Hello guys:
Although football soccer ain´t my world, watching only some World Cup matches every 4 years, and possibly going to the stadium for some UEFA match whenever i am in Europe, I can tell that to a large extent i agree with what I heard from a group of Argentinian sports comentators.
What they basically said is World Cups are becoming increasingly boring and more boring. (But as one of my German colleages here said while listening "they would not think like that if Argentina was the wolrd champion"). 8)
Two final games (USA 94 and Germany 2006) had to be decided via penalty shots. Something "unacceptable". There was a time when final games made adrenalizing events. They remembered the final game of Mexico 1970, when Brazil massacred the Italians 4-1 in the 90 minute time period. Spectacular. It was their interpretation teams "are becoming miserable", and that "offensive, attacking teams are endangered species".
The German national team, a fairly good team comprised only by unimpressive players, two of them being guys from Poland who are naturalized German citizens. He who should have been the "super-star" of the German team, a guy named Ballack, did not live up the expectations and went mostly unnoticed. Germany got initially placed in Group "A", comprised by teams which implied no obstacle for the hosts.
But, as i was told, this is customary in all world cups, the host receiving some initial
help; so i assume that for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the host team will be in Group "A" alongside Burkina Faso, Mianmar and Biafra. (if Biafra might appear as a fearsome opponent, then Swaziland can be an option).
Back to the German team, they got kicked out of the World Cup by the Italians, described by most comentators as "the most solid defensive in the world and numer 1 goalie". Undeniable that that italians clearly surpassed the Germans.
The British team, with
pop-star Beckham vomitting -i watched that game- before the 90 minute period (great athlete) made a flavourless participation; chav Rooney went unnoticed and got a red card when he squeezed the nuts of a poor portugese already lying on the field.
Furthermore, 32 teams qualified for the World Cup meant lots of crap allowed in. The Ukraine, for instance, a primitive team -exception made in the case of Schevchenko- which commenced the world cup receiving a huge cucumber in the butt, 4-0 against Spain, made their way through the quarter finals.
This comentators commented that if in your initial game in a world cup you get a 4-0 prescribed is like "having one leg outside the tournament". Who were the other 2 teams in the group? Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Helpful for the ukrainians.8)
Thank you for the infor Mr. Alder regarding the number of teams which have attended world cups. So what about 40 teams allowed eh?
It would be pretty much like lowering passing grades.
Also i learned the Swiss team got kicked out of the tournament with its goalie not having received one single goal! (Switzerland lost in penalty shots).
Brazil, a diametrically opposed team when compared with the German team, comprised mostly by world class-superstars, "killers" as some call them, made a somewhat boring team. Apparently when a national soccer team is comprised only by world super stars things will not work out.
Now, no one can deny the top quality that as a player Zinedine Zidane can display; still, no one will dare to deny the man ain´t very smart when pushed to the limits.
Whatever the italian punk might have said, i do not want to know how grave was it, if you react the way Zidane did,
in such a moment, then i can say your performance is wanting.
Being in the final game of the WORLD CUP, is the highest mountain to be climbed, the zenith in the mind of every professional soccer player, the ultimate goal.
If you lose control like that in such a critical moment (by the way, when France was putting heavy pressure on the italians! when they were keeping the upper hand!), when your national team needs you the most, then i would think it twice to use such player.
The best things i could keep from this world cup:
The organization which was superb (German made) and the fans.
The players and their teams, they can all go to hell.
cheers!