Now THIS GROUP I can get into.
Let's kick up the 4d3d3 like Argentina did today in order to barely salvage three points. Maybe five amazing strikers is a bit too much, as Lionel Messi is out there doing what he wants. But Messi generally can do whatever he wants on the pitch.
How about Greece? They just don't play well in tournaments. They took an extra five minutes to let in their first goal this World Cup, and they were just dominated by the Red Devils. The Koreans have a chance to make it to the knockout stage with that victory.
Germany
Nickname: Die Mannschaft (The Team-how bleak and German, makes me think of Das Boot)
Abbreviation: GER
Last World Cup: 2006: The hosts made a surprise run to the semifinals where they fell to two Italian stoppage time goals in extra time, but did seal third place in Oliver Kahn's last cap with a victory over Portugal. Jurgen Klinsmann was lauded for his efforts and amazing attacking he got out of the group.
How did they get here?: An easy domination of their group, with only two draws to blemish their record and a +21 goal differential.
Manager: Joachim Low, who helped lead them to second in Euro 2008. Low was an assistant under Klinsmann and has been a natural fit succeeding him and continuing the attacking style.
Players to watch: Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski combining up front. The two Polish-born strikers were teammates for a couple seasons at Bayern, but Klose chose to return to Cologne with his role with the German giants in doubt.
Player not to watch: Captain Michael Ballack, who sits with an injury sustained from a tackle by Ghanian (OMG SAME GROUPZ>!>!!?!?!?!) Kevin Prince-Boateng of Portsmouth during the FA Cup Final. This is the problem with Chelsea: too many damn good players in the World Cup, meaning any injury will take away from the biggest tournament.
Another note on this: Prince-Boateng's half-brother Jerome will be playing defense for Germany. The two haven't spoken since the foul (I don't speak German, I got a translation). I expect some England-Portugal style drama during this one.
Prediction: Ballack will surely be missed, but this team shouldn't have any missteps during this one. I'm feeling a deep run for The Team.
Serbia
Nickname: Bell Orlovi (White Eagles)
Abbreviation: SRB
Last World Cup: 2006: (with Montenegro): They weren't expecting three losses, but that is what they got in what turned out to be the Group of Death. One was especially bad: 6-0 at the hands of Argentina. Pretty sorry effort from a team considered a defensive stalwart and probably a good jumping off point in the motivational talk from...uh...a Serbian celebrity.
How did they get here?: Losses to France and Lithuania, both away, were the only blemishes as they easily took Group 7.
Manager: Radomir Antic. You know he's seedy because he has managed both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Only in Serbia.
Player to watch:
Milla Jovovich. The statuesque actress, famous for her portrayal of Leeloo Dallas Multipass in The Fifth Element, will be a huge asset in the midfield. Her looks will...wait, nevermind, it's Milan Jovanovic, false alarm. And he's actually a pretty good playmaker at the wing who will be joining Liverpool for the next season.
Player not to watch: Defender Ivica Draguitinovic, who plays for Sevilla, is injured. With him, the Iron Curtain would be back up with a backline including Nemanja Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic. Alas, he will not make it, and Dave O'Brien won't be able to butcher his name either this year.
Prediction: A strong defense will have a better complement at offense now that Montenegro is gone. And with the other teams in the group not completely at full strength, they have the best chance to take second behind the Germans.
Ghana
Nickname: The Black Star (so I can post this video:
)
Abbreviation: GHA
Last World Cup: 2006: The Black Stars shat on my dreams, beating the Americans after I skipped school to watch their final game of that World Cup. A victory of the Czechs also got them to the second round, where they proceeded to be easily dealt with by the Brazilians.
How did they get here?: Only a loss to Benin and a tie to Mali kept them from a perfect record in the third round as they easily progressed to the continent's first World Cup.
Manager: Milovan Rajevac. Also Serbian, also seedy (he played for Red Star Belgrade when they were owned by the mob and the fans were essentially a militia.
Player to watch: Sulley Muntari, the captain is out, and this midfielder who makes his money at Inter will be asked to step up and help control the midfield, an essential activity in this group.
Player not to watch: Michael Essien, injured just like fellow Chelski star Ballack, will miss the tournament after getting hurt in the African Cup of Nations.
Prediction: Still strong without Essien, his work as a holding midfielder will surely be missed. They may make it out of the group, but no farther than the round of 16 in the knockout stage.
Australia
Nickname: Socceroos
Abbreviation: AUS
Last World Cup: 2006: The Roos were bounced at the last possible moment by a Luca Toni flop and the subsequent Francesco Totti penalty.
How did they get here?: Asian qualification, and it was sort of difficult, marked by losses to Iraq and China, and then in the final stage more swimmingly with no losses.
Manager: Pim Verbeek, a Dutchman, so you know they play damn pretty.
Player to watch: Brett Emerton of Blackburn Rovers, who will hope to not duplicate his lack of success by not getting two yellow cards in his team's second group game. He'll be playing with what we call "a chip on his shoulder."
Player not to watch: James Holland, a star in the making at AZ, but at only 21 years old, his lack of experience left him off the final squad.
Prediction: This group is death, and Australia will be receiving the blunt of its trauma. Sorry, Roos, maybe 2014.
USA!
Quite the result for the Stars and Stripes. Out of nowhere. No one expected the Three Lions to have good goalkeeping, but no one expected it to nip their chances to reach the knockout stage even this lightly. Robert Green made a fool of himself and probably caused some Englishmen to kill themselves yesterday (I mean that seriously, not as a joke). The Americans lucked out big time. But so did the English. The Americans got some good looks in as well, and it could have been 5-1 either way at full time. The Americans need to be ready for Algeria, and be especially ready to take 3 points. Otherwise, this effort will have been for naught.
And Oguchi Onyewu may be the next great American defender by his body type, but he is NOTHING compared to that adulterer John Terry, who plays with a passion that Gooch may lack due to his knee injury not being healed to his satisfaction. Whatever the situation, he does not look to be in the shape to participate in a World Cup Final.
Until next time, look for some tweets right here. And tweet back.
No comments:
Post a Comment