World Cup 06

The only sport with a world following - the 2006 Football World Cup is over and we have the new World Champions - Italy. The Azzuries did win the trophy and be crowned for the fourth time. But not convincing. The finals were dominated in play by France for major portions of regulation and extra time. Zinedine Zindane also decided to grab the headlines for head-butting. That the great Zidane failed to control his temper is inexcusable. Sometimes the soccer is not played where the ball is, and Zidane deservedly paid the price.

Pre-tournament favorites

The pre-tournament favorites were Brazil, Argentina, England (probably over-hyped by the
British press), Holland.

Brazil came and played but never imposed their authority on the field. They always seemed to play in the second gear and never really stepped it up. They won mostly because of more experience than their opponents. Ronaldo managed to score 3 goals to break Gerd Mueller's
record but on field he was slow and never really created anything on his own. Brazil were
completly outplayed eventually in the quarter-finals by their nemesis - France and Zidane.
It was pure magic to see Zidane make Ronaldo and Kaka look ordinary. Ronaldinho had a very
ordinary world cup for his lack of creativity on the field. But he is a great individual
talent with exemplary ball skills.

Argentina - The other south american team, played hard running soccer. But somehow their
strategy of attacking in the centre and not using the flanks appeared flawed from the very
beginning. The have good individual players like Riquelme, Rodriguez, Tevez and Messi. They
finally came short against the host nation - Germany in the quarterfinals.The physically
stronger and taller Germans played intelligent soccer against Argentina and both teams never
dominated the contest deservedly decided on penalties.

England - The less said the better. The English press completly raised the profiles of their
super-stars who were mediocre on the field. The Gerrards and the Lampards were off target
almost always and made me respect Ronaldo even more. Ronaldo doesnt create chances but when he gets a chance on goal, he will almost score 8 times out of 10.Wayne Rooney, the sole messiah of the English - made big boast about breaking Ronaldo world cup goal scored record, but instead crushed Portugal player's tomatoes. Out he was thrown from the game. Overall England lacked creativity and good goal scorers. They only progressed as far because of a solid backline and set-pieces.

Holland- Holland seemed to be one of the tournament favorites only because the world cup was
in Europe and other European teams did not offer much promise before the start of the World
Cup. A misfiring attack and lack of a solid mid-field with only Arjen Robben shining.Not a world champion material.

Tournament In Progress Analysis

The Asian teams were a disaster and a little bit behind them were the African Nations.

Ghana was the surprise team however. They played good attacking soccer and they had speed. They were only undone by sheer inexperience.

The Socceroos were a surprise team for the world. I wasnt, really because Australia has a strong sporting culture and they dominate other world sports like rugby,cricket, and swimming.

Germany the host nation, played attacking and intelligent soccer. Their long range attacks
on the goal was the best and their forward pair of Klose and Podolsky combined very well.Klose does have Ronaldo's record to target as motivation for the next world cup.

Klinsmann the German coach was criticized for his american training methods and selection
policies for picking out younger players and ignoring national hero Oliver Kahn. Eventually
he was vindicated and almost appeared god fatherly when he let Kahn have the last game for
the third place finish against Portugal.

Portugal - Deserved the worst fair play team award. Their players dived and fell and tried
all sorts of tricks to unsettle their opponents. Figo and Ronaldo were masterly in this
regard besides their great footballing skills. Did deserve their fourth play finish.

The world cup finalists

France- Written off before the tournament even began for having too many old players, lack of scoring ability. They started very slowly but just as the old wine tastes better, they
got better.

They finally came of the blocks with a win over Togo and then dominated all the
way to the finals. Zidane, Viera and Henry, Makellele,Thuram were outstanding.

Ribery was the star player though. With his tireless runs, he created all those chances for his
team.

And, if you wanted nervous moments if you were rooting for france, they the
unpredictable Barthez did that job very well.

France deserved to be in finals and also win the finals but unfortunately they did not.

Italy-The match fixing scandal in the background and no solid results in the past few world
cups, italy was written off even before the world cup began.

However Italy had great backline and brilliant goalkeeper in Buffon. They ground out results and if you cant score, dont let'em score was their MANTRA.

Skipper Cannavaro was outstanding throughout the world cup. They scored too when it mattered.

Italy had their luck to ride on in their win against Australia. But sometimes luck favors the brave too. They never played the enterprising attacking soccer but it was effective. They did win the trophy as per the rules of the game.

So well done Italy. See you in 4 years.Ciao.

Overall Analysis

• Too many red and yellow cards
• Strategic soccer and less flair. Too controlled by the coaches.
• Asian and African teams continue to struggle.
• Teams are getting experts at diving and rolling on the ground. Team training sessions on
  play acting a MUST.
• NO doping scandal.
• Zidane flawed genius.England- world champions - not in a million years.
• Ronaldo, in the history books and time to retire from International soccer.