The football magic has begun. . . . . . Review on FIFA World Cup 2006

If you call the handworks of Picasso as magic on Canvas, what would you call the legwork of the Argentineans against Serb-Montenegro?

It took one long week of the world Cup Mania to throw a real fiesta of Mesmerising Football which requires nothing more than a ball and two Goal Posts as Equipment but remains the most fascinating and popular Sport this Universe has set foot on.

Latino Magic –simply mesmerizing

The six goals of yesterday’s match from Argentina brought back simply sweet memories of the Golden Hand of Football-Diego Maradona who incidentally was cheering this Team and his prodigy successor , 18 year old Messi.

What we saw was Attacking Football at its brilliant best which was the culmination of precision, pace and possession, all part of Team work combined with individual brilliance. No doubt we see such brilliance once in blue moon, but the cauldrons of the World Cup are ideally placed to throw to the world the magic of Football. Take the second Goal from Cambiasso for instance which started with Juan Sorin and went to Combiasso- Crespo and back which included precision passes and was beautifully etched by ESPN and our Harsha Bhogle kept counting the passes and he could not stop till the Goal.

Then comes the moment of the day for teenage wonder Lionel Messi introduced as substitute 15 minutes before close and what was in display was Future Maradona only in Shades. It remains to be seen whether he is going to do the Pele act on debut world cup 1958 . Do not take Serbia as a light opponent because they lost only one goal in 10 games of qualifying.

Come on Brazil

The likes of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Adriano should take cue from this and what we have seen from Brazil has been far from inspiring. Only one match has gone and Brazil normally peak at the right time as the competition hots up. It will be a fitting finale if we see the two teams clash in the Finals for Latino Magic which is a rare breed of individual brilliance in a group.

Mid Fielders shining

Like any other world Cup the mid fielders have started dazzling which comes to show that we have been idolizing the Strikers too much. If you had expected Michael Owen, Thierry Henry or Henrik Larson and the magical Ronaldinho to strike early, then how often our expectations go wrong.

It is the midfielders like Kaka from Brazil and Xavi Hermandez of Spain who are shining bright. Take the case of Tim Cahill how he has turned the tables for Australia against Japan.

European Teams-Hyped  

How often do we see the English Football taken to Heavens by the Media and the Fans and suddenly throw them down once they fail. England no doubt has great Football tradition  with the system of leagues in place, but when coming to playing for the Country, they fail miserably as a Team. Rooney has been brought into the Team to keep the hype and aura going but unless he kicks the ball, he cannot change the fortunes of the English side which has talent which never unfolds for the Country.

The same can be applied to teams like France and Netherlands. France for one has star studded line up and unless they come out of the shell and play, they may not make impact in FIFA 06 edition.This Netherlands team is a far cry from the team of its coach Marco Van Basten which was electrifying.

Spain and Equador-Inspiring

Spain has always been far less talked European team but have always been quietly moving up paces but this year they have had dream start with the two goals of David Villa. They play flamboyant attacking Football which has been a treat to watch not to forget Raul and Garcia. Another team which has impressed me in this edition has been Equador which is a well knit team under able hands of Colombian Coach Suarez Luiz.

Augestin Delgado and Carlos have been impressive in the two matches against strong teams Poland and Coatia.

Watch out England , your nemesis is going to be Equador.Italy for one has always been steady without hype but the prospect of facing Brazil in QF looms large.

Refereeing-Colour blindness

The best Referees  of the world are here but they have been extremely inconsistent with Fouls and off side. Take the case of Drogba. such a talented player for Ivory Coast, but he has to sit out for the next match against Serbia for no fault of his. Some of them seem to show colour blindness and have been showing less regard for African and Asian teams and the bigwigs have been fouling at ease. Argentina would have scored 7 goals but for poor off side decision.

Argentina will be waiting to revenge Brazil and hope these two magical teams clash for the finale.

My semi line up-           Germany Vs Argentina           Brazil Vs Spain

Till then fasten seat belts and keep glued to your TVs for heavy action for the next three weeks of Football Fiesta.

Thanks for reading.