brazil. England would be wise to avoid finishing first in their group; otherwise a tough semifinal matchup against the South American powerhouse looms ahead. Also Italy needs to shake their habit of starting slow to win Group E because the runner up in Group E has to play Brazil in the first round of the knockout stage. I think Brazil will make the finals for obvious reasons. As for Italy they once again have the offensive, defensive and goaltending talent to pull it off; it’s just matter of putting it all together and playing a more assertive offensive game. Tourney Prediction:
Brazil vs. Italy - if I’ve correctly predicted it this far I’ll follow up with a proper finals preview.
Enjoy the beautiful game! |
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