Thoughts on the Word Cup

Now that the pain of Argentina's loss in the Quarterfinals has subsided, I can look back on what was one of the finest tournaments of my lifetime. Although this was a low scoring tournament it was not a display of defensive boring soccer like the 98 cup. Most teams attacked with reckless abandon, even the Italians, long known as a counterstriking squad. Here's a rundown of my thoughts:

Best story: The Ivory Coast played much better than their record would suggest, giving both Argentina and the Netherlands a scare in the first round. What was amazing, however, was the fact that a civil war in their country was placed on cease-fire in order for the nation to pull together and support their World Cup team, which was composed of players from both warring factions.

Most Entertaining Teams: The honors go to Germany, Argentina, Portugal, and Ghana. Ghana??? Yes. Ghana. Anyone who watched the Ghanaians thuroughly out-play Brazil in the round of 16 would agree with me. What Ghana has is two of the finest midfielders in the tournament in Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah. What they lacked was a world class finisher. Chance after glorious chance evaporated in front of goal for Ghana. The addition of a top flite striker to the African side would have sent Brazil home in tears a round earlier...

Most Entertaining Players: Andrea Pirlo, Italy; Tomas Rosicky, Czech Republic; Deco, Portugal; Arjen Robben, The Netherlands; Carlos Tevez, Argentina. Of the 5 players mentioned here, you'll notice that 4 of them are midfielders. The lone exception is Carlitos Tevez, Argentina's talented young forward who figures to become a megastar in the game of soccer. That Tevez is the only forward also underscores an unfortunate phenomenon in world soccer. Strikers are more and more becoming nothing more than target men. They are large bodied, underskilled players who's only job is to turn on the goal and strike. Ah, but a precious few talented forwards remain, and the future is bright in Argentina. Tevez is joined by young teammates Javier Saviola and Leonel Messi, and all three are dribbling magicians, wonderfully imaginative, and lethal finishers. Saviola is the eldest and most experienced, and Messi is the most talented, but Tevez is a rare bird who combines polished finesse with a bulldog, target-man approach. Opposing nations will fear the Argentine duo of Tevez and Messi for many, many years.

Best Player: Fabio Cannavaro, Italy. The fact that Zinedine Zidane was awarded FIFA's Golden Ball award as the tournament's finest player is a travesty. Imagine for a moment that Zizou had not headbutted Matterazi in the final, and Cannavaro is still the best player in the tournament. He is a defender in the best Italian mold, following in the tradition of men like Paolo Maldini and Carlo Rossi. Intelligent, relentless, and without fear, Cannavaro was the heart and soul of the Italian team, and he deserved to raise the trophy as much as any player in the tournament.

My All Tournament Team:

Goal Keeper - Gianluigi Buffon, Italy. An easy choice. Buffon was spectacular in his stretched out saves, dominated his penalty area on corners and crosses, and distributed accurately and intelligently from the back. Buffon is the best goalkeeper in the world.

Sweeper - Fabio Cannavaro, Italy. See above!

Center Back - Roberto Ayala, Argentina. Ayala, much like Cannavaro, is a fearless, crunching tackler and highly intelligent defender. Although just 5'7", Ayala is excellent in the air, but his greatest strength is in his one on one defending, where even the most talented strikers find themselves lacking.

Left Back - John Pantsil, Ghana. Pantsil was everything you would want from a left sided defender. A fierce tackler, a smart distributor, and a man with ridiculous pace. Pantsil's runs up and down the left flank, combined with quality service into the box made him a dangerous part of the attack as well.

Right Back - Alessandro Nesta, Italy. Nesta, as he has been for nearly a decade, was solid and dependable for Italy. Not a flashy defender, Nesta simply makes no mistakes and clamps down on nearly every enemy movement on the right flank.

Defensive Midfielder - Javier Mascherano, Argentina. Mascherano is an easy choice because he adds a second dimension to the defensive mid position. Yes, he is a solid tackler, and an intelligent defender, but he is also extremely valuable in attack. His superb vision and excellent distribution allow his attacking teammates more space, which proves devastating to opponents trying to mark the likes of Riquelme and Crespo.

Attacking Midfielder - Deco, Portugal. Deco's creativity, nose for goal, and precise passing make him dangerous no matter where he is on the pitch. What makes Deco so lethal, however, is his mastery of dribbling. He is impossible to disposes, which draws defenders to him in droves and allows his teammates more space to attack.

Left Wing - Arjen Robben, The Netherlands. Robben was a one man show in the the Netherlands' victory over Serbia and Montenegro in the first round. Unbelievable speed, a powerfull shot, and remarkable ball skills make him the most dangerous flank player in the game today.

Right Wing - Tomas Rosicky, Czech Republic. When Rosicky has the ball at his feet and begins running at you, he instills the fear of God. Such is his pace and precision. Rosicky is the kind of player that makes you sit on the edge of your seat whenever he recieves the ball. Exciting, talented, the adjectives just roll off the tongue.

Strikers - Carlos Tevez, Argentina. See above!

Strikers - Miroslav Klose, Germany. Klose, the Golden Boot Winner as the tournament's top scorer, is a target man who realizes some skill is still required to play the game. More than just a shooter, the Polish born striker is also solid with the ball on his feet, and creates space for his striking mate to run on to. Most importantly, he is deadly lethal in front of goal.



4 Long years seperate us from the next World Cup. Good thing there's Baseball in between...