World Cup 2010 Blog: Soundoff: Who Do You Most Want To See Your Team Knock Out in South Africa?

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Soundoff: Who Do You Most Want To See Your Team Knock Out in South Africa? Posted: 17 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT Did a similar themed post over at the England World Cup Blog yesterday and thought it might be interesting to throw it open to everyone. Who is the team you would most like your team to beat in South Africa. For me, I’d like to see England beat Argentina to get a bit of revenge on Diego Maradona for 1986 and all that. Perhaps there is an age-old grudge that you would like to see finally settled. Perhaps you’d like to see your team beat the side that knocked you out four years ago, or perhaps you’re going to be traditional and hope your team beats your traditional rivals. Perhaps you just want to get one over the big boys, Spain and Brazil. That’d give your team the confidence to go a long long way. Perhaps you follow a smaller side, and you are just hoping to beat anyone. Maybe though, you’re not worried as long as your team goes as deep into the tournament as possible. Whichever way, let us know.

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Podcast: World Cup 2010 Group E Preview: “In Summation: Vote Roger Milla”” plus 1 more

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Podcast: World Cup 2010 Group E Preview: “In Summation: Vote Roger Milla” Posted: 16 Apr 2010 11:10 AM PDT It’s Friday, so it must be World Cup preview podcast time again. This week it’s the turn of Group E, which features the talents of Cameroon, Denmark, Japan and the Netherlands (and apparently Holland too). Your four co-hosts debate the merits of each team in various categories (some serious: Best Coach, some not so much: Best Celebrity Spokesperson) and then add up the points to see which two teams go through. This fifth episode of the Total Football Soccer Show’s World Cup previews was originally broadcast Thursday, April 15th on WRIR 97.3, and is now available as a podcast. Questions raised include: Did Sam Allardyce longball Hidetoshi Nakata into retirement? Why doesn’t Barack Obama phone Brian McBride? And how much would it suck to be Brian Laudrup? So… Cameroon, Denmark, Japan and the Netherlands. Which two of these these four fine football teams will make the grade? I can’t tell you. Partially because I can’t remember, but mostly because I want you to listen to the podcast and find out that way. - You can download the mp3 here and you can subscribe via iTunes here. - More World Cup 2010 preview podcasts.

10 World Cup Questions: Netherlands Posted: 16 Apr 2010 07:10 AM PDT Chris and myself have been trying our best to profile each of the 32 teams that will compete at World Cup 2010, but our knowledge about each team is miniscule (or at least mine is anyway) when compared to that of our team bloggers. If you’re unfamiliar with World Cup Blog, then allow me to explain: The blog you’re reading now is the front page, but the core of WCB is the multitude of team specific blogs, including one for each of the World Cup 2010 teams. The authors of these team blogs have forgotten more about their sides than I’ll ever know, so I decided to tap that knowledge by asking each of them a set of 10 questions. Over the next few weeks we’ll be publishing the answers from our team bloggers and sharing their expert knowledge and opinions here on the front page. First up is Jan from the very popular Netherlands blog. His 10 answers are below, so read on to become an Oranje expert. 1. Who is your best player? We have many “best players”, which is one of our strengths. Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder will most probably compete for this tag, but holding midfielders Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel might claim this title too. But who knows, maybe old hand Van Nistelrooy will finally claim his place at the highest level… Or will it be newcomer Eljero Elia? 2. What do you think of your coach? Bert van Marwijk might not be the most inspiring coach the Dutch ever produced (amongst Cruyff, Hiddink, Van Gaal) but he seems to have the right profile for team manager. We try not to think about our 2002 campaign under Van Gaal… Van Marwijk is a decent man, doesn’t say or do silly things, is diplomatic and respectful to his players and is above all a realist. He might not discover new ways to play football or perform air-karate kicks along the touch line. He will never insult the media or be caught with his pants down somewhere. He won’t be the most adventurous coach, which is good because the Dutch would like to win a world cup this time, thank you very much…. 3. What do you think of the Netherlands World Cup 2010 kits? I can’t be bothered, really. I don’t care what they wear as long as it’s orange and as long as they win games. I did like the vintage WC2006 kits but other than that I am not fuzzed at all. I do like the blue socks, white shorts, orange shirts combination, 4. What’s your team’s biggest strength? Our pass and move game combined with “total football”. Most of our players have tremendous technical skills and we are always looking forward, looking to create something. Another big strength – since recently – is that we can play as a team. 5. …and biggest weakness? Our biggest strength is also our biggest weakness. We tend to rely on our creative skills to win games. When the going gets tough, we need to be willing and able to work and battle for a result and that’s where we let ourselves down regularly. Another typical Dutch issue is the Battle of the Ego’s. Infighting and power-struggles and all that jazz. Lastly, we tend to think we’re the champs already after two decent games… 6. If you could steal one player from any other World Cup 2010 team, then who would it be and why? We wouldn’t. There would be the language barrier and…sorry…just kiddin’. But I don’t think we would steal a player… Maybe a central defender like John Terry. Our offensive players can compete with the best of the planet and so can our holding midfielders. Our defenders don’t have the international status of big name players, but their statistics are pretty good. So, we’ll stick to the lads we have. 7. Tell us one thing about your team that the rest of the world might not know… Ah, where to start… The Dutch play in Orange due to the link to the Royal Family of Holland, who are named Van Oranje (of Orange). Our most successful and famous squad – the WC1974 squad – shouldn’t have qualified for the World Cup. We played our last qualification game against Belgium. Belgium scored a surefire goal but it was disallowed for off side. The replay clearly showed it wasn’t. We missed a number of center backs due to injuries (Drost, Israel, Laseroms, Hulshof, Mansveld) so coach Michels had to improvise. Young midfielder Arie Haan was put libero and debutant Rijsbergen became stopper. The risk of these two young players was compensated by goalie Jan Jongbloed, a very fast runner and good with his feet. He essentially played libero. Johan Cruyff didn’t go to the World Cup 1978 in Argentina. The rumor was that Danny – his wife – was jealous and didn’t want another Bild-swimming pool incident and told Johan not to go. Recently, Johan disclosed information how right before the WC, some Dutch burglar broke into JC’s house with a gun, trying to rob the Cruyffs. He tied Danny up and had JC at gunpoint. Some hero-stunt got them out of there but Johan decided not to leave Danny alone after that. 8. What would you consider success/failure for your team at World Cup 2010? I personally believe we need to go for gold. But if we are ousted at quarter final level after a great game against a better opponent, I wouldn’t be too sad. If we get to the semis with luck I might be less impressed. But all in all, I want them to win it with great football. 9. What are you most exited about at World Cup 2010? Just the mere fact that it’s on . Waited 4 years for it. I also believe Holland has a squad that could win it. 10. Who do you think will win World Cup 2010? The obvious answer is Holland or Spain. England has a good squad too. Germany is always a contender. And then there’s the South Americans… Brazil and Argentina. The latter have Messi, but they also have Maradona. And who knows, one of the African nations may get far this time around. - More from Jan on Netherlands World Cup Blog.

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Nigeria World Cup 2010 Team Profile” plus 3 more

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• Nigeria World Cup 2010 Team Profile
• Tricky Dick Goes On, Takes The Money And Runs.
• Greece World Cup 2010 Team Profile
• Just Another Day In The Life Of FIFA

Nigeria World Cup 2010 Team Profile Posted: 16 Apr 2010 04:10 AM PDT Nigeria can boast something only a half-dozen other teams in the world can right now: they’ll be playing the World Cup on their home continent come June. Beyond that, they can’t boast much because they don’t know much. The uninspiring performance at the African Cup of Nations saw Shaibu Amodu relieved of his duties atop the Nigerian coaching pyramid and Lars Lagerback rewarded for not taking Sweden to the World Cup with an all expense paid trip to that same World Cup. So they’re in a bit of transition right before summer festival. So maybe a shake-up will be good; or maybe a shake-up will be just that – a shake-up. Nickname: Super Eagles Group: B; Argentina, Greece, South Korea FIFA World Ranking as of March 31st 2010: 22nd Coach: Lars Lagerback. Fresh off their lackluster showing at the African Cup of Nations, they “reassigned” Shaibu Amodu in February, naming Lars Lagerback in his place for the summer. Lars is also coming fresh off a disappointing set – failing to get Sweden, his post for the last ten years, to South Africa. This means his first official game of the stint will be against Argentina. Joy. Key Players: The big names are concentrated towards the front, with a blend of speed, strength and size providing a bounty of physical gifts. Yakubu is nicknamed Yak because his shoulders dwarf most of the bovines (no other reason, swear); Obafemi Martins has pace and skills for days on end, ditto (to a lesser degree) for Victor Obinna; Chinedu Obasi provides something of a tall, speedy, skillful wild card; and beanpole captain Nwakwo Kanu is still going strong at 87…oh, only 33. (Seriously – he’s been around forever.) There’s little to go on in midfield with the new gaffer in town, but most will know Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel (or Mikel John Obi, or…however you prefer) and Ayilla Yussuf is no small talent currently catching his checks in Kiev. In the back Joseph Yobo is the central leader, with Chidi Odiah, an attacking fullback, on the right and Taye Taiwo, a tank with implanted cannon for a left leg, on the left. In net will be the quietly impressive Vincent Enyeama, who doesn’t get the pub of some other quality keepers simply because he plays in Israel. (And because he can’t get on most goalkeeper amusement rides – he’s 180cm.) Player with best YouTube video: Back in the day, the bee’s knees aspired to be Nwankwo Kanu. Player with best name: According to Wikipedia he only has one cap, but that cap accompanies what will be the best name by some distance at the World Cup if he makes it: Thankgod Amaefule. (Bit of a troublemaker for such a religious fellow, though.) Player with best nickname: Certain people were obviously born for certain nicknames: Yakubu “The Yak” Aiyegbeni is somewhere up the top of the list. Qualification: It wasn’t terribly easy, and it took a bit of help from Mozambqiue to just squeak into the tournament. Tunisia were ahead by two points heading into a last day, which meant Nigeria needed to get real lucky. They did: they beat Kenya 3-2 with an Obafemi goal nine minutes from time while Mozambique stunned Tunisia seven minutes from time for a 1-0 victory. Fashionably late, but still invited. Interesting: National Anthem: "Arise, O Compatriots" More on the Nigerian anthem here. Kit: The traditional all-green outfit for home. You can buy the Nigeria shirt in our store. World Cup History: Nigeria attained the highest-ever FIFA ranking for an African team at 5th in 1994. Expectations: The buzzword surrounding Nigeria in Angola was “craft” – as in they didn’t have any. They’re physically gifted, but lacking in technical quality, so much so there were rumblings of giving Jay-Jay Okocha a Roger Milla-esque comeback. They’re still good enough to at least scrap for the second spot in the groups, with the added bonus of African soil perhaps setting the bar a bit higher. Squad: TBA Blog: Bc Osunneye runs the Nigeria World Cup Blog. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.

Tricky Dick Goes On, Takes The Money And Runs. Posted: 16 Apr 2010 01:10 AM PDT There was breaking (sort of) and surprising (not really) news that Dick Advocaat left one of his coaching spots (he’s still filling in at AZ) as Belgian gaffer less than one year after taking the reins, with the good money saying he did so to take the big money with Russia. Fret not, you are not suffering through a bout of déjà vu. In 2008 he signed on with the Soccerroos, only to cancel the deal when his current club offered him a mammoth new contract. How do we know? Dick told us: "I couldn't refuse this offer. It was quite a lot of money, to be honest. It was not double, it was more. Much more." So between this and hist recent highly successful stint with Zenit in Russia, it’s pretty easy to put one and one together to make rubles. The fact that no reason was given makes it even more likely. However, there’s potentially more lurking behind the scenes, as Dick isn’t the first one to resign from the current constitution Belgian national team. The medical staff resigned last year because, as they say, they’re Europe’s “childish snobs”. Seemingly unable to gel, the dressing room has reportedly ”divided into factions”. Newspaper La Dernière Heure was told last month by an ‘insider’ that: “There is the [Daniel] van Buyten clan, the France-based players, the trio of [Timmy] Simons, Sonck and [Stijn] Stijnen, the guys from Amsterdam, the guys from AZ, and then, of course, the Standard and Anderlecht factions.” The fall-out from the reigns of Vandereycken and Vercauteren also saw the entire medical staff resign. ”The mentality of some of the players is deplorable,” former national team doctor Marc Goossens told the Guardian. ”We got fed up with the many intolerable things that made it impossible for us to do our jobs… they are pseudo-stars… with the sick attitude of childish snobs.” The appeal of the Belgian nat’l team is and was massive; there’s a tremendous generation of young talent coming up, including Defour, Hazard, Verthongen, Fellaini, Witsel, Vermaelen, etc. The only apparent problem is they know it. And really, self-realization is the diciest of dice rolls. So if/when Dick is named the next coach of Russia, we can be damn sure he checked the checks first, but also knowing he likely got a convincing helping hand. Hopefully then he’ll reveal the offer to have been triple, too. Until then, let’s petition FIFA for a rule which states every time Dick emerges from a tunnel, it must be accompanied by his soundtrack:

Greece World Cup 2010 Team Profile Posted: 15 Apr 2010 03:06 PM PDT We all know that Greece won Euro 2004, but did you know the team has appeared in only one previous World Cup, and is still waiting for its first World Cup goal and win? They stand a good chance of achieving both those firsts in World Cup Group B this June, where Greece will face Argentina, Nigeria and South Korea. Read on for the profile, as well as some excellent YouTubage of Giorgos Karagounis. Nickname: Galanoleyki (blue and white, colours of flag) or, since Euro 2004, To Piratiko (The Pirate Ship) FIFA World Ranking as of March 31st 2010: #11 Coach: German Otto Rehhagel is in charge, and has been since 2001. Quite a stint. Rehhagel is apparently a little on the arrogant and/or stubborn side, but is also famed for his motivational skills. He took a lot of credit for Greece’s historic Euro 2004 victory (the Greek fans call him “King Otto”) but also took a bit of criticism for Greece’s defensive tactics throughout the tournament. Those same tactics failed spectacularly at Euro 2008, and to Rehhagel’s credit he innovated during World Cup 2010 qualifying. The current approach isn’t necessarily pretty, as it’s all about getting the ball to the big strikers as quickly as possible, but it’s not as cautious as the Euro 2004 approach. Also, looking at that image, I’m starting an internet rumour here and now that the apparently 71 year old Rehhagel has a portrait of himself looking very very old hidden somewhere in his house. Key Players: The 6′4″ Liverpool defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos is a ponytailed monster in central defence. Kostas Katsouranis does the defensive midfield work, but is no fool with the ball. That said, the playmaking responsibilities will fall at the capable feet of #10 and captain Giorgos Karagounis, who’s now 33 and in his third spell with Panathinaikos, but has also played for Benfica and Inter. He also takes a mean free kick, but more on that later. Going forward, the big men are 6′3″ Angelos Charisteas and 6′4″ Georgios Samaras, but top scorer in World Cup qualifying (not just for Greece, but in all of Europe) was Theofanis Gekas with 10. He’s not big and he’s not fast, but if we judge players solely on goals scored in World Cup qualifying then Theofanis Gekas is better than Wayne Rooney. Player with best YouTube video: Has to be Giorgos Karagounis. Check out this bit of bodyswerving for Inter: Also check out his repertoire of long range shots and scary free kicks. Free kick skills are especially useful if you are (as this video claims) “the best diver in the world”. Don’t judge. Talent is talent. Player with best name: Has to be Avraam Papadopoulos, because that surname is fun to say. Player with best nickname: Greek nicknames are hard to come by. Only player I could find anything for was Giorgos Karagounis, who is apparently known as “Kara” (which is a bit obvious) but also “Typara”. If anyone can explain the Typara nickname then please share in the comments. Qualification: Finished just one point behind Switzerland in UEFA Group 2, scoring an impressive 20 and conceding 10. Second place was enough for a playoff vs Ukraine. A first leg 0-0 draw in Athens was not a great result, but Rehhagel’s men went to Donetsk and won 1-0 away to secure a World Cup spot. Panathinaikos winger Dimitris Salpigidis got the all important goal. Interesting: At 71 years old, Otto Rehegal will be oldest coach of a World Cup team in South Africa. That’s if you believe he’s really 71 of course. He’ll also be the second longest serving coach in South Africa, just behind Denmark’s Morten Olsen. National Anthem: The Greek national anthem is called “Hymn to Liberty”. Kit: White shirt, white shorts, white socks, but with plenty of blue touches. Home jersey looks like this: Like it? Buy a Greece home jersey from our World Cup store. World Cup History: 1994 – Round 1 Expectations: Incredibly for a European Championship winner, Greece has never won a World Cup game, or scored a goal. Qualification for the knockout stage is a possibility, but I suspect that even a first World Cup win would be greeted warmly. Squad: TBA Blog: Peter and Chris are manning the Greece blog. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.

Just Another Day In The Life Of FIFA Posted: 15 Apr 2010 12:10 PM PDT As is often the case with FIFA, they mucked something up initially. Unlike FIFA, they actually admitted the errors of their ways and righted a wrong. Previously, World Cup tickets in South Africa were only available through the internet or a complex computerized system which was, among other things, so off-putting hundreds of thousands of tickets for the world’s biggest sporting event remained unsold. With the tournament now less than two months away, they made tickets available “over the counter”, payable with cash. Cue bedlam. This was supposed to be a good thing – and judging by the reports of 500k sold for 500k available tickets, it was a wild success…unless you’re treating those numbers with a healthy dose of skepticism – but it appears to be a clusterfuck in typical FIFA fashion. From the BBC’s report: Thousands of fans who queued overnight in South Africa finally got their hands on World Cup tickets, but scuffles broke out as computers crashed. Some 500,000 tickets were sold at various venues on Thursday. But police used pepper spray to control frustrated fans and in Cape Town a 64-year-old man died from a heart attack. BBC Sport’s news correspondent Gordon Farquhar said Fifa’s integrated ticketing computer had encountered problems, resulting in long waiting times for queuing fans. After three and a half hours in Cape Town, only 32 people out of a crowd of about 1,000 had managed to buy tickets. “No one’s informed us about what’s going on. No one’s directing the public outside,” said Theo Spangenberg, who had been waiting for 16 hours and still had not made it inside the newly opened ticketing centre. “For a World Cup, an international event of this nature, it’s a really, really bad show.” The death is tragic but there’s little to say it had anything to do with the sales; pepper spray, however, leads one to think their planning was not in tip-top form. The AFP’s news report, sadly unembeddable, shows a bit of the atmosphere in the midst of technical and tactical difficulties. It sounds like in the end the tickets might just get sold and the stadiums might just fill up on gameday, but the journey to success was rendered a trudge through quicksand thanks to FIFA. Just another day in the life of football’s governing body. (If you’re feeling particularly anti-FIFA today, Unprofessional Foul has a nice look on keepin’ it in the family.)

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