OLBG Sports Thread - World Cup 2010 (South African)

**OLBG Sports** · 06-06-10, 08:57 AM

**OLBG Sports** · 06-06-10, 08:59 AM

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 06:59 PM

Here we are, just a few days ahead of the 19th World Cup, the first to be held in Africa. Following on from Japan and Korea hosting the competition in 2002, and the US back in 1994, football is clearly no longer something to be enjoyed just by Europeans and Latinos - it has gone global. What chance for Australia, Russia, China or India to be hosting a World Cup in the future?

Can Someone New Win the World Cup?
The 19 World Cups to date have been dominated by a small number of countries, as can be seen in the chart and table. One of four countries: Argentina, Germany, Italy and, of course, Brazil has been in every final. Twelve of the past cups have been won by Germany, Italy and, naturally, Brazil. Of the remainder, Argentina and Uruguay have won two each, with England and France the only other winners. Is it time for one of the ‘smaller’ Europeans to succeed? Holland, Portugal or much fancied Spain? Probably tricky, if size and wealth have anything to do with it, as we will discuss below. What about the ‘new’ football world? Africa, Australia or Eastern Europe? I will discuss the key issues below.

I will post I small resume, from some persons who wrote about each National Teams who will play the World Cup. Enjoy...

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:01 PM

Algeria

The ‘Desert Fox’ Returns to World Football Arena

After two and a half decades in ‘hiding’, Les Fennecs (the ‘Desert Foxes’) have finally found their way back to the World Cup - and they may create an upset in Group C, which includes such strong contenders as England and the USA, as well as Slovenia.

Algeria has been one of the top performers in African football. The team currently ranks 31st in the FIFA rankings, behind arch-rivals Egypt (13), Cameroon (19), Nigeria (20) and Cote d’Ivoire (27). They have made regular appearances in the African Cup of Nations and won the cup in 1990 after beating Nigeria 1x0 in the finals. They have also qualified for the World Cup twice. In 1982, they stunned spectators when they beat West Germany 2x1 and Chile 3x2, but unfortunately did not make it through the first round. In 1986, the team did not do so well, and was eliminated in the first round.

In the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, Algeria finished first in its group and in the final went on to beat a strong Egyptian side to qualify. After the match in Cairo, a group of Egyptian supporters attacked the Algerian national team bus, sparking a diplomatic row between Egypt and Algeria, which eventually led Algeria to temporarily cut its natural gas supplies to Egypt.

Under the management of Rabah ‘the Cheik’ Saadane, Les Fennecs may be able to make it through to the second round, if they can beat Slovenia in their first match and manage at least to draw against the US in the last. They have a number of highly talented players, who are capable of changing the direction of the game at any time. For example, Antar Yahia, the backbone of the defence line, scored the critical goal against Egypt in the qualifiers. Subsequently, he was quoted as saying “I shot on the ground, (the keeper) caught it, I shot it up high, he caught it, and then I shot it where even the devil could not catch it”. Yahia was later voted Best Arab Player of the year. Likewise, the experienced midfielder, captain Yazid Mansouri, and the team’s highly talented playmaker Mourad Meghni (otherwise known as the ‘New Zidane’) will also pose a constant threat to their defending opponents.

By Ahmet Akarli

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:03 PM

Argentina

The 2010 World Cup

Despite being placed seventh in the latest FIFA World Ranking, Argentina is seen as a top contender in the 2010 World Cup, given the recognised world-class talent of its key players. Argentina is drawn with Greece, the Korean Republic and Nigeria, in Group B, which seems a much more accessible group than the challenging first-round groups that the country drew in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup tournaments.

The team is coached by the legendary Diego Maradona, and the main strength of the team is the vast international experience of its individual players, unmatched energy on the pitch, deep talent in every position, particularly in the attack, and the recent top form of its strikers. After almost a decade away from the game Maradona is now hoping to replicate as a coach his top achievement as a player when he led the team to victory in Mexico ’86. However, coach Maradona has also been the subject of intense criticism for not being able to extract convincing and consistent performances during the qualifying round from the national squad and from his main star player Lionel Messi. The challenge for the relatively inexperienced coach will be to integrate individual talent into a consistent and harmonious performing squad.

Argentina will open its World Cup campaign against Nigeria, the team that coach Maradona faced in his last world appearance as a player in the USA in 1994. Argentina won both group stage games between the two nations in the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, and prevailed by 1x0 to win the gold medal at the Olympic Football Tournament at Beijing 2008. A convincing victory against the Super Eagles could raise confidence and send a signal to its main rivals that Argentina wants to be playing in South Africa until July 11.

The team is hoping that the 22-year-old 2009 FIFA Player of the Year and Spanish League top scorer Lionel La Pulga (the Flea) Messi keeps up the dazzling performances shown in recent La Liga matches to lead the team to the ultimate soccer glory and strengthen his claim as the best soccer player ever. Messi is a 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup Champion and 2008 Olympic Football Tournament Gold Medal winner, who led Spain’s Barcelona to a record-breaking six titles in 2009, which included the UEFA Champions League, the Club World Cup and Spain's La Liga. But Messi is not alone, as he can count on a strong supporting cast of other gifted players, such as Carlos Tévez, Gonzalo Higuaín, Sergio Agüero, Javier Mascherano, Diego Milito, and veteran two-time South American Footballer of the Year Juan Sebastián Verón, just to name a few, to unnerve opponent defenders and goalies without the need of the helping ‘Hand of God’.

Argentina is a soccer power-house in the Americas, with 14 World Cup appearances (excluding 2010): it has hoisted the trophy twice (1978 and 1986) and finished runner-up twice more (1930, 1990). In addition, Argentina has won the Copa America (Continental Cup) a record 14 times (better than Brazil’s 8 wins) and won a gold medal in the Olympic Football Tournament in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. The rivalry with neighbouring soccer nation Brazil is incredibly intense, and the country comes to a virtual standstill when the two teams play. So far, in 66 head-to-head games the record is split in half: 33 victories and 23 draws for each side, with Argentina enjoying a slight lead of 143 to 137 on goals scored.

By Alberto Ramos

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:05 PM

Australia

Australia

The 2010 World Cup

In contrast to the outpouring of national pride four years earlier when Australia narrowly dispatched two-time World Cup winners Uruguay to qualify for its first World Cup since 1974, Australia’s progression through qualifying for the 2010 World Cup is best described as clinical and the national mood as expectant. Australia topped its Asian grouping after winning 6 of its 8 games, drawing the remaining 2 matches and conceding a solitary goal.

2006 proved to be a bitter-sweet experience for Australia. Losing to the eventual winner Italy saw Australia emerge as one of the biggest surprises of the 2006 campaign. However, the manner of the loss has not been forgotten. Australians unanimously believe a dive in the Australian box by Italian player Grosso saw Italy awarded a questionable penalty and a 0x1 score line at the 94thminute mark. Australians are much better prepared in 2010, with Russell Crowe seen in the Australian camp teaching the players to fall over convincingly and writhe in pain.

Australia’s first World Cup appearance in West Germany in 1974 was hardly an auspicious debut. Australia not only failed to win a game, it failed to score. In contrast, 2006 was a breakthrough year for the game in Australia. The Socceroos’ performance transformed the perception of soccer. Whereas previously, admitting that you liked soccer was akin to admitting that you had Abba on your iPod, suddenly it was considered an affront to your masculinity if you couldn’t name at least half the Australian side and discuss the intricacies of the off-side rule. Today, soccer in Australia is better organised, better funded, and better attended than ever. Australia’s current FIFA ranking of 20, compared with 44 heading into the last World Cup, is testimony to its progress. The dominant codes of AFL and rugby have been put on notice. Although 4 times as many people attend an AFL game as a soccer game, more Australians play soccer than any other code, and now more school-age children play soccer than AFL and Rugby combined. Perhaps this is why the alternative football codes are refusing to grant access to stadiums for Australia’s bid to host future World Cups!

By Tim Toohey

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:06 PM

Brazil

Brazil

The 2010 World Cup

Recently, FIFA has included other continents in the circle, with the aim of expanding the world of football. Asia hosted its first World Cup in 2002 (Japan/South Korea), when Brazil prevailed over Germany in the final. A neutral territory seems to have favoured Brazil's technique. Now it’s time for Africa to throw the party. Will it be another ‘neutral’ territory for either the Americans or the Europeans? More importantly, will that help the outcome as it did in Japan and Korea? The African teams are expected to perform well, as usually happens with teams from host continents, such as the case of South Korea in 2002. Despite not having a football tradition, the team made it to the semi-finals, beating Italy and other traditional teams.

I hope South Africa turns out to be a ‘neutral’ continent and favours Brazil as in 2002. The adversaries will have to work hard to make it this year, particularly because the ‘little yellow canary’ team will have home field advantage in 2014, as Brazil prepares to host the World Cup after six decades. We are setting up the mystical Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro to be the great stage for the final match.

Previous results lead us to be as optimistic about the team as we are about the economy. Under coach Dunga’s leadership, if not as fascinating as in our best days, the team has definitely showed resilience. Brazil has won every tournament it has entered since he started coaching the team in 2006, including the America’s Cup in 2007 and the Confederations Cup in 2009, and was placed first in the qualifiers for the World Cup in 2010. Under his command, Brazil has lost only five out of 53 games.

However, the consistent results seem not to have convinced most Brazilian fans. They look a little jealous of the form of Lionel Messi, the FIFA world’s most valuable player and shining star of our biggest rival, Argentina. Meanwhile, our stars, such as Kaka and Robinho, have not sparkled lately. In any case, apart from their rising star, the Argentine team has been as inconsistent as their economy in past years.

By Eduardo Paes

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:10 PM

Cameroon

The Class of 1990

Cameroon’s World Cup charge 20 years ago was African football’s coming of age. Although they were undefeated at the World Cup eight years earlier (three draws in the group stage meant they were edged out by Italy on goals scored), it was the opening game of Italia 1990 when nineman Cameroon made headlines by beating the reigning World Cup champions - Maradona’s Argentina - 1x0 in Milan. Nor did the fairytale end there: victory against Romania followed, which assured qualification to the second round. Colombia were brushed aside in the round of sixteen with two goals from 38-year-old Roger Milla. In the quarter-finals Cameroon led Bobby Robson’s England 2x1 before a couple of Gary Lineker penalties - the second in extra time - ended the dream. Although Cameroon have qualified for the tournament on three occasions since then (1994, 1998 and 2002), they have not managed to live up to the class of 1990: in fact, only one team from Sub-Saharan Africa has (Senegal in 2002 also made it to the quarter-finals).

So, can this year’s crop of players match - or even better - their predecessors of 20 years ago? There are good reasons to think that the Indomitable Lions can roar again:

1.Samuel Eto’o: The Inter Milan striker is one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the world. He has averaged almost one goal every two starts this season for Inter - an impressive record but one that pales into insignificance compared with the 30 goals in just 34 starts for Barcelona last season. He is the highest-ever scorer in the African Cup of Nations.

2.Manager Paul Le Guen: The Frenchman turned around Cameroon’s qualification bid - with only one point to show from their opening two games, he took charge, controversially gave the captaincy to Eto’o and went on to mastermind four consecutive wins to ensure qualification. With a mixed managerial record (leading Lyon to three consecutive League titles in France, but disappointing supporters’ expectations at Glasgow Rangers and PSG), Le Guen has a point to prove in this World Cup.

3.Cameroon is not just a one-man show: Achille Webo (Mallorca) may have the opportunity to nick several goals as defenders try to contain his famous strike partner. Tough-tackling mid-fielders Alex Song(Arsenal), Stephane Mbia (Marseille) and Jean Makoun(Lyon) are experts at breaking up the flow of the opposition’s play. Former captain Rigobert Song (formerly of Liverpool and West Ham, now of Turkish side Trabzonspor) adds World Cup experience to the back line. Geremi (formerly of Chelsea, now of Ankaragucu); and Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sebastian Bassong(both Tottenham Hotspur) play alongside R. Song in front of Espanyol’s keeper Idriss Kameni.

That said, there are a few reasons for caution. Cameroon faces one of the tournament favourites in the Netherlands in Group E. Their first two games, against tough opponents Denmark and Japan, will therefore be crucial to their chance of progressing. But even second place may not be good enough to equal the heroics of 1990: if all goes according to form in Group F, then Cameroon would play defending World Cup champions Italy in the last sixteen.

By Jonathan Pinder

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:12 PM

Chile

The 2010 World Cup

Chile is currently placed 15 in the latest FIFA World Ranking and will play in Group H alongside top contender Spain, Switzerland and Honduras. The key match will likely be against Spain on June 25 - its last at the group stage and a match that may well decide whether Chile advances to the knockout stages. However, a successful campaign will certainly demand a victory in the Latin American duel with Honduras in the opening match on June 16.

The team is coached by Argentine Marcelo Bielsa (for the third year), a firm believer in fast-paced attacking soccer who has gained the confidence of his young team. The aggressive style of play is anchored in centreforward Humberto (Chupete) Suazo, supported by wingers Mark González and the very skilled and inspired Alexis Sánchez. Suazo was top scorer in the South American qualifying tournament, with 10 goals. In midfield, special mention goes to young Matías Fernández for his smooth and creative style, and powerful shooting. The team is captained by goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Unfortunately, the team’s preparation for the World Cup was disrupted on February 27 by the massive earthquake and the ensuing tsunami, which led the team to cancel friendly matches scheduled for March. As such, a strong and inspired performance in South Africa byLa Roja (the Red) would be a wonderful gift to Chileans, now braced for the reconstruction effort.

The country qualified convincingly and in fine style for the 2010 World Cup, finishing a best-ever second among the 10 teams disputing the South America qualifying tournament. The team finished with a record of 10 wins (qualifying tournament best), 3 draws and 5 losses, trailing soccer powerhouse Brazil by just one point, while managing to finish ahead of Paraguay and Argentina. After failing to reach Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006, coach Bielsa led Chile to qualify with a forward - pressing, quick-passing and dazzling attacking style that delights fans and has delivered more wins away from home (5) than any other team in the qualifying tournament. The team scored a high 32 goals in the qualifying round, second only to Brazil’s 33.

Chile has made seven previous World Cup appearances, with is best performance a third-place finish in the 1962 World Cup. La Roja also secured a third-place finish at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Also, Humberto Suazo and a number of other young players in the current team took third place at the FIFA U-20 2007 Canada World Cup.

By Alberto Ramos

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:13 PM

Côte d'Ivoire

2010 World Cup - 3 into 2 doesn’t go!

Few can argue with the fact that Les Éléphants (The Elephants) find themselves in the toughest section of the World Cup draw. With Brazil and Portugal, Group G contains the 2nd and 4th FIFA ranked teams, and Côte d’Ivoire will have to secure a victory against one or other of them to progress beyond this phase. They must be cursing their luck, having drawn The Netherlands and Argentina in 2006. Although they exited the competition at the group stage last time, they did so only after losing by a single goal to both the higher-ranked teams, and with a creditable 3x2 victory over Serbia and Montenegro. The fact they scored in each of their three matches makes them the only team in World Cup history never to have been shut out of a game.

The intervening four years have seen Côte d’Ivoire climb from 32nd to an all-time high of 16th in the FIFA rankings. Since the turn of the year they have dropped back to 27th, due in large part to a relatively poor showing at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they were eliminated at the quarter-final stages by fellow World Cup qualifiers Algeria.

With players of the calibre of Drogba, Kalou, Eboué and the Touré brothers in the Ivorian starting eleven, the connoisseurs among us will be relishing the feast of attacking football in prospect, although expectations may need to be tempered with the arrival of a pragmatic European coach in the form of Sven-Göran Eriksson.

By Paul O’Connell

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:14 PM

Denmark

The 2010 World Cup

Like the rest of Europe, Denmark suffers from a serious demographics problem. The population is ageing, and a peculiar migration policy makes matters worse. Immigration is tightly controlled and those leaving the country to seek opportunities abroad are quickly shown the door if they flirt with anything but eternal
monogamous commitment to Denmark. At the same time, when Danes with great international careers behind them return home, they often receive a less than warm welcome. The one and only Michael Laudrup had great success with his old club on his return (Brøndby won the Danish Superliga championship in 2005) but internal disagreements led him to leave for Spain shortly after. Younger brother Brian went for the fine art of commenting on others’ performances, and possibly the greatest goalkeeper ever, Peter Schmiechel, turned his talents to the media, becoming a TV game show host.

With little immigration and under-employment for those returning, it is not surprising that Danish productivity has vastly underperformed the European average in recent years. And with wage developments running well ahead of productivity, Danish unit labour costs have developed in line with Southern Europe. Productivity needs to be boosted urgently to the labour force’s full potential if wages are not to be adjusted downwards.

To boost productivity, Denmark needs to rely on its large diaspora. In the short term, it’s up to Morten Olsen’s squad of internationals - the Olsen gang - to show the way; in the longer term, it’s up to the Danish parliament to realise that Denmark will succeed only if society embraces the new globalised society.

The key to greater Danish productivity begins and ends with Niklas Bendtner, who makes his living in London playing for Arsenal. As a striker, his 11 goals in 32 appearances for the national team since his debut in 2006 is sub-par, but his great potential is starting to show. In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Bendtner scored in both matches against Portugal (one of those earned him the ‘goal of the year’ award) and he assisted in Jakob Poulsen's goal when Denmark eliminated (arch-rival) Sweden. At club level, things have also taken shape recently. A series of goals, including one against Barcelona, contributed to Arsenal’s respectable run, making him Arsenal’s ‘player of the month’ in March.

But for Bendtner to live up to his potential he needs to be partnered and he needs to be fed. The three obvious candidates for this are Jon Dahl Thomasson of Feyenoord, Christian Eriksen of Ajax and Søren Larsen of Duisburg. Jon Dahl is a major scorer, but his recent trajectory has been the opposite of Bendtner’s, with only few goals to his name. Eriksen is one of the youngest national players ever and a very exciting prospect for the future - and maybe as soon as this summer. Meanwhile, Larsen has struggled to make an impact at club level, but don’t underestimate him - he has often been highly productive at the national level.

And who to feed the front men? The midfield - and in particular the wings - used to be the core of Denmark’s strength in the glory days in Sweden 1992 and France 1998. But that is in the past. The strongest card in mid-field now is Christian Poulsen of Juventus. He can both defend in front of the full-backs and has an impressive range of passing the ball up the pitch. Recently, Poulsen has operated very successfully as the play-maker in something resembling a ‘libero’ role. Meanwhile the wings have aged. Dennis Rommedal of Ajax could once do 100 metres in 10.7 seconds but it’s getting harder with age. Jesper Grønkjoer, once of Chelsea fame, remains impressive, but can he go for a whole match? In the middle, the single local guy, Jacob Poulsen of AGF, has shown beautiful promise, but he has been hampered by injuries.

The defence is marshalled by two promising centrebacks. Daniel Agger of Liverpool and recent star Simon Kjoer of Palermo reign supreme both on the ground and in the air. Behind them they have experienced (although currently injured) keeper Thomas Sørensen of Stoke. Sørensen holds a particularly strong record on penalties. Morten Olsen could end up playing William Kvist, of local FCK, and Michael Lumb of FC Zenith Sankt Petersborg, to complete the back four.

The disconnect between pay and productivity in recent years has led Denmark to a fork in the road. Hopefully, the two will be reconnected via higher productivity rather than via lower wages. Olsen has been charged with designing the first stage of this strategy, and Bendtner and the rest of the Olsen gang need to deliver the goods in South Africa. PM Lykke Rasmussen has been charged with the task of converting the success of this international squad of Danish passport holders into higher productivity back home in Denmark.

By Erik F. Nielsen

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:15 PM

England

The 2010 World Cup

So an England football team goes out to the World Cup finals having qualified well but not so well that anyone genuinely thinks it can win; it is led by a well-reputed foreign manager; its one truly world-class performer, Wayne Rooney, has hurt his ankle but is hoped (with some nervousness) to be fit in time for the first game; the qualifying campaign has left unresolved the question of who should lead the midfield, Gerrard or Lampard; and the team lacks a left-footed attacking player.

Have four years really passed since the last World Cup?

In that time we’ve had the tail end of a boom in credit markets, the biggest financial crisis in a century, a severe global recession, an extraordinary and unprecedented easing in monetary policy, a roller-coaster of a ‘V’ in equity markets, record-high fiscal deficits...and countless else besides.

Yet amid all this turmoil the problems and preoccupations of the England football are quite unchanged, almost reassuringly so.

What can we say of England’s prospects? The qualifying group is gentler than most. That’s not to say England can’t lose - in fact, the World Cup wouldn’t be the World Cup without a significant number of English scares/defensive errors/last-minute goals in the early stages. But while the US, Algeria and Slovenia certainly offer dangers, England should progress from the group.

If they do so as winners, they’d then be up against whoever comes second in Group D (Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana). Australia? Tasty. England’s done them in the last two Rugby World Cups, in two of the past three Ashes series and would fancy themselves against Australia in a football contest too (Aussies, that bit’s for you).

Sadly, it’s more likely to be Ghana or Serbia (Aussies, that too is for you). Thereafter, with the oxygen getting a little bit thinner, it might be Nigeria or France in the quarters, and if you manage to get past them.....Brazil-in the-semis-it’s-all-over-never-mind-let’s-go-to-the-pub-see-you-in four-years.

Would that leave England fans satisfied? Filled as they are more with hope than expectation, yes it probably would. And look at the positives - at least the general election campaign will be over before the World Cup and we don’t have to have politicians telling us how much they care about the team.

By Ben Broadbent

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:16 PM

France

It All Started with a Hand... (or, Why This Should be a Section on Ireland)

For the 2010 World Cup, France will remain forever indebted to the Republic of Ireland, which was denied a place in the final qualification round on account of a controversial goal. Very late in extra time, Thierry Henry touched (controlled?) the ball with his hand before passing it on for the goal that secured France's qualification to South Africa. While the fault was obvious to absolutely everyone, the referee did not see it and allowed the goal to stand.

Anyhow, whichever way one looks at it, this is a curse. France will bear the burden of shame all through the World Cup. The optimist might say that it is only a game, and that this unfortunate event could actually end up being conducive to the development of intra Euro-zone solidarity beyond national borders (the French press published lots of comments showing compassion for the Irish following the event). The pessimists will instead blame France for a very Machiavellian way of achieving its ends by any means (see, for example, the emblematic quote of Henry: “Of course there is a hand, but we've qualified”). The Euro-sceptics may claim that if Greece mishandled its public accounts and France handled the ball in the World Cup qualifiers, then the Euro-zone is built on a bunch of dubious countries and shaky values -
and that the Euro’s days (the currency, not the championship) are numbered.

One thing remains true: the French team has a lot of work to do by June, although with the benefit of hindsight anything can happen. Since 1998, France’s football records on the international scene have been irregular, with a miserable outcome at Euro 2008 contrasting with a high-spot in 2006 when the country ended up disputing the World Cup final to become vice champion, defeated 5x3 by Italy in a penalty shootout. Ironically, though, in 2006 just as this year, France did struggle in the qualifiers. Another parallel: the team was greeted with low expectations as the tournament began. Unfortunately, the parallel stops there. At the time, Domenech was able to persuade a few talented players from the golden days (Makélélé, Thuram, Zidane) to come back and help the team qualify. In fact, Zidane was once again absolutely crucial, scoring or making key passes at every step of the knockout rounds. This option is no longer there.

Nostalgia: ‘Once Upon a Time in 1998…’
As suggested, recent records have not been too thrilling. Excluding the unprecedented 1998 victory and the 2006 vice-championship, France was never really placed in the very top league level (it currently ranks 10th in the FIFA classification and 4th among European clubs). With the (notable) exceptions of Marseilles, Bordeaux and Lyon, French clubs tend to struggle to reach the level of their UK, Italian or Spanish counterparts. It is no surprise that the most talented French players, such as Henry at Barcelona, Ribéry at Bayern Munich, Anelka for Chelsea, Gallas for Arsenal and Evra at Manchester United, are playing in clubs abroad. Likewise, it is symptomatic that the country fails to retain its best players in the football sphere once they retire - for example, Eric Cantona, one of the best-ever French players, was fully recognised as such in the UK but not in France (he never played in a World Cup), and now devotes most of his time to acting in movies and theatre.

By Natacha Valla

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:17 PM

Germany

The 2010 World Cup

Based on current form, it is hard to see the German national team progressing far in South Africa. But then again, German teams often don’t look like real contenders on paper, but then go on to do a lot better than expected. The German expression for this phenomenon is Turniermannschaft (literally ‘tournament team’), meaning a squad that rises to the occasion, getting better game by game. And it is this phenomenon, which has been proven to work time and again in the past, on which the hopes of the German team rest.

The weakest link in the 2010 team is probably in the forward positions: the starting line-up of Klose, Gomez and Podolski have had a rather disappointing performance during the current season in their respective clubs. Other strikers who have done much better over recent months seem not to have gained the confidence of coach Löw. It remains to be seen whether the spirit of the Turniermannschaft can work its magic here again.

One development that could benefit the German team is that fact that the German players from Bayern Munich will have played in the Champions League final. This is certainly good preparation for the World Cup stage (even more so if Bayern should win the Champions League).

All in all, the German team may have a small chance of winning the tournament but it will certainly make the most of that chance.

By Dirk Schumacher

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:19 PM

Ghana

The 2010 World Cup

Ghana is a nation of firsts. It was the first African nation to regain independence in 1957, the first Sub-Saharan nation, after South Africa, to issue a Eurobond, the first African country to win an Olympic medal in football, and the first to qualify from Africa for the 2010 World Cup. With the help of revenues from the recently discovered oil, Ghana hopes to become one of the first Sub-Saharan emerging markets. Already, some of its institutions place Ghana in the premier league but only a sustained change will make Ghana a new EM champion. More importantly, and given its ambitions, will Ghana be the first African country to win the World Cup?

Football is the most popular sport in the country and the Black Stars, Ghana’s national team, have won or reached the finals of the top African football championships. Although the Stars lost some shine in the 1990s, they were the first African team to win an Olympic medal in football (bronze, 1992 in Barcelona). In the 2006 World Cup, Ghana, the only African country, reached the round of 16. Sadly, the team known earlier as the ‘Brazil of Africa’ was beaten by the Brazilians themselves. The tide turned in October 2009 when the junior team - again, Africa’s first - won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after defeating Brazil 4-3 in a penalty showdown. Youth should help the Ghanaians in this World Cup as well, as the average age
of the players is below 25.

It will be a testing day for the team’s Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac when Ghana plays its first match against Serbia, but it will be more of a test for the players when they spar against the Socceroos, and later face the German football machine. Although the team has fallen in the FIFA ranking, the Stars have a good chance of delivering a positive surprise in 2010 under the leadership of Stephen ‘Tornado’ Appiah. The experience Chelsea’s midfielder Michael ‘the Bison’ Essien, Sulley Muntari (Internazionale), Asamoah Gyan (Rennes) and Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda) should strengthen Ghana’s attacks, while John Mensah (Sunderland), John Paintsil (Fulham) and Richard Kingson (Wigan Athletic) should help defend Ghana’s dream of being ‘first’ again.

By Magdalena Polan

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:20 PM

Greece

The 2010 World Cup

Will Greece be able to repeat a miracle? In 2004 a team of young, ambitious Greek football players guided by coach Otto Rehhagel took Europe by storm, winning the Euro Cup in a streak of shocking and surprising victories. Their speed, passion and attitude were the key components of success. And they may have been accused of playing ‘destructive’ football due to their rock-solid defence but they have also provided one of the biggest upsets in European football history, which reminded fans of the beauty of the sport.

Can they do it again in 2010? The team’s core composition and philosophy has not changed much. What
has changed is that a lot of the protagonists of the surprise in 2004 are just older, more saturated and less
explosive in their play. Otto Rehhagel’s philosophy remains result-oriented but other coaches have a good
grasp of that by now. In addition, Greece has to face Argentina and Nigeria in the qualifying groups, making the task of qualifying really hard (incidentally, they also had to face Argentina and Nigeria in their only prior World Cup appearance in 1994 - a catastrophic performance back then).

Football is arguably the Greek national sport and the sport of choice among the local youth. Greece may be much more successful in basketball but much smaller successes in football are celebrated more broadly and vividly by the people.

Unfortunately, professional football in Greece is plagued by chronic problems of corruption, low budgets, bad quality football fields in the periphery, perpetual dominance of (mainly) Athens and (less so) Salonika based teams, ungenerous sponsors and a lack of professional structure/organisation in many football clubs, which are often heavily indebted to the government.

Young talent is rarely well developed and Greek players rarely succeed to play leading roles in strong, non-Greek clubs. And Greek clubs typically have very limited ambition in pan-European competitions.

By Themistoklis Fiotakis

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:21 PM

Honduras

The 2010 World Cup

After 28 years since its last appearance, Honduras returns to play in the World Cup for the second time. The road to South Africa was dramatic. On the last day of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches, in order for Honduras to qualify it had to defeat El Salvador and the United States had to tie or win against Costa Rica. Honduras won against El Salvador 1x0 and then waited for the US result against Costa Rica, which was leading by one goal. With a last-second equalising header, the US tied with Costa Rica, sending an utterly euphoric Honduras to the World Cup.

Ranked 40th in the latest FIFA world ranking, Honduras will play against Chile, Spain and Switzerland in Group H. Once again La Bi-Color will play against Spain, as it did in 1982 when it put in a respectable performance tying with the host 1x1. This time it will be a different Spain, ranked second by FIFA and one of the favourites to win the Cup. Key for Honduras to advance to the round of sixteen will be a victory against Chile.

The country’s passion for football is unrivalled in any other sport. In the midst of a serious political crisis,
Hondurans set aside their differences on the qualifying night, October 13, and filled the streets in celebration. The interim president declared a national holiday on October 14.

The Honduran national squad will be led by its Europeanbased players. Playing in the Italian Serie A league are David Suazo, Genoa forward (formerly of Inter Milan), and Edgar Alvarez, Bari midfielder. Playing in the English Premier league are Wilson Palacios, Tottenham midfielder, Maynor Figueroa, left back, and Hendry Thomas, midfielder, both playing for Wigan. Giving them crucial guidance will be the head coach, Colombian-born Reinaldo Rueda, who was nationalized after leading La Bi-Color to World Cup qualification.

By José Mahomar

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:22 PM

Italy

Challenge for the Champs

As title-holders with a history of success as underdogs, Italy should never be dismissed in any football event.

Still, the feeling among ‘experts’ and local fans – the writers did their share of local due diligence across a fair sample of supporters—is that in South Africa the Azzurri will hardly be up to their 2006 glory.

To put it bluntly, the words that spring to mind are not ‘onwards and upwards’ but rather ‘sideways’ or, even worse, ‘let's hope we get through to the qualifiers’. And this view is not only dictated by the usual talisman to ward off bad luck.

It should be traced back firstly to a lack of fresh new native talent, then to a slightly debatable insistence by our coach, Mr Lippi, on drawing players from the past great championship, and lastly to the form of our players.

It is also worth noting that many Italians feel a little ‘surprised’ that the team will mostly be made up of
Juventus players, a team with a glorious past but a rather mediocre present. Juventus has always been seen in a very binary way: Italians either love it or hate it. As writers, we have a neutral stance on this issue.

And it’s a pity that Internazionale - which is playing an aggressive and very successful game (and whatever you readers think, this is thanks to Mou) - only has a couple of Italians in its team (the old Materazzi and the young and promising Santon, now injured), and they are struggling to be among the starters.

Sadly, this also applies to other teams at the top of the league.

But before entering into details, let's not forget that our country remains a totally football-loving nation and passion will run as high as ever.

We mentioned before the lack of talented young players. As a matter of fact, we do have some extremely gifted players (sort of ‘Rooneys’ for the English readers). Unfortunately, they are at the bottom of Mr Lippi's list of preferences.

One is Balotelli (Inter), and for those of you who saw the final 20 minutes of Inter vs Barça, the reason is selfevident. Not exactly a model of composure.

The second is the (now less) ebullient Cassano (Sampdoria).

The third is Miccoli (Palermo), whose amazing talent has matured in the last few years in Portugal and Sicily (and who recently famously bought Maradona’s earring at an Italian Inland Revenue Agency auction - so that he could give it back to Diego).

Either because of their attitude or because of Lippi's firm stance, we doubt we will see them playing in South Africa. As football purists, the writers are somewhat displeased.

What about our former 2006 winners, you may ask, would they be up to the task?

Owing to age, current form, injuries or a bad club season (read Juventus), it looks increasingly more difficult by the day. Let’s be a bit more analytical….

Defence
Buffon and Chiellini are both probably among the best three in the world in their role, but they are both emerging from a season that has been difficult due to personal injuries (especially Buffon) and horrible for their team. The remaining three-fifths of the defence department (Zambrotta, 2006 Player of the Year Cannavaro, 2006 World Cup ‘hero’ Grosso) is a pale shadow of its former self.

Midfield
De Rossi, now more ‘cool-headed’ (out for most of the 2006 World Cup after being shown a red card), is a high quality-quantity guarantee. Pirlo’s first class is not under discussion but in the last couple of years he has lacked consistency. The rest of the picture is pretty grim, and in particular is missing quality on the wings (once again, as is the case for most Juventus players, Camoranesi currently bears little resemblance to the brilliant player we knew). Positive surprises could come from the relatively young and fresh Montolivo and Marchisio.

Forwards
Lippi likes to play with one central striker (Borriello and Toni are the alternatives to the untouchable Gilardino) and two wide wings with running skills (able to help midfield). Di Natale has good technique and perfect form (24 goals so far in Serie A!).

Coach Lippi
He has shown he can be a fearsome winner (5 Serie A titles + 1 Champions + 3 Champions finals in two different cycles with Juventus and, of course, the emotional ‘Campioni del Mondo’ title in 2006). He has immense faith in the ‘team’ and his gratitude to the now old and ‘not-so-in-form’ 2006 team will possibly be fatal in this new achievement.

Last, but not least, it is worth mentioning that Totti, Roma's captain, has refused to commit to the World Cup. He will give his best in the league, as Roma is one point ahead of Inter in our exciting end of season final. Maldini, 43, has already retired. The world will miss them both.

Given that football is as unpredictable as FX (with the exception of USDJPY, which is more unpredictable - your authors have been involved in this magic asset class for decades!), anything can happen. We hope for the best and are prepared for the worst.

But what about a silver lining after all this gloomy subjective analysis? Yes, there is a silver lining as far as Italy is concerned.

Even though we may actually disappoint in June in our beloved sport, Italy is doing very well economically.

This is surprising and exciting: Italy, we read everywhere, is actually an EXAMPLE for Southern
Europe!

Maybe ‘example’ is a bit rich but thanks to great savings and cautious attitudes, good choices by our government and a reasonably solid banking system, we have come through the credit crunch reasonably unscathed.

Great news for people who traded the Lira in 1992, like your writers!

Growth will be anaemic though. But that's why we have the best red wines in the world: to fight anaemia.

FORZA AZZURRI...

By Luca, Alessandro, Andrea

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:24 PM

Japan

Football is Thriving, Despite the Weak Economy

Despite the litany of things that Japan has to be depressed about - deflation, demographics, deficits and (yet another) lost decade - fortunately, the football economy in Japan is doing quite well, and appears to be following the high growth Japan pattern of the 1960s and 1970s.

After developing a competitive domestic market, Japan is exporting more and more football talent overseas, where they are becoming globally competitive and a source of great pride at home. Naysayers who equate Japan’s current economic troubles with their likely performance in the 2010 World Cup may be surprised at the outcome.

Japan’s football economy, known as the J-League, has seen impressive growth since 1996 (when the consumption tax was raised to 5%, hindering growth in both the football and overall economy).

J-League attendance (Exhibit 1) has grown at an impressive CAGR of 8% from 1996-2009, compared with Japan’s GDP CAGR of 0.5% over the same period. The CAGR of J-League revenue has been slightly lower (6.0%), reflecting Japan’s deflationary environment. This growth in the football economy is more analogous to the 1963-1976 period in Japan, which included the watershed economic and sports event of that period (the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics), than to the current difficult period (Exhibit 2).

Along with the rapid rise of the Japanese football economy, there are other excellent reasons to be optimistic about the performance of the Japanese team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup:

1. 2010 will be the fourth consecutive World Cup appearance for the ‘Samurai Blue’, as the team has been nicknamed.

2. Five national team players are currently playing for top European teams.

3. Set-piece specialist Shunsuke Nakamura is a true international, having played in Italy, Scotland, Spain and Japan.

4. Striker Takayuki Morimoto, who made his professional debut before he was 16 years old and now plays for Catania in Serie A, has been compared to a young Ronaldo.

Japan is in Group E with the Netherlands, Cameroon and Denmark, all of whom sport higher world rankings than Japan (despite much smaller populations and economies). The Netherlands, ranked #4 in the world, will probably be the favourite, which may make Japan’s matches against Cameroon and Denmark the swing factors as far as advancing into the knockout round.

Japan’s previous best showing was a place in the round of 16 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which it co-hosted with Korea, losing in the first game of the knockout stage to eventual third-place Turkey.

By Christopher Eoyang and Chiwoong Lee

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:25 PM

Korea DPR

The 2010 World Cup

North Korea surprised the world in the 1966 England World Cup by beating Italy and advancing to the last eight. That performance stood for 36 years as the best by any Asian team until broken by South Korea in 2002. However, the feat will be very difficult to repeat in South Africa. North Korea, qualified to play in the main tournament for the first time since 1966, belongs to one of the two ‘groups of death’, Group G, where five-time world champions Brazil, European heavyweights Portugal and African powerhouses Côte d’Ivoire contend for the 2nd round.

The Chollima (long-distance running horse) warriors are well known for their fighting spirit and resolute defence. Their teamwork is strong - they have been training together since early 2008. However, the lack of international experience could act as a big drag, easily costing them the second round. That said, it may be unwise to bet on that. The team has already defied sizeable odds with their success in qualifying, and could live up to their reputation as a dark horse in football history. Also, it isn’t easy to play against a team you don’t know much about.

Football is one of the most popular sports in North Korea. Soccer teams are organised at provincial level, and compete in three national leagues every year. The government supports football as a potential hard currency earner, as well as a means of advancing its political agenda.

One third of the squad is expected to come from the overseas contingent. Prolific forward, Japan-based Daesae Chung could be the hope for North Korea. Yongcho Hong of Rostov is most likely to captain the team. Other overseas players include a Japan-born midfielder, Younghak Ahn (Omiya Ardija), and Kukjin Kim (Swiss FC Ville). Among the domestic squad, watch out for In Guk Mun, an agile midfielder with a solid technique. Myung-kuk Ri is a safe hand that North Korea can rely on as goalie. Coach Jong-Hun Kim, only 10 years old when the Chollima made history in 1966, is hoping that his squad can repeat that performance.

By Goohoon Kwon

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:26 PM

Korea Republic

The 2010 World Cup

The ‘Red Devils’ are determined to advance into the second round this time around, hoping to repeat their stunning success in 2002 when they reached the semifinals. In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Korea narrowly conceded the second-round ticket to France and Switzerland, despite scoring 4 points.

While the favourites in Group B are Argentina and Nigeria, Korea has a good chance of making it to the round of 16 and, with much luck, possibly to the quarterfinals as well. No one should count out Korea, given its passionate local support, synergies from Koreans playing in European leagues and the momentum from the Vancouver Olympics (6 gold medals).

South Korea is indisputably the strongest team in Asia. It was the first to represent Asia at the World Cup (1954), and is the first and only Asian country to reach the semi-finals (2002). It is also the most frequent Asian visitor to the World Cup (the 7th consecutive entry in the tournament).

Such feats would have been impossible without passionate local soccer fans and the active sports marketing of auto and tech exporters. Hyundai and Kia Motors are the only major global car manufacturers to sustain long-term sponsorship of FIFA (2007-2014). Samsung and LG electronics are busy contracting star players for advertisements. And a number of Korean banks are promising a deposit rate premium should Korea advance to the second round.

Synergies with Koreans playing in European teams will be vital. Ji-sung Park at Manchester United is a multifunctional warrior, almost sure to join the national team. Agile and fast striker Chu-young Park, playing with AS Monaco, is probably equally qualified. Other key overseas players include Young-pyo Lee at Al-Hilal, Chung-yong Lee at Bolton Wanderers and Sung-yong Ki at Celtic. But only coach Jung-Moo Huh knows who will take the plane to South Africa.

By Goohoon Kwon

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:27 PM

Mexico

The 2010 World Cup

After experiencing a tough qualifying campaign, Mexico’s soccer team (also know as El Tri) landed in Group A, one of the toughest groups in the World Cup. Together with Group G, Group A is one of the two ‘groups of death’ in 2010. On June 11, Mexico will open the World Cup with a game against the host, South Africa; it then faces two former World Champions, Uruguay and France.

If Mexico manages to come second in Group A, it will play against the winner of Group B, which will most likely be Argentina; if Mexico comes first in Group A, it will play against the team placed second in Group B, probably Nigeria. If it then proceeds to the quarter-final, it will probably meet Germany, with England its next likely hurdle. Therefore, we don’t think it will be in South Africa that Mexico makes it beyond the quarter-finals.

Since the return of former coach Javier Aguirre (El Vasco) in mid-2009, the Mexican team has improved significantly. El Vasco has boosted team character and drive by blending the experience of some old-timers from his team in 2002, such as Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Rafa Márquez, with the youth of rising stars such as Ochoa, Giovani dos Santos, Vela, Guardado and Juárez. El Vasco not only led Mexico to the World Cup, but his team has also won eleven and tied five of its last 20 matches.

Mexicans are crazy about soccer, and together with baseball it is by far the most popular sport in Mexico.
The squad ranks 17th in the FIFA’s world table. El Tri has a long tradition in international soccer. With an appearance ratio nearing 75%, El Tri is a World Cup regular: it has competed in 13 previous World Cups. But the team has never advanced beyond the quarter-finals, which it has reached twice: when it hosted the World Cup in 1970 and in 1986. That said, El Tri has advanced to at least the round of 16 in the past four World Cups. This improvement is largely down to the talent and experience that its players have acquired in the major European leagues, as in the case of Rafa Márquez for Barça.

By Paulo Leme

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:28 PM

Netherlands

Oranje - Boom or Bust

“The intellectualisation of football has always foundered on a simple problem - the players. Doing all your most rewarding thinking with your feet seems to dull the philosophical impulse. Unless, of course, you are Dutch. According to legend, Europeans played a moronic, muscular version of the world's game, until Holland proclaimed its vision of total football in the1974 World Cup, and enlightenment dawned." Brilliant Orange: the Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football

It doesn’t take a genius to see that the Netherlands, ranked number 4 by FIFA, have it fairly easy in the group stage where they are pitched against Denmark, Cameroon and Japan. Holland has ranked well above these three countries continuously since the summer of 2002, when Holland briefly dropped below Denmark. Thus, the Netherlands should win Group E comfortably. Japan and Cameroon are the potential flies in the ointment given their track record of providing upsets at World Cups.

Thereafter the omens are at least favourable. The Netherlands is the only team to have got through (admittedly easy) the qualifying stage without dropping any points. The last team to achieve that was West Germany in 1982 and they went on to reach the final. If the Netherlands does top Group E, they are likely to face Paraguay in the first round of the knock-out stages, but after that it gets tougher, with Spain or Brazil the next potential challengers in the quarters.

In charge of getting the Netherlands to the top spot is coach Lambertus ‘Bert’ van Marwijk, who took over from van Basten after the disappointing UEFA Euro 2008 campaign. His record so far has been impeccable - one loss in 18 matches, to Australia.

One of van Marwijk’s biggest challenges is not so much the opposition, but encouraging the Dutch team to convert penalties after years of choking in front of the goal mouth. However, the Dutch have come up with a scientific method to deal with this aspect of the team’s neurosis - ‘wallop’ the ball. Eye specialist Jan ten Napel notes that most players can hit the ball at about 100km/hr. At this speed it takes the ball just 0.4 of a second to reach the goal line. However, it takes four hundredths of a second for an image to register in the brain, it takes the goalie 0.2 of a second to decide where the ball is going and another 0.25 of a second to react, thus giving the ball a firm wallop means that the penalty will be scored before the goalie can do anything about it.

Van Marwijk’s key men include goalkeeper Stekelenburg, with van Bronckhurst and Andre Ooijer in defence. Wesley Sneijder in midfield and van Persie and Robben in attack. While van Persie is recovering from injury, he is tipped by many as a potential Golden Boot winner and will be crucial if the Oranje are to shake off their status as perennial underperformers, and even more so if the Netherlands has a chance of winning the World Cup, as the nation expects.

By Fiona Lake

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:29 PM

New Zealand

The 2010 World Cup

Known more for hobbits, idyllic scenery and brutes in black jerseys crashing into one another on the rugby field than skills with the round ball, New Zealand has come storming back onto the world stage of soccer - well, at least sidled through the back door. For only the second time, NZ clinched a ticket to the World Cup finals with a1x0 victory over Bahrain in front of a packed house at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium.

In this rugby-mad nation, the ‘All Whites’ have stolen the hearts of many, just as they did back in 1982 when they first qualified for this prestigious event. Prime Minister John Key himself has agreed to become patron of their World Cup campaign. But with a world ranking of 78, it is fair to say that the chances of NZ progressing past the first round, or even securing a point from their pool matches, will be an immense challenge.

Recent successes aside, soccer still fails to grab the media headlines week in, week out, as its rugby cousin does. This seems unlikely to change any time soon given that rugby is more a part of the NZ psyche than anything else (NZ is hosting the Rugby World Cup next year). Yet, there is little doubt the future for NZ soccer is looking brighter.

The past 12 months have arguably been the most successful in NZ’s football history. While the 1982 World Cup qualification is still fondly remembered by many, largely because of the effort it took to get there (a then-record 15 qualification games), it has been the numerous successes of teams on the international stage over the past 12 months that have delivered the plaudits. The All Whites won their first-ever point at the 2009 Confederations Cup, Auckland City finished fifth in the FIFA Club World Championship, the Wellington Phoenix qualified for the play-offs for the first time in the Australia A-League, and there were a number of successes at age-group levels for both men and women.

In a relative sense, we are still a soccer-minnow, yet we appear to be doing something right. There is also a confidence that these achievements can continue, particularly with the associated financial benefits that success on the world stage brings.

By Philip Borkin

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:31 PM

Nigeria

Can the Super Eagles Signal the Rise of the N-11?

Along with Mexico and Korea, Nigeria carries the hopes of the N-11 into this World Cup championship. A win here for Nigeria (not favored by bookies or pundits!) would be a further sign of the rise of this important economic group.

Africa’s World Cup teams are never hot tips for the winners, but always among the most entertaining wild cards. Bags of talent and potential, lots of energy and excitement but sometimes lacking the discipline and organization of the ultimate winners - a story fitting perhaps for the challenges both for Nigeria’s team and its economy.

Having missed out on Germany 2006, the Super Eagles will have something to prove and will be hoping for some of the giant-killing that made them feared and respected in 1994 (when they beat eventual semi-finalist Bulgaria in the first round) and 1998 (when they stunned the Spanish). Take note Argentina, the favorites in their first-round group in South Africa and their first match-up!

The team had a rocky road to qualifying and in the Africa Cup earlier this year, so will need to show greater determination and consistency in the summer. They have the potential for plenty of goal scoring with a fast attack anchored by Martins, Aiyegbeni and Odemwingie. Captain Joseph Yobo (of Everton) - freshly married to a former Miss Nigeria a few months ago - will anchor the defence. February brought them a new coach Lars Lagerback, formerly a long-standing coach for Sweden. (As an Englishman, I think some warning that Swedish coaches do not solve all problems is necessary.)

Their youth teams have continued to be impressive, winning the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. With one of the youngest populations in the world (the median age is around 18 compared with 44 in Japan!), that too may be a pointer for the future.

By Dominic Wilson

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:32 PM

Paraguay

The 2010 World Cup

Paraguay finished third in the South America Conmebol qualifying round, ending the tournament ahead of Argentina, and only one point below the leader Brazil. Placed in Group F, Paraguay’s first match in the World Cup (on June 14) is against Italy; it then plays debutant Slovakia and lastly New Zealand. Given that Italy is the favorite to win Group F, Paraguay will probably need to beat Slovakia in order to qualify to the round of 16.

Paraguay will likely rank second in Group F, so would play against the winner of Group E, most likely the Netherlands. If so, it will probably be eliminated once again from the round of 16. If Paraguay wants to move on to the quarter-finals, it would have to defeat Italy to rank first in Group F, in order to meet either Denmark or Cameroon from Group E. However, the challenge would then be even bigger, as the team would then come up against Spain, Portugal or Côte d'Ivoire.

In January 2010, the Paraguayan squad was hit by a tragedy: Salvador Cabañas, the team’s fierce striker, was shot in the head at a scuffle in a night club in Mexico City. Against all the odds, Cabañas recovered, leaving intensive care in February. Although his return to soccer remains uncertain, coach Geraldo Martín is still counting on Cabañas to play in South Africa.

Paraguayans love soccer, and the entire nation dresses up in their national colors when the national team
‘Albirroja’ plays. Ranked 30 in the latest FIFA World rankings, Paraguay will be competing in its fourth consecutive World Cup. Although the soccer team has improved steadily, Paraguay reached the round of 16 only in 1986, 1998 and 2002, and has never advanced beyond that stage in the seven times it has appeared in the World Cup.

Paraguay plays a defensive soccer, relying on counterattacks and aerial game for its strikers to surprise its opponents. Paraguay will miss its ace striker Cabañas, but the team still has several renowned international stars, who play in Mexico and Europe. This includes strikers Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City), Oscar Cardoso (Benfica) and Nelson Valdez (Borussia Dortmund).

By Luis Cezario

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:33 PM

Portugal

An Idyllic Stop on the Road to Jo’burg

On a quiet midsummer’s evening, a tourist passing through Lisbon on her way to South Africa is delighting in the capital city’s treasure trove of cultural and historical landmarks. As she wanders into the majestic Jerónimos Monastery - described by local guides as the most impressive symbol of Portugal's power and wealth during the Age of Discovery - she learns that the monks who lived there were charged with the spiritual guidance of sailors, and that Vasco da Gama and his crew spent their last night in the continent in the hermitage that stood there, praying before leaving for India. The balanced and exquisite architecture of the place overwhelms her senses, and yet simultaneously fills her with nostalgia, as if she had known the place all along but somehow forgotten about it.

Leaving the Monastery behind, she continues on to the Discovery Monument, where she finds a total of 33 figures carved in stone, representing royalty and missionaries, explorers and cartographers, writers, artists and scientists, all looking up to the sky and out to the sea. At the sight of the monument, all the thoughts running through her mind will converge into a moment of clarity, and after only a short time in this land of seafarers, she suddenly understands its essence: it is a country overflowing with energy, boldness and determination, one where citizens embrace their history and traditions, and yet are not afraid to venture beyond their peninsula, unleashing their energy and optimism on the broader world.

When the Portuguese football side head for South Africa this summer, they will carry with them the same brave predisposition that made their country great 500 years ago. Forget about size or demographic considerations, or about its chequered recent economic performance – all that is irrelevant. The Portuguese - with national footballers as their emissaries - consider the globe their playground, and their World Cup adversaries (Côte d’Ivoire, Brazil and North Korea) as sparring partners in a friendly game on the grass. It is this casual and fearless attitude that makes them fearsome - the team reached the finals of the European Championships they hosted in 2004, and clawed their way to the semis in the last World Cup. While they flirted with elimination in the qualifying round of this World Cup, in the end they battled through the play-off stage and secured a spot, showing that single-minded determination is the most important asset, on and off the pitch.

The side oozes with quality players, from the most expensive one in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, to the more affordable but still sublime Pepe, Nani, Simão and Deco: “with the players we have, I don’t see any team stronger than us”, said the latter recently. Like the explorers of long ago, they know no borders, playing in teams across Europe. Their coach, Carlos Queiroz, epitomizes the country’s international flair: he was born in Mozambique, just around the corner from South Africa, and has had managerial roles in Manchester United, Real Madrid, United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Portugal.

While Queiroz’s familiarity with the host nation and its environment may help him find the best restaurants and nightclubs for his players, it will not guarantee them a reason to celebrate at the group stage. His squad will be hard-pressed to finish ahead of powerhouse Brazil in the group stage, meaning a likely collision course with Spain (the #2 ranked team in the world) in the round of 16. Should they overcome this leviathan, the wave of confidence might just be enough to carry them into the final and onto football’s ultimate stage. But if its Western neighbor plays with the prowess that vaulted it to victory in Euro 2008, it would mean another emptyhanded and tearful ending for Ronaldo.

Some will say that we are on an inevitable collision course with destiny, while others may claim that we make our own. For the Portuguese band of football brothers, there is no better time to look to the heavens
and hope that the former is true.

Indeed, 2010 is Portugal’s year of magical fives. It was in 1960, on the fifth centenary of the death of Henry the Navigator, that Portugal received its last gift from South Africa: a gigantic mosaic of a wind rose, placed next to the Discovery Monument to commemorate the “genius (that) made possible the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope”. It seems only fitting that five decades later, the mighty Portuguese footballers, nicknamed Selecção das Quinas (selection of five), who are playing in their fifth World Cup, should receive another gift from South Africa.

As our tourist walks over the mosaic, basking in the sunset glow and ruffled by the warm Atlantic breeze, she too looks confidently to the future, and realises that, just as Portugal feels at home everywhere in the world, she feels at home in Portugal.

By Javier Pérez de Azpillaga and Nick Kojucharov

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:34 PM

Serbia

Soccer Heals

For a country still trying to find its identity, deeply divided between East and West, and with major internal conflicts as yet unresolved - but where soccer tradition and passions run deep - qualifying for the 2010 World Cup tournament provided a rare moment of national pride and unity. Much has changed since Serbia and Montenegro’s debacle (three losses in as many games) in Germany four years ago. Participating for the first time as an independent nation, on the political front Serbia faces unresolved status of a breakaway province of Kosovo that declared independence in 2008 and has since been recognised by 60-odd countries. On the other hand, and despite strong internal opposition, its accession bid to the European Union continues. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement, considered a precursor to actual membership talks, was signed in 2008. Furthermore, the re-election of President Boris Tadić, also in 2008, confirmed the prevalence of the pro-European current within Serbia. Recently, following the election of a new president of Croatia, more reconciliatory tones have been heard between the two former adversaries in the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990s, not least of which has been the potential creation of a West-Balkans soccer league. The league, which symbolises national reconciliation, could help bring economic integration to the region, and the West Balkan countries may yet demonstrate the strong interdependence of their politics, economies and soccer.

The story of what remains the greatest Serbian soccer success, Red Star Belgrade’s victory in the European Champions Cup in 1991, can be seen as a parable of Serbia’s late-20th century history. Soccer reflects the reality: the team, almost uniformly spanning the entire territory of former Yugoslavia, and starring the best Croatian, Macedonian and Montenegrin talent, was dissolved just weeks after it ascended the European throne. Subsequent years brought the international embargo, players’ exodus from the national league and a sharp decline in clubs’ international presence. However, the national team (which, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, included Montenegro until 2006) retained a relatively high FIFA ranking, even making the top 10 in 1998, and qualifying for the World Cup in 1998 and 2006.

During the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, and pitted against 2006 runner-up France, Serbia played a stingy defence and sealed the top spot with a 5x0 flourish against a formidable Romanian team. In South Africa, the ‘White Eagles’ will face solid Australian and Ghana squads, as well as the German powerhouse. However, with the defence anchored by Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic, midfield operations overseen by Internazionale’s Dejan Stankovic and a prolific group up front, passage to the round of 16 should be a realistic goal.

By Aleksandar Timcenko

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:35 PM

Slovakia

The 2010 World Cup

The 2010 World Cup will be the first appearance of the Slovakian football team at a major football tournament since the country gained independence in 1993. While ice hockey is generally perceived as the number one sport in Slovakia, the opportunity to play at the World Cup is already generating a good deal of excitement.

Slovakia finished at the top of its group during the World Cup qualifying round, leaving football heavyweights such as the Czech Republic and Poland behind. And although Slovakia is ranked only 38 in the FIFA world ranking, its convincing performance during the qualifiers suggests that the Slovakian team will be no pushover.

Star players in the team include midfielder Marek Hamsik, who plays for Napoli, and defender Martin Skrtel, from Liverpool. Striker Stanislav Sestak from Germany’s VfL Bochum, the top scorer of the national team, is also in good shape.

Slovakia faces Italy, Paraguay and New Zealand in the first round of the World Cup. Italy is clearly the strongest team in this group, while New Zealand has probably only a small chance of beating any of the other teams. This means that Slovakia’s game against Paraguay on June 20 will, in all likelihood, decide which team will come second in the group after Italy. Both teams have never played each other, so there is no clear favourite for this match.

By Dirk Schumacher

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:36 PM

Slovenia

The 2010 World Cup

After showing Russia in the qualifiers that they should not be taken too lightly, the Slovenian team now finds itself in Group C, pitted against England, one of the tournament favorites, the US and Algeria. Described by the English press as “steady and well-organized rather than spectacular”, the team refuses to be daunted by the Anglo-Saxon challenge, and aims to make it into the second round this time. The squad does not boast international mega-stars and is trained by home-grown coach Matjaž Kek. A solid defense is its main strength, with towering Samir Handanovič wearing the No. 1 shirt. Robert Koren will lead the team from the mid-field, and the hopes of many will lie with striker Milivoje Novakovič (of Cologne fame).

The sport has a firm footing in this small alpine country of only 2 million people. Prime Minister Borut Pahor is among its fans - and kept his promise to clean the players’ shoes after they secured a place in the World Cup in the play-offs last November.

The national team started to play independently after Slovenia separated from Yugoslavia in 1991, and made it into the World Cup in 2002, albeit only to walk away without a single point scored. The team then failed to qualify for the European Championships in 2004 and 2008, and missed the World Cup in 2006. But ultimately the efforts to develop young talent have paid off and Slovenia is now reckoned to have the potential to deliver more nasty surprises to its opponents. The limits of the tiny population are evidenced by that fact that many of the international players in the squad are originally from other states from the former Yugoslavia.

By Anna Zadornova

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:36 PM

South Africa

The 2010 World Cup

The world cup slogan Ke nako (meaning “It’s time”) has elegantly captured the imagination and expectations of the country and the continent at large. Given the disappointment of losing out to Germany, in controversial circumstances, for the right to host the World Cup in 2006, South Africa and Africa are ready to put on a show for the world. From the 1960s when Mozambican born Portuguese international Eusebio turned on the magic in the 1966 World Cup in England, Africans have enjoyed prominence on the world football stage. Today African footballers are prominent in almost all of the major leagues in the world. Many now feel that it is time for Africans to tell their stories in their own backyards.

South Africa as a host country has pulled out all the stops in ensuring that this tournament will rank among the best ever held. Five new multi-purpose world class stadiums have been built across nine cities to host the 64 games between June and July 2010. The country has previously successfully hosted the Rugby World Cup in 1995, the African Cup of Nations in 1996, both of which it won, and the Cricket World Cup in 2003. Although these pale in comparison to the Soccer World Cup, the experience and knowledge gained in hosting these events will no doubt prove useful in hosting the 2010 tournament.

Bafana Bafana will be joined by five other African countries, Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, in the tournament. No African team has ever bettered the Cameroonian record of reaching the quarterfinals in Italy in 1990. Bafana Bafana will rely on a 12th player - namely, 48 million South Africans - at their matches to spur them on.

During the apartheid years football was played along racial lines. But in the late 1970s an inclusive single league under the auspices of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) was formed and teams of different races were allowed to join. The word Diski - a popular term for football in South Africa - was coined in the late 1960s and has become the de-facto meaning of South African football. Over the years South Africa has produced many great footballers in the likes of Steve ‘Kalamazoo’ Mokone, Kaizer ‘chincha guluva’ Motaung, Ephraim ‘jomo’ Sono, Patrick ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe, Lucas ‘Masterpieces’ Moripe, Lucas Radebe, Doctor Khumalo, Phil Masinga, Benedict McCarthy and Steven Pienaar among others.

In 1996, the South African league became a fully-fledged professional league, with the introduction of the Premier Soccer League (PSL). The league, which is made up of 16 teams, has recently been voted as one of the best 10 administered leagues in the world. The local league attracts players from different parts of the African continent, as well as from South America. South African football has been known for its flair and showboating at times, much to the disgust of some foreign coaches. Local supporters regard the Vuvuzela (a sound instrument) as central to the creation of a vibe at football matches.

The national soccer team, known as Bafana Bafana (which means boys), has enjoyed mixed fortunes since readmission to international football in 1992. South Africa hosted and won the African Cup of Nations in their first attempt in 1996. Sadly, that remains the country’s biggest soccer achievement. In 1998, they also qualified for their first World Cup, where they lost to the host and eventual winners France in the opening game of the tournament. They also qualified for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, where they recorded their firstever World Cup win, against Slovenia.

Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira has been hired to coach Bafana Bafana at the World Cup. Parreira will lead his fifth team to the World Cup, after previous stints with Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE. South Africa lies in wait for the historic opening match at the newly refurbished Soccer City outside Soweto, where their opponents will be Mexico.

By Kiekie Mboweni and Logan Rangasamy

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:38 PM

Spain

Leading in Football, Lagging in the Economy

In the economy as in football, Spain has undergone a tremendous transformation in the last decade. Doubling its GDP and rapidly increasing its population, the Spanish economy has broken several records, including a 15-year expansion with a profitable banking sector, a world class system of high-speed trains and a robust fiscal outlook - but also a highly overvalued housing market and a very dual labour market. Similarly, the national football team has transitioned rapidly from being the eternal squad of underachievers who would always stumble at the important moments (it has not progressed past World Cup quarter-finals since 1950 - although this traditional characterization may be incorrect: according to Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski, in their great book Soccernomics, Spain’s football results are better than regression analysis based on income, population and soccer experience would predict) to winning the 2008 European Cup and then breaking the record of both victories (15 consecutive wins) and undefeated games (winning 32 out of 35 matches during 2006-09) by a national team along its path to the 2009 Confederations Cup. The ‘fury’, as the national squad had been traditionally known, became ‘the Red’, and its elegant style of play of ‘progressive possession’ has become the topic of discussion at FIFA conferences. Both the economy and the national squad stumbled in 2009 – with a sharp recession and the unexpected defeat against the US during the 2009 Confederations Cup semi-final. But the economy is lagging badly in 2010, whereas the football squad has continued its undefeated streak during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and is current second in the FIFA ranking, and the betting houses’ favorite to win the World Cup. There is something that the Spanish football team is doing very well that Spain’s economic policy-makers are missing, as we’ll discuss below.

The great victories in Spanish football - mostly at the club level - had usually been based on strength rather than skill. The legendary come-backs of Real Madrid in the European Cup games were typically episodes where against-the-odds games were turned around into victories based on the spirit, hard work and courage of the players. This was the basis of football, Spanish conventional wisdom claimed, and new tactics and more technical players were criticized and demonized as weak. The debate between muscle and touch reached its peak during the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, when Coach Luis Aragonés started to experiment with combination football. Amid fierce debate, tradition was slowly giving way to innovation and technological progress applied to football. The results were promising but mixed, yet the defeat in the early stages of the 2006 World Cup marked another important inflexion point. The confrontation between Luis Aragonés and Raúl, the captain of both Real Madrid and the national team, ended with the decision by Aragonés to separate Raúl from the national team. The coach had decided to take on the established constituencies, move on and renovate the team. Sounds familiar to economists? Creative destruction at play.

Luis Aragonés implemented a successful plan of structural reform of the national football team, overcoming political pressures and applying best practices. The fury gave way to the skills - the ‘jugones’ became the nickname for the squads he would compose, mostly of short but very skilful players who would play fast-paced combination football - and the ‘tiqui-taca’, the multiple short passes intended to preserve possession and create spaces to generate scoring opportunities via sharp through-balls, became the trademark of the Spanish team. The victory in the 2008 European Cup crystallized the success of this structural reform. A team assembled around a 4-1-3-2 formation that would morph at times
into 4-1-4-1, 4-5-1 or even a 4-6-0 provided all the elements of modern football: a safe goalkeeper that can make decisive saves, a sturdy pair of central defenders, two wing defenders who can quickly become attackers, a strong holding midfielder (Marcos Senna, a Brazilianborn player who provided discipline and order in front of the defense, something Spain had always struggled to achieve - a good example of the positive effects of immigration on performance) and five polyvalent players tasked to play long combination plays but also effective at finishing and scoring. When Fernando Torres scored the winner against Germany and Spain controlled the tempo of the rest of the game in such a way that the German players ended in desperation, the bet had been validated. The reform had delivered success.

Vicente del Bosque, successor to Luis Aragonés after the 2008 European Cup, has maintained the spirit and style of the group, and reaches the 2010 World Cup with a 100% qualifying record, the progressive possession football style and plenty of players to choose from, many of whom have improved since 2008. Fernando Torres has matured into a leading striker in the Premier League, and his attacking partner, Valencia’s David Villa, is the squad’s second-highest goal scorer of all time. The midfield is an embarrassment of riches, with veterans Xavi, Iniesta, David Silva, Xavi Alonso, Cesc Fábregas and Marcos Senna, complemented by youngsters such as Busquets, Mata and Navas. Defender Sergio Ramos has matured considerably since 2008 and, together with Puyol, Capdevilla, Arbeloa and Pique - a rising star mastering the art of delivering the first pass from the defense - will protect goalie Iker Casillas, who continues to be in great shape. A clear sign of the strength of the Spanish squad is the fact that great players such as Barça’s goalie Valdés, Arsenal’s goalie Almunia or Real Madrid’s Guti are not even on the list, or that Arsenal’s captain Cesc Fábregas or Liverpool’s goalie Reina are not starters. Spain seems to be mastering the art of producing polyvalent skilful players, which are key to modern football. As John Carlin wrote in El País a few weeks ago, Fabio Capello probably wouldn’t mind having Spain’s second squad for his England team. The chance to show football greatness is for Spain to miss.

By Angel Ubide

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:39 PM

Switzerland

The Nation—From Samurai to Safe Haven

The Swiss were the mercenaries of medieval Europe: skilled practitioners in the art of war, hand-picked by French and Italian royalty to perform complex military operations. In the modern era, however, Switzerland is renowned for its unique political neutrality: a feature that attracts the headquarters of organisations such as the UN, the Red Cross and FIFA. In addition to being one of the most prosperous and stable market economies in the world, this independence makes the Swiss currency – the Confoederatio Helevetica Franc - a safe haven for international investors in times of global uncertainty.

Switzerland has become synonymous with the precision of time, the discretion of wealth and the elegance of Federer. Besides horology (think Vacheron Constantin, the oldest watch manufacturer in existence), the Swiss also make noble contributions to the world in fields such as chocolate (think Lindt, les maitres chocolatiers), particle physics (think CERN, the crucible of nuclear research) and folk wrestling (think schwingen, hailed as the national sport).

With such mountainous terrain, it is alpine sport rather than football that captivates the nation’s imagination. The snow-tops of St. Moritz and the shores of Lake Zug may not hold their breath at every shot on goal in Durban. Some in Basel may associate the ‘hand of God’ with the merits of a laissez-faire economy. But the journey of the Swiss national team in South Africa will be followed with eager anticipation, and progressing past the group stages would be a worthy result.

Captain and record goal-scorer Alexander Frei will lead out the Swiss national team in the 2010 World Cup. Although perhaps lacking world-class talent, a coach with serious pedigree skews the risks towards an upside surprise this summer. After all, the fact that Switzerland reached the final of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup last year, only to lose to the magical Brazilians – despite being the only land-locked country in the competition - is evidence enough that Schweizer Nati can triumph in the face of adversity. The more conventional version of the beautiful game will prove more challenging: the national side has not reached the quarter-finals since 1954.

But past performance is not indicative of future returns. Key players include veteran duo Yakin and Nkufo, while newcomer Derdiyok has impressed in the Bundesliga this season and Inler and Huggel in the engine room of midfield should offset any lack of creativity in attack. Rumour has it that national coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is a gifted mathematician who uses dynamic-programming analysis of Bellman equations to optimize his team’s performance. The fact, however, is that, drawn against red-hot favorites Spain, as well as Chile and Honduras in Group H, even he may not be able to prevent his Swiss legionnaires being frozen out of the final stages by the ‘three amigos’.

By Adrian Paul

**OLBG Sports** · 06-09-10, 07:40 PM

Uruguay

The 2010 World Cup

After finishing fifth in the South America qualifying round, Uruguay managed to qualify for its 11th FIFA World Cup by beating Costa Rica in an interconfederation play-off. Placed in Group A, Uruguay will play against 2006 runners-up France on the first day of this year’s tournament (June 11), then against hosts South Africa (June 16), and lastly against Mexico (June 22).

Uruguay, nicknamed La Celeste (sky blue) after the color of its shirts, faces a tough path to the round of 16 given that Group A is one of the two ‘groups of death’. If Uruguay ranks second in Group A, it will then face the winner of Group B. That team would probably be Argentina, tough opponents. To have a better chance of reaching the quarter-finals, Uruguay would need to rank first in Group A, ahead of France, so as to play against the second-ranked team in Group B, probably Nigeria. However, Uruguay would then likely face England, in all probability taking the Uruguayan squad back home.

In his second World Cup in charge of the national side, coach Oscar Tabárez (known as El Maestro in his homeland) can count on talented players from Europe’s major leagues to impress in South Africa, and will try to take La Celeste through to the knockout rounds. The main stars of the Uruguayan squad are the central defender and captain Diego Lugano (Fenerbahçe) and strikers Diego Forlán (Atlético de Madrid), Luis Soares (Ajax) and Sebastián ‘El Loco’ Abreu (Botafogo).

Uruguay has a proud tradition in football, having won two World Cups, two Olympic tournaments, and the Copa América 14 times. Uruguay hosted, and won, the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930, defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final. In 1950, Uruguay claimed its second title, beating hosts Brazil 2-1 in a historic upset known as the Maracanazo.

However, the team’s record has dimmed in recent years, and Uruguay has only qualified for two of the last five World Cups. La Celeste last reached the round of 16 in 1990, and last advanced beyond that stage in 1970, when the team finished fourth.

By Luis Cezario