Jul 03, 2006 09:48 PM
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(Updated Jul 03, 2006 10:55 PM)
Finally, I can take a break from the sporting extravaganza in Germany and collect my thoughts. The last ten days or so had been hectic. There’s just so much of sport even a die hard sports fan can take. Sri Lanka’s resurgence in One-day Cricket, India’s indifferent approach to Test Cricket (they should have won 3:0 but finally managed to make it 1:0) and some of my favourite teams going for a toss in the Football World Cup. Add to that the start of the Wimbledon Tennis championship and you’ll have a fair idea how difficult it is for the couch potato to switch channels from one different game to another. All this hectic activity has contributed in a fair measure to my absence from MS.
It’s been a roller-coaster ride as far as this World Cup is concerned. The high flying Argentineans’ wings were cut with clinical precision by the no nonsense and efficient Germans. Italy expectedly got the better of newcomers Ukraine. I never pinned much hope on England and at least on this one count was proved right. My favourites, Brazil, were brought down to their knees by a vastly improved France to complete an all European semi-final line-up for only the third time in the history of the cup (correct me if I am wrong).
If we care to analyse the past events one factor troubles me no end. All the teams known for playing attractive and exhilarating football – Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Paraguay have gone out even before the Semi-finals. Just one team, Portugal that can lay claim to a more Latin American style of football is still in the fray. The rest Germany, France and Italy all votaries of the percentage game are still in the reckoning for a place under the Sun.
The argument continues as to which style is more effective. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay (did not make it this time) have done exceedingly well with their brand of football. On the other hand Germany and Italy have been doing consistently well throughout the history of the world cup.
I believe its not the brand of football but the conditions in which the game is played that matters most.
It must be noted that conditions in Europe vastly differ from those in Latin America and the Latin American teams never had a great time whenever the tournament was held in Europe. Similarly, the European teams find it hard to beat the countries across the Atlantic when matches are played in South America, which also could mean that football teams don’t travel well. Even England, which is isolated from the rest of Europe and has its own peculiar and fickle weather finds it difficult to do well even in Continental Europe where the conditions can be totally different and detrimental to the way England plays its game. Hence, England never was or is a significant power anywhere outside it’s own backyard despite what the UK Media has to say about it. The English Media generally is guilty of rating its own team too high. The 1966 win was an aberration. The fact that it won the 1966 World Cup against all expectations proves what a significant advantage home conditions bring. If England hopes to win the World Cup again it must first bid to bring the tournament to its own soil; and then find 11 sturdy players who can take advantage of the home conditions the way Bobby Moore’s team did in their solitary triumph. But, definitely and not the way Beckham played in 1998 or Rooney did in the present tournament. These guys have hurt their own team more than the opposition.
Not surprisingly, ‘home conditions’ could be one of the reasons why we have an all European Semi-final list in Germany. The German weather throughout this tournament has turned out to be just the ideal weather for the four teams from Continental Europe to showcase their skills.
GERMANY vs. ITALY:
I always had this feeling that Germany is a team that should not be taken lightly by their opponents. Germany had a very poor run coming into this tournament. Most experts of the game had written off Germany’s chances in this World Cup. But Germans have this ability to raise the level of their game in big matches. They have unearthed two sharp shooters in Miroslav Close (already 5 goals) and Lukas Pudolski (3 goals) who are turning out to be a revelation in this tournament. Ballack is an inspiration in the midfield and feeds the two with an unending stream of killer passes.
Italy on the other hand are pastmasters in the art of slowing down the game to upset the rhythm of the opponents. A strong defence and sticking to their pre match strategy is their forte. Because of its strong defence, Italy has the ability to draw more opponent strikers into its own half thereby weakening the opponent's defence. That’s when they launch their swift counter attack that can be lethal. In the last few years Italy haven’t been the force they used to be, but count them out only at your own peril. Luca Toni and Gianluca Zambrotta are the key players to watch in my opinion. Italy are never keen to score too many goals, they feel even one goal is too many to win a match.
I have a gut feeling Germany may get through.
PORTUGAL vs. FRANCE:
Portugal seems to be enjoying the momentum in this world cup. Their best performance in the world cup was a third place in 1966, so they are short on semi-final experience. The way Cristiano Ronaldo, Maniche, and Figo are playing they can be a handful for the more experienced but ageing France. Also, that there’s always a first time to win a world cup and this can be as good as any. Portugal must guard against France’s strategy of slowing down the game to suit its own players. Keeping the ball in its own possession and making electrifying runs down the flanks could tire out the French. All the three Portuguese players will be heavily marked and therefore it’s left to the others to take over the mantle and score that all-important goal.
France has tasted World Cup success so they know exactly what it is playing a WC Semi-final or a Final. France didn’t seem to be in the reckoning till the knockout phase commenced. Many critics had written them off as an old and ageing team that won’t go beyond the first round. But they seem to be peaking at the right moment and mainly dealing in killer punches to the other favourites. Spain and Brazil have already tasted the magic of Zizou and Portugal could also find their wings clipped by Zany Zizou and Fiery Thiery.
I think the experience of France can be a little too much for the effervescent Portugal if the game runs into a penalty shootout.
My pick for the Grand Finale would be Germany and France. Both teams have a wealth of experience. With Brazil out of the way, I have a feeling Germany will get the better of France. In my past reviews on football, especially replying to the comments, I had mentioned even before the tournament started that Germany is a dangerous team and could go all the way. It’s the only team that has performed consistently beyond expectations in this world cup and it has the meticulousness, planning, and the class to put those plans into action. Maybe, the one area it has lacked in is flair. But, as we have already seen "flair don’t win no matches."
MBFarookh.
