World Cup 2010 Blog: “What’d They Say? The World Cup Of Names.” plus 6 more

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• What’d They Say? The World Cup Of Names.
• EA Sports Ruins World Cup, Puts The World In A Red Fury
• Daily Dose: From Cartoons To June 3rd, 2010.
• Nelson Mandela to Attend World Cup Opener and Final
• Soundoff: Your World Cup Group C Predictions…
• You Can’t List Strikers as Goalkeepers in Your World Cup Squad, North Korea Learns the Hard Way
• Four Years On: The 2006 All-Star Team.

What’d They Say? The World Cup Of Names. Posted: 04 Jun 2010 05:40 AM PDT Botching names is as much World Cup tradition as the ball, the trophy or FIFA coming under fire for whatever has gone wrong this time. A couple nights back SportsCenter got the ball rolling by pronouncing the ‘Alves’ in Dani Alves like ‘elves’. One can only imagine what they would’ve done with Fabio Quagliarella. (Kept him on the bench unlike Lippi, for firsts.) And then watching the Azzurri game on Telemundo yesterday (Spanish-speaking channel in the US) I was impressed with how smoothly the Italian names rolled off the Mexican commentator’s tongue, for obvious linguistic similarities, and while he was busy saying Iaquinta just to say Iaquinta – who wouldn’t? – I thought perhaps it’s a tradition best broken. And thus there was Forvo. Some of the best – mostly the best, since Forvo is rather thin at the moment for footballers – and more difficult to say with pronunciation: – ‘Iaquinta’ is a linguist’s – and Marcello Lippi’s – wet dream. – It’s really not that difficult, and yet…it gets butchered like a Whitechapel hooker time and time again. – (Stefan Kießling) This one might fool those who don’t know how to pronounce the bent paperclip. – Quintessentially French. – (Zdravko Kuzmanovic) It, like Toulalan, rolls off the native tongue with perfection. – The name itself isn’t anything special, but the delay is a wonderful touch. – Let’s not pretend that we’re more mature than the enjoyment of saying YAYA. – The n before the d has felled me once or twice. – He may not get close enough to the field to make it an issue, but still – it never hurts. – Some people crucify this thing until it becomes K-a-k-á. No clue how that happens. – Get the keys, not the mozzarella. – Not to be confused with T-o-y-o-t-a. (In fact a number of the Japanese players are present.) Names which haven’t yet made it to Forvo that must soon (with pronunciation via Wikipedia): Siphiwe Tshabalala* (South Africa) – (C-PEE-WAY SHAH-BAH-LAH-LAH) Lounes Gaouaoui (Algeria) Aldo Bobadilla (Paraguay) Guy N’dy Assembé (Cameroon) Jean II Makoun (Cameroon) – That’s a Roman numeral thrown in there, he’s not sick. * – I dare say Tshabalala will be the single most popular man at this World Cup. He’s already my hero, and he didn’t even name himself. (Though it’d make him more awesome if he did.) Since this could shave days from my life – all 736 names, before we even enter the managerial frame – I’ll open the floor up to you. Who else is deserving?

EA Sports Ruins World Cup, Puts The World In A Red Fury Posted: 04 Jun 2010 12:10 AM PDT Well that’s that. The World Cup is over. EA Sports, on one of its engines, has played out the whole damn thing and declared Spain will win the World Cup, while also proclaiming the hosts utter rubbish. Their trek will include a final win over Brazil, “a quarterfinal 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Italy after an absorbing 1-1 draw, and a 2-1 win over Argentina in the semi final”. Italy ‘absorbing’? Absorbing what, goals? (You’re not a true Azzurri fan unless clinically depressed before a major tournament – it’s in the rules.) Which means either they know something we don’t or the whole thing’s a sham. A sham! I put zero stock in any of this for one reason: the last time I played a video game more than 5 minutes was before the last World Cup; that game happened to be EA Sports’ FIFA, and the one thing I recall was Alberto Gilardino being un@#$%ingstoppable – he was officially The Business. To the point he was off-limits in our apartment, beyond the likes of…well…pick anyone. So obviously video games are rubbish predictors of the true future, because Gilardino’s good, but he’s a lot closer to recreational activity than The Business. But it still makes for a good read, because you need something to do on a Friday and EA Sports needs more free marketing. • World Champion: Spain • World Cup Final: Spain 3 Brazil 1 • 1st team to be eliminated: South Africa • Golden Boot winner: David Villa (Spain), 7 goals • Golden Ball winner: Kaka (Brazil)

Daily Dose: From Cartoons To June 3rd, 2010. Posted: 03 Jun 2010 10:15 PM PDT The Guardian & Observer’s World Cup ad. A podcast with some US player interviews. (USA WCB) A Xenophobe’s Guide to Hating All 31 U.S. World Cup Opponents*. (Sports Pickle) The best ten who took home the trophy. (SI) Fatboy Slim to do a WC diary. (European Football Weekends) New fashion: Brazilian hooker. (euronews) Everton’s away kit…oh dear. (Football Fashion) Foreign-born coaches don’t have a wonderful history. (WSJ) * – Not for the sensitive – ye have been warned.

Nelson Mandela to Attend World Cup Opener and Final Posted: 03 Jun 2010 07:02 PM PDT You might be thinking: Of course Nelson Mandela (pictured above with South Africa defender Matthew Booth) will attend the World Cup opener and the World Cup Final. Why on earth would he not? Well, South Africa’s former President (and all round legend) is now 92 years old and so a little on the frail side, apparently leading to some debate about whether Mandela would be able to make an appearance at World Cup 2010 or not. However, African National Congress spokesman Jackson Mthembu today confirmed the great man’s attendance, while Mandela met with the South Africa national team. "Madiba will grace both the opening and the closing of the World Cup," Mthembu said, using the traditional clan name by which Mandela is affectionately known in South Africa. "We are very honored to have an icon of Mandela's caliber to grace this important event. We are very happy that Madiba will come. The Madiba magic will add to the excitement." Mandela famously united the newly formed nation fifteen years ago, by publicly supporting the overwhelmingly white supported South Africa rugby union team when South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, even wearing the famous Springbok green and gold jersey for the final, in which South Africa overcame the odds (and Jonah Lomu) to beat New Zealand and lift the trophy. The chances of Bafana Bafana (pictured below with Mandela) emulating the Springboks are obviously not good. But Mandela’s presence at the World Cup’s opening and closing will help make World Cup 2010 in South Africa that extra bit special. AP Photo/Zwide Photo for the Nelson Mandela Foundation

Soundoff: Your World Cup Group C Predictions… Posted: 03 Jun 2010 10:27 AM PDT I think it’s fair to say that World Cup Group C has certain people excited. It consists of four teams – Algeria, England, Slovenia, USA – and an awful lot of hype. USA fans are excited for all kinds of reasons, while the English media (and let’s be honest, some fans) think it’s a very favourable draw. E-A-S-Y even. Read on for my predictions, and please share yours in the comments. First, full disclosure: I’m a fan of both England and the USA, in that order. So I’m almost certainly biased in my predictions. Though that won’t stop me making them. England will not find this group as easy as The Sun thinks. USA will give them a tough opener, probably much tougher than most English fans are expecting. My take on the USA is that they’re massively underrated by fans outside the US (who have a hard time accepting that Americans can play football) but are also overrated by many US fans (who are impatient for the team to take the next step and compete with the big teams). The truth lies somewhere in the middle, which means the USA are capable of beating England if they have a big day and England don’t, and capable of holding England to a draw even if they have a big day and England do too. Even a heroic, narrow 1-0 defeat might be enough for the USA to consider it a decent start to Group C, and give them the confidence to beat Algeria and Slovenia. The one major stumbling block I see for the USA is a repeat of the 1950 World Cup, where the US team claimed a famous victory over England, but went on to lose the next two games and exit the tournament. Speaking of which… Algeria and Slovenia will be no pushovers. They may not be as highly ranked as either England (top 10) or the USA (top 20) but neither Algeria nor Slovenia are small-fry. They’re serious international football teams who qualified for the World Cup from very competitive regions. Despite all that hedging, I still see England collecting enough points to top Group C, and USA racking up enough to finish second. But then again, I’m biased. 1. England 2. USA 3. Algeria 4. Slovenia What do you think? What’s your prediction for Group C? - If you want to get serious with your predictions, enter our World Cup Bracket competition.

You Can’t List Strikers as Goalkeepers in Your World Cup Squad, North Korea Learns the Hard Way Posted: 03 Jun 2010 08:23 AM PDT Have you been patiently waiting for the first bit of bona fide North Korea craziness? Something so bizarre that only a seriously isolated nation could accomplish? Your wait is over. The moment has arrived. Seems that North Korea named only two proper goalkeepers in their final 23 man World Cup squad. Striker Kim Myong-won was listed as the third keeper, which was basically North Korea’s way of attempting to take an extra attacker. Except it’s backfired spectacularly. Because now Kim Myong-won (who, did I mention was a striker?) will only be allowed to play in goal. FIFA made this very very clear in a statement issued today: “The squad lists that the teams had provided to FIFA by 1 June, 2010 are final and can no longer be changed. On the final lists must be no more than 23 players, three of whom shall be goalkeepers. “The only exception is in the case of a serious injury of a player in the list of 23, who could be replaced up until 24 hours before the first match of the team in the competition. “The three players listed as goalkeepers can only play as goalkeepers during the FIFA World Cup and cannot play outfield. This will be communicated to the teams in the team arrival meetings and will be enforced on match days.” The statement added: “Kim Myong-Won will not be allowed to play as an outfield player if he has been put on the list as a goalkeeper.” There are no words for how funny this. Unless you’re Kim Myong-won, for whom I presume there are no words for how angry he is. There is one massive upside to this. When squads were being selected in recent months, more than one person (looking at you Albert O.) wondered if teams really needed three keepers and asked why teams didn’t just name an extra outfield player amongst the goalies. Now we have a concrete example of why that’s not a good idea. That said, I suspect North Korea will find a way around this little clerical comedy. The team has pulled out of more than one friendly with food poisoning in recent years, so don’t be too surprised if a North Korean outfield player sustains a mysterious injury, allowing them to call up a genuine third choice keeper and re-instate Kim Myong-won as a striker. Or failing that, North Korea could just play Kim Myong-won in goal against Brazil.

Four Years On: The 2006 All-Star Team. Posted: 03 Jun 2010 06:10 AM PDT In life, four years is a drop in the bucket, unless it involves hard time and a bully of a shower mate named Benny. In football, four years is eons; if we were to reappropriate football time to equate real time, Germany would have a brontosaurus in net instead of Manuel Neuer. (Which sounds like a stroke of genius with that tail.) So perusing the World Cup All-Star team from ‘06, I was stunned at how many had left the international game or left the game altogether. This really might be the old man’s portion of the young man’s game. Don’t tell England. The players who are no longer with us (in terms of int’l footballing): Jens Lehmann, Ricardo, Roberto Ayala, Lillian Thuram, Ze Roberto, Patrick Vieira, Zinedine Zidane, Michael Ballack, Francesco Totti, Luis Figo, Maniche, Hernan Crespo, Luca Toni. Now for the remainder and their expectations heading into the World Cup: Gianluigi Buffon, GK, Italy: Still Italy’s undisputed No. 1 and the world’s No. 1 when healthy. If healthy, he should make this team again. John Terry, CB, England: The biggest question with England is the status of Rio & JT, a pairing which could be the best at the World Cup, or could collapse as they have individually at times this season. JT’s form suffered after it was revealed he’d slept with Wayne Bridge’s baby mama, which if it teaches us anything is this: don’t sleep with Wayne Bridge’s baby mama. Fabio Cannavaro, CB, Italy: The polite term is ’seeing out his career’; the term is ‘cooked’. It’s been unfortunate, but Fabio’s form has been lacking and it looking every bit his 36 years of age. The nicest guy on the planet, but nice can’t beat age. Gianluca Zambrotta, RB/LB, Italy: See: Cannavaro, Fabio. Zambro is also ‘cooked’ and many were hoping he’d be left off the roster altogether, which didn’t happen, so now the hope is he won’t be required. Philipp Lahm, RB/LB, Germany: At 26, Lahm, one of the best fullbacks in the world without doubt, might just have 2 more good to great World Cups underneath his belt. It’s pretty scary to think he’s only entering his prime. (Then again, he is a fullback.) Ricardo Carvalho, CB, Portugal: A stalwart in Queiroz’s back line through recent, in int’l terms, games, but at 32 might be entering his final big dance – a dance in which his part remains in question. Both he and Pepe suffered long term injuries and both with be going into the finals without any recent club match fitness, so the expectations can’t be too high. Andrea Pirlo, CM, Italy: Brilliant at the World Cup in ‘06, the Xavi before Xavi, and still brilliant on his day, the Azzurri offense, which does have some individual creativity and goals to be had from Antonio Di Natale, will rely heavily on Pirlo’s heavenly right foot and godly hair. One of the few Italians who just might recreate ‘06 heroics – or at least be expected to. Gennaro Gattuso, DM, Italy: His spot is lost – again – to Daniele De Rossi and unless DDR recreates his ‘06 elbow, Rino isn’t going to be considered a key cog on the pitch; on the bench and in the locker room is another matter, however. But to ask him to make this All Star team once again is asking a bit too much – just don’t tell Rino we said that. Thierry Henry, ST, France: Titi might not be cooked, but he’s at least baking and Va Va Voom is now Ga Ga Gone (sorry – it slipped out). The second half of the season with Barca was downright vanilla at times and the ‘handball incident’ they speak of (never heard of it) may not make his life easy. Nor will the bench. Miroslav Klose, ST, Germany: His goalscoring form with Bayern this season was woeful – 3 in 25 – and it helped give rise to Thomas Muller, but the World Cup is Miroslav’s wheelhouse, leading scorer in ‘06 and second in ‘02, so expect a half-dozen goals and lots of looks of self-satisfaction from a very satisfied with himself Jogi Loew. While most of these names are uninspiring four years later, a few will turn back the dial and relive the days of old one last time to the surprise of the world. Only one small question… Who?

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