World Cup 2010 Blog: “RoboCup 2010: Part Machine. Part Footballer. All Awesome.” plus 6 more |  |
- RoboCup 2010: Part Machine. Part Footballer. All Awesome.
- Daily Dose: 1990 to May 5th, 2010.
- The World Cup Experience Of All 32 Teams
- The Umbro WAGs of 2010
- Portugal World Cup 2010 Profile
- Italy World Cup Team History (Pt. IV: 1998-2006)
- World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Germany
| RoboCup 2010: Part Machine. Part Footballer. All Awesome. Posted: 06 May 2010 01:10 AM PDT While most will be hanging on to ever call in South Africa, all the cool kids will be heading to Singapore for the real World Cup: RoboCup 2010. Like the real World Cup, but for robots. With the entire aim to defeat humans by 2050, and then take over the world. But not before their goalkeepers improve their positioning. The Japan Open 2010 is currently happening in anticipation of the World Cup next month, which is drawing huge crowds. And because robots are so damn efficient, the RoboCup will only take 7 days rather than the month of SA2010. Stupid humans. I defy you not to watch these videos, including the greatest counterattack known to man after the break, and book your ticket to Singapore.
One of the qualification videos, in which one must be able to get up off the ground from multiple positions under their own power. Cristiano Ronaldo can’t even do that. And it was apparently named after his Real teammate, Karim Benzema. (Too soon?)
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| Daily Dose: 1990 to May 5th, 2010. Posted: 05 May 2010 06:10 PM PDT BBC & Pavarotti combined with Nessun Dorma in Italia 90’s opening montage.
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| The World Cup Experience Of All 32 Teams Posted: 05 May 2010 04:40 PM PDT
I wanted to see just how many games all the teams of World Cup 2010 has played. Following is a list of records and games played by all 32 teams in this years World Cup. A perfect example is Serbia. As constituted – the Serbian national team – this will be their first World Cup. You’ll remember they were Serbia & Montenegro in ‘06 and Yugoslavia before that. So technically they have zero experience…but they clearly do. Since FIFA recognizes them as “the direct descendant of the Yugoslavia national team” (per Wiki), they get Yugoslavia’s history. Team: Games (w.d.l.) Brazil: 92 (64-14-14) If history aids us in forecasting the future, does this make Group D the Group of Death? Wasn’t it always? Plenty more interesting info at the Wiki page.
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| Posted: 05 May 2010 03:40 PM PDT [101gg] Cruising around the interwebs the other day as I’m apt to do, I popped across a major media outlet, can’t quite remember which one, pimping its WAGs gallery ahead of the World Cup. It was a swift reminder – well, swift after I’d finished cruising through the gallery – that the football makes up but a small portion of the World Cup – it’s all about the ladies. These are Umbro’s ladies in one of the least subtle advertising ploys ever – a reward for being subjected to Vanity Fair’s men. The most worthy of attention, obviously, is Julie Godickie, who left Marcell Jansen, and then had Christoph Metzelder’s kid. Now Jansen is hurt and fighting for fitness while Metzelder hasn’t played in eons under Jogi Loew. It would behoove the German national team to stay away from this tempting but cursed vixen.
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| Portugal World Cup 2010 Profile Posted: 05 May 2010 02:00 PM PDT
So things aren’t ideal. But this is still a Portugal team bursting with talent. Yes, I’m talking about Ronaldo, but not just Ronaldo. This isn’t a one man team. Portugal also boasts a solid looking defence and – finally – a striker who likes scoring goals. Read on for the full profile…
FIFA World Ranking as of April 28th 2010: #3 Group G Matches:
Many see Queiroz as a better assistant than head coach, though that may be just a bias caused by spending much of his time as a high profile number two at Old Trafford. If he wants to be remembered as a successful head coach then he needs Portugal to perform in South Africa, and progress. Maybe his time in charge of Bafana Bafana will come in handy? Key Players: Obviously Cristiano Ronaldo is important. Young Leo Messi is getting all the best player in the world kudos right now. But C-Ron is still up there. I’ll try and describe as if you’ve never heard of him: Fast, stepovers, strong, cocky, free-kicks, long range shots, goals. Ronaldo’s not easy to place positionally these days (remember when he used to be an out and out winger?) but he’ll likely line up for Portugal as either a very advanced wide man with license to drift inside, or as a sort of second striker. Either way he’s dangerous, and opposition defenders will know it, so if you like seeing Ronaldo take a kicking, World Cup 2010 maybe the tournament for you. Ronaldo’s never really turned it on in an international tournament, at least not in the way we’re used to seeing him do it (remember his so-so Euro 2008?). But don’t be surprised if South Africa is when he finally has the tournament his talents deserve.
In midfield we could see the ageing but talented Deco, or possibly the 23 year old João Moutinho of Sporting, who seems comfortable both creating and defending. There’s also winger Simão Sabrosa, who was more productive than Ronaldo in qualifying, finishing as Portugal’s top scorer with four goals. The serious defending will be performed by the centreback partnership of Bruno Alves and Ricardo Carvalho in central defence, who together will form an imposing barrier to oppposition attackers. Carvalho has been making John Terry look good for years at Chelsea, while Alves plays for Porto, but is often linked with big money moves to Champions League contenders. Player with best YouTube video: With all respect to Deco, the only possible choice was Cristiano Ronaldo. Then the problem was choosing which video. I’ve gone with this one because it packs in a lot of showboating as well as goals, and doesn’t fall into the trap of boring us with endless replays. Player with best name: Go to be Simão Sabrosa. For the alliteration yes, but also because I like pronouncing that squiggle over the a. Player with best nickname: Do I dare give it C-Ron? Don’t Deco and Nani count as nicknames? OK, C-Ron it is. Qualification: Very nearly a disaster. After just one win in the first five games, Portugal were in serious danger of being eliminated. Some of the credit for the turnaround has to go to Bruno Alves. With Portugal drawing 1-1 against Albania, and the game in injury time, he did this to win the game: The rest of the credit should probably go to Liedson. As mentioned above, after the Brazilian became eligible to play, things made more sense in Portugal’s attack, and the team rallied to claim second place behind Denmark and a play-off vs Bosnia-Herzegovina, who they beat 1-0 both home and away to book a spot in South Africa. National Anthem: A Portuguesa Kit: Portugal will be rocking this little number from Nike. World Cup History: Expectations: Queiroz has said he wants to match the 2006 achievement of a semi-final appearance, but I’d imagine quarter-finals would be an acceptable achievement. Squad: TBA. Blog: Miguel keeps us up to date on Portugal World Cup Blog. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.
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| Italy World Cup Team History (Pt. IV: 1998-2006) Posted: 05 May 2010 11:06 AM PDT
We have trudged through to the final part, a portion which is vaguely familiar to many in the peninsula – some good, some bad. In fact, they just about ran the gamut of Italian emotions from ‘98 to ‘06: disappointment, anger and ecstasy. It all may change in June, but as of right now, this long labor of love that is Italian football history has an awfully nice bookend: they won their first and they won the last.
World Cup 1998 – France
Though not without a good bit of help from Roberto Baggio, back for a third tour, a little older, a little more gimpy, but still with exquisite technique, and it took him all of minutes to put it on display. From there, Bobo would score four more – two in the 3-0 over Cameroon, one in the final group win over Austria and the only goal in the round of 16 1-0 win over Norway. And then it was back to the same ol’, same ol’ for Italy: an awfully bitter taste. They were afforded another matchup with hosts France in the quarters, just as in 1938, but instead of reviving the tale of their second, they succumbed to recent disappointment: another 4-3 loss on penalties. World Cup 2002 – South Korea/JapanThe southern Mediterranean aren’t very big fans of the 2002 World Cup. In fact the mere mention is likely to drum up lots of naughty words and suggestions of placing things in unmentionable places. It got off to a bright enough start, however, against Ecuador, and it was Bobo who would do the scoring – a brace in the 2-0 win – off two lovely assists from Francesco Totti and Luigi Di Biagio. Bobo would get back to scoring immediately against Croatia, but it was ruled for offside when replays showed he was on. From there, the tournament would nosedive for Italy and conspiracy theorists of the peninsula would unite. The Mexican offside calls were fair – Montella’s surely and Inzaghi’s was a hair either way – but the others were tough to swallow. Suffice it to say, this one isn’t looked upon fondly by the peninsula. The ref of their loss to South Korea which saw them head back home, Byron Moreno, was later suspended by FIFA for 20 matches for questionable refereeing in another game, before a second suspension brought forth a premature retirement in 2003. Ahn Jung-Hwan, who scored the eventual winner for South Korea, was playing for Perugia on loan at the time and the president had some mean words, just to be sure, and Ahn wouldn’t sign a permanent deal. There’s not a conspiracy theory which hasn’t been posed and though 2006 went alright, it’s unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon. Still, at least Italy wouldn’t walk away without drama. Again. So that’s something. World Cup 2006 – Germany
There were early shades of ‘82 with the brewing Calciopoli scandal taking shape back home while they were off in Germany doing World Cup things. Many of the players were on teams under suspicion, particularly Juventus, and thus their club futures very much in doubt. Not to mention Totti was in a race for inclusion after breaking his ankle just months earlier. But they would turn the lemon trees into lemonade. Lippi, like Enzo Bearzot, marches to the beat of his own drummer and isn’t much a fan of public opinion, so his squads were often based around “team”, not “names’. At the fore would be that oft-mentioned Italian defense, a stunning performance in particular by Fabio Cannnavaro, the driving force behind their tournament. Furthermore, it would be the lack of expectations which helped them continue their roll with that unified team spirit and slight chip on their shoulder. The opener against Ghana was a commanding 2-0 win with a wonderful Pirlo goal and Vincenzo Iaquinta taking a Ghanaian gift to put the game away late. The posts rattled would seem to be dramatic, but that was nothin’ compared to the second game against the US. It began well enough, with an early Gilardino sliding header off the golden right foot of Andrea Pirlo, but Cristian Zaccardo nicely hit the only Italy conceded from open play past Buffon to even it out within five minutes. And then the cards came out. Daniele De Rossi was sent off for an elbow on Brian McBride, and a studs showing lunge by Pablo Mastroeni equaled numbers shortly thereafter. Another US red within minutes descended the game into, well, not quite brilliant football. Disappointing that they couldn’t capitalize and assure progress after two games, but the De Rossi red, for which he’d earn a four game suspension, and Zaccardo own goal, which would see Grosso return to the fold, were two of three incidents which would shape the team throughout the knockouts. In terms of football minutes, it didn’t take long for that third incident to show: not long into the third group game against the Czech, the oft-injured Alessandro Nesta would get injured, forcing Marco Materazzi into central defense. Added to the submission of Gennaro Gattuso for De Rossi, the mad men of Italian football were now lining up right down the middle, and they’d play their hearts out in Germany. And Materazzi didn’t take long to show either: within ten minutes of entering, Marco would rise above the defense, 1-0 Italy. Buffon was monumental and a very late second from Pippo Inzaghi – an odd second which earned the ire of many because he took the far more difficult route around Cech rather than passing to the open Barone – clinched the group. Next up was Australia, but perhaps more poignantly: Guus Hiddink, the man who’d led South Korea against Italy in 2002. This one had no less drama. Nesta was hurt and thus Materazzi would be given a starting nod, and he would do what he’d done so often in his career: attract cards and get sent off. In the 50th minute, it was Italy down to ten, with Australia now posing the questions. Into injury time, Lucas Neill would go in early for a tackle, blocking the path for Fabio Grosso, who would go down and earn one of the more controversial penalties in the tournament. It was handed to Totti, yet to score in a World Cup, and he would put it high left to the chant of Fabio Caressa back home, spawning thousands of YouTube comeback montages including the soundtrack from Gladiator. The game was over, and Italy were on to the quarters. A day after the Australian game, Italian morale would take another blow. Former Azzurri midfielder and friend to many Gianluca Pessotto had attempted suicide back home in Torino, leaping off a building at the Juventus facilities. This combined with Calciopoli drew the squad even tighter, and together they had a singular purpose. The quarterfinals would be far less controversial and far more emphatic, a 3-0 thumping of the Ukraine, with Luca Toni, Europe’s reigning Golden Boot winner with lofty expectations heading in, finally getting onto the scoreboard. Twice, even. The third, or chronological first, was a lovely strike by Gianluca Zambrotta, one of the umpteen Italians who rose to his lofty best throughout. They would then meet the hosts in Dortmund, the city where Fabio Grosso would become a national hero. It was an extraordinary game from both sides, a valiant effort which would shake the grounds, and the goal posts, all the way to extra time. It was there that Pirlo, ever the magician throughout, would lay the ball off to Grosso, who would curl the ball into the back of the German net and unleash a celebration of disbelief second to none. With Germany pressing, captain Canna would burst out of defense and launch the break which saw Del Piero nail the coffin which brought forth Fabio Caressa’s now infamous saying: Andiamo a Berlino. They were going to Berlin. There they would find France, the nemesis to whom they lost in ‘98 and in the final of Euro2000, spearheaded by a Zinedine Zidane playing his final ever football games. The lineup would remain the same from the semifinal, a rather cautious one. It would take only minutes before Italy had conceded a controversial penalty of their own, with Florent Malouda going down and Zidane just hitting the ball inside the line off the crossbar. It was only the second goal they’d conceded all tournament, a testament to that phenomenal defense, and the first off the foot of the opposition. The man who’d come in for Nesta way back in the would once again rise to the occasion – literally – and score the equalizing corner before the 20′ mark. Buffon then saved Italian dreams with the save of his life off the same head of Zidane which would become so famous minutes later: And then came the Zidane headbutt. Years later we know it was Materazzi’s comments about Zidane’s mother which prompted Zizou to turn around and plant his head into Marco’s chest, getting himself sent off in his final ever game. It was one of the more shocking moments in World Cup history, much less final history, and gave the game an almost surreal feel. This meant penalties, which Italy would not, once again, lose 4-3: they would hit them all. Pirlo, Materazzi, De Rossi, Del Piero and then the hero from Dortmund Grosso. Italy were champions once again, for the fourth time. It was the defensive strength of Buffon, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Materazzi and Grosso which vaulted them to the top of the world, along with a brilliant show from Andrea Pirlo and his Milan midfield partner Rino. However, no one shone brighter than Cannavaro in one of the great individual performances in World Cup history, earning him the Ballon d’Or later on in the fall. The collective strength and an impenetrable back line – mirroring the mentality fostered by Lippi throughout. Lippi was to step down immediately after, but it was no matter – four years of joy as champions could commence.
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| World Cup 2010 Jerseys: Germany Posted: 05 May 2010 07:43 AM PDT
The Deutcher Fussball-Bund has a long standing relationship with adidas, which goes back at least 50 years. So I’m surprised they haven’t run out of design ideas yet. But adidas went to the drawing boards last year and came up with a new home and away kit for the German national team. We’ll take a closer look below, and I’ll do my very best to give you a review of Germany’s World Cup jerseys. Germany Home Shirt
This time adidas have gone with three thin vertical stripes down the same side of the jersey as the crest. Not everyone’s a fan, but I quite like the subtlety of it. My one complaint is that in every image I’ve seen of this jersey, the gold doesn’t look quite gold enough. More like a yellow or a sandy colour. I’ll give adidas the benefit of he doubt though, as this may just be to do with the lighting. Or maybe the gold colour becomes deeper when Michael Ballack sweats? (Note to self: Pitch idea for Global Hypercolour jerseys to adidas, Nike and Puma.) Also, and I swear I didn’t know this before writing this post, on closer inspection you can see that the black, red and gold stripes are part of a bigger pattern of 11 stripes:
Presumably the total of 11 stripes represents 11 footballers, teamwork and so on. Nice symbolism, and I particularly like the way it intersects with the DFB crest, which by happy design co-incidence features three prominent stars for Germany’s three World Cup wins (1954, 1974 and 1990). Makes everything nicely balanced. Germany Away Shirt
First of all I thought “cool”. Then I thought “meh”. Because aside from being black, this shirt strikes me as being a little dull. Black body, touch of red, gold stripes. Feels like there should be something more going on. The one thing I do like is the DFB written in cursive on the back, below the neck:
That’s my take. What do you think of these Germany World Cup kits?
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In doing these World Cup team histories, you quickly realize, “hey, these teams have played a lot of games”, and it obviously does no harm to have some World Cup history underneath the belt, even if it was year’s previous. 
Portugal made a patchwork job of qualifying for World Cup 2010, and have a head coach who most people know as an assistant. To make things worse they’ve been drawn into Group G with Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire and the unknown quantity that is North Korea.
Coach: The 57 year old Carlos Queiroz has had an odd career. He’s already been Portugal manager once before, from 1991 to 1993, when he failed to qualify for either Euro ‘92 or World Cup ‘94. He’s had brief spells at Sporting, in MLS, in the J-League and the managed the United Arab Emirates national team, followed by the South African national team. He qualified for the 2002 World Cup with South Africa, but resigned before the tournament following a disagreement with his employers. There followed two successful spells as Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager at Man Utd, with a short but unsuccessful season at Real Madrid in between. Now he’s back in charge of Portugal, and has been since 2008.
One of the keys to Ronaldo’s success will be Brazilian born striker Liedson (pictured). Portugal were desperate for a striker for a long long time there, and the big hole up front looked to be sinking their World Cup 2010 campaign at one point. But everything seemed to change once Sporting striker Liedson finally got his Portuguese passport and started scoring goals for his adopted national team.
We’re going through all the 
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