World Cup 2006: A look back before the Grand Finale!
What a World Cup tournament this has been! The most yellow and red cards shown in a single tournament in World Cup history! A bunch of sensational matches, all the superpowers progressing through to the latter stages of the tournament, and most remarkably, the return to form of one of the greatest players to ever play the game, Zinedine Zidane, affectionately known as Zizou! I'd like to just highlight some of the memorable moments of the Cup so far, and give you my version of the World Cup All-Stars. Fifa's official All-Star squad was really quite disappointing in certain aspects.
The big plusses:
Trinidad & Tobago, for that inspirational 0-0 tie with Sweden which showed that size of the country does not matter! So, shut up Portugal! Leo Beenhakker really worked wonders with the limited resources at his disposal.
Ivory Coast, for putting up 3 immensely gritty performances in the Group of death. 3 times they went down 2-0 and all three times they came back roaring and played some terrific attacking football that finally came to fruition against the hapless Serbians. They put a smile back on the Ivorians' faces, and for a country torn by civil war, that is quite an achievement.
Italy, for being able to play such great football so consistently when most of the players know they will be out of a job within the next couple of months! Amidst the terrible betting scandal, the Italians have restored integrity to themselves and proved what a footballing superpower they truly are.
Argentina, for playing the beautiful game exactly as it should be played, with flair and skill! Their 6-0 demolition of Serbia & Montenegro will probably live on in most fans' memories as the finest display of the South American style of play, perhaps even of all time! It was sad to see them lose in a penalty shoot-out though.
Germany, for restoring national pride to a nation not known for being patriotic. Heavily criticized before the tournament, Jurgen Klinsmann worked his way into the hearts and souls of every German within the span of 3 weeks, and he had the usually sterile German side playing flowing, attacking, winning football! Truly a great achievement.
The minusses:
Czech Republic, for disappointing so badly after promising so much in their first outing when they took apart the US 3-0. An ageing squad led by an ageing coach looked their age against the energetic Ghanians and rejuvenated Italians. Touted as one of the pre-tournament dark horses to win the Cup, they made a quiet exit in the first round!
Holland, for dragging the beautiful game to its lowest ebb in its game against Portugal in the second round. 16 yellows and 4 reds will tell you quite a lot about the nature of this game, and the Dutch instigated the dirty game by engaging in some horrendous tackles very early in the game. For a team boasting the flair of Robben, van Persie and van der Vaart to stoop so low was really pathetic!
Togo, this one really comes down to the Togo federation that made life so difficult for its players and coaches by being embroiled in a pay dispute virtually throughout their World Cup stay! Despite this terrible drama, it is quite remarkable that Togo put in some decent performances against Korea and France in particular. But you have to wonder how much better they might have been, had all the problems been sorted out before the tournament.
Serbia & Montenegro, perhaps the biggest minus of all in this tournament! They came into this tournament with high hopes, having had a very strong European qualifying run. It all fell apart in their 3 Cup games, however. There was no cohesion, very little effort and almost no skill shown by this side which lost all three of its games to Holland, Ivory Coast and Argentina. A massive clearout is needed if they are to be taken seriously by any opposition anymore! Shameful!
World Cup All-Star Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) - Only 1 goal allowed until the final, and that was scored by his own teammate! Enough said!
Ricardo (Portugal) - If for nothing else, for his sensational penalty kick stopping feats against England!
Shaka Hislop (T&T) - His performance against Sweden remains the best by any goalkeeper in this tournament!
Defenders:
Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) - Commanding captain
Christoph Metzelder (Germany) - Led a very inexperienced German backline admirably.
Philippe Senderos (Switzerland) - Fantastic young center-back with loads of guts.
Philipp Lahm (Germany) - Easily one of the best full-backs in the competition.
Fabio Grosso (Italy) - Probably the best left-back in the Cup, along with Lahm.
Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy) - Easily the best right-back in the tournament.
Brett Sancho (T&T) - Heart and soul of the T&T defence.
Miguel (Portugal) - Marauding full-back attacked as much as he defended.
Midfielders:
Andrea Pirlo (Italy) - Classy holding midfielder, made that superb pass that knocked Germany to its knees in the semis.
Didier Zokora (Ivory Coast) - Immensely hardworking midfielder that made the Ivorian midfield tick.
Michael Essien (Ghana) - Led the Black Stars to the second round, and how they missed him against Brazil!
David Odonkor (Germany) - Only played as a sub, but he changed almost every game he was involved in. Amazing speed!
Tranquillo Barnetta (Switzerland) - Terrific young winger lent pace and skill to the Swiss attack.
Juan Roman Riquelme (Argentina) - Pulled all the strings for the Argentines in midfield. Taking him off against Germany was a huge mistake!
Francesc Fabregas (Spain) - Only 19, but now established in the heart of the Spanish midfield.
Zinedine Zidane (France) - The maestro took his time to get going, but he was huge in the wins over Spain and Brazil.
Forwards:
Fernando Torres (Spain) - Proved himself to be a goalscorer at the highest level after having many doubters.
Miroslav Klose (Germany) - Pure goalscoring ability. Kept Germany alive against the Argentines with a typically important strike.
Abdelkader Toure (Togo) - Hardworking, skilful striker overshadowed his more illustrious compatriot Emmanuel Adebayor!
Lukas Podolski (Germany) - The other half of the potent German strikeforce. Fifa Young Player of the tournament.
The big plusses:
Trinidad & Tobago, for that inspirational 0-0 tie with Sweden which showed that size of the country does not matter! So, shut up Portugal! Leo Beenhakker really worked wonders with the limited resources at his disposal.
Ivory Coast, for putting up 3 immensely gritty performances in the Group of death. 3 times they went down 2-0 and all three times they came back roaring and played some terrific attacking football that finally came to fruition against the hapless Serbians. They put a smile back on the Ivorians' faces, and for a country torn by civil war, that is quite an achievement.
Italy, for being able to play such great football so consistently when most of the players know they will be out of a job within the next couple of months! Amidst the terrible betting scandal, the Italians have restored integrity to themselves and proved what a footballing superpower they truly are.
Argentina, for playing the beautiful game exactly as it should be played, with flair and skill! Their 6-0 demolition of Serbia & Montenegro will probably live on in most fans' memories as the finest display of the South American style of play, perhaps even of all time! It was sad to see them lose in a penalty shoot-out though.
Germany, for restoring national pride to a nation not known for being patriotic. Heavily criticized before the tournament, Jurgen Klinsmann worked his way into the hearts and souls of every German within the span of 3 weeks, and he had the usually sterile German side playing flowing, attacking, winning football! Truly a great achievement.
The minusses:
Czech Republic, for disappointing so badly after promising so much in their first outing when they took apart the US 3-0. An ageing squad led by an ageing coach looked their age against the energetic Ghanians and rejuvenated Italians. Touted as one of the pre-tournament dark horses to win the Cup, they made a quiet exit in the first round!
Holland, for dragging the beautiful game to its lowest ebb in its game against Portugal in the second round. 16 yellows and 4 reds will tell you quite a lot about the nature of this game, and the Dutch instigated the dirty game by engaging in some horrendous tackles very early in the game. For a team boasting the flair of Robben, van Persie and van der Vaart to stoop so low was really pathetic!
Togo, this one really comes down to the Togo federation that made life so difficult for its players and coaches by being embroiled in a pay dispute virtually throughout their World Cup stay! Despite this terrible drama, it is quite remarkable that Togo put in some decent performances against Korea and France in particular. But you have to wonder how much better they might have been, had all the problems been sorted out before the tournament.
Serbia & Montenegro, perhaps the biggest minus of all in this tournament! They came into this tournament with high hopes, having had a very strong European qualifying run. It all fell apart in their 3 Cup games, however. There was no cohesion, very little effort and almost no skill shown by this side which lost all three of its games to Holland, Ivory Coast and Argentina. A massive clearout is needed if they are to be taken seriously by any opposition anymore! Shameful!
World Cup All-Star Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) - Only 1 goal allowed until the final, and that was scored by his own teammate! Enough said!
Ricardo (Portugal) - If for nothing else, for his sensational penalty kick stopping feats against England!
Shaka Hislop (T&T) - His performance against Sweden remains the best by any goalkeeper in this tournament!
Defenders:
Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) - Commanding captain
Christoph Metzelder (Germany) - Led a very inexperienced German backline admirably.
Philippe Senderos (Switzerland) - Fantastic young center-back with loads of guts.
Philipp Lahm (Germany) - Easily one of the best full-backs in the competition.
Fabio Grosso (Italy) - Probably the best left-back in the Cup, along with Lahm.
Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy) - Easily the best right-back in the tournament.
Brett Sancho (T&T) - Heart and soul of the T&T defence.
Miguel (Portugal) - Marauding full-back attacked as much as he defended.
Midfielders:
Andrea Pirlo (Italy) - Classy holding midfielder, made that superb pass that knocked Germany to its knees in the semis.
Didier Zokora (Ivory Coast) - Immensely hardworking midfielder that made the Ivorian midfield tick.
Michael Essien (Ghana) - Led the Black Stars to the second round, and how they missed him against Brazil!
David Odonkor (Germany) - Only played as a sub, but he changed almost every game he was involved in. Amazing speed!
Tranquillo Barnetta (Switzerland) - Terrific young winger lent pace and skill to the Swiss attack.
Juan Roman Riquelme (Argentina) - Pulled all the strings for the Argentines in midfield. Taking him off against Germany was a huge mistake!
Francesc Fabregas (Spain) - Only 19, but now established in the heart of the Spanish midfield.
Zinedine Zidane (France) - The maestro took his time to get going, but he was huge in the wins over Spain and Brazil.
Forwards:
Fernando Torres (Spain) - Proved himself to be a goalscorer at the highest level after having many doubters.
Miroslav Klose (Germany) - Pure goalscoring ability. Kept Germany alive against the Argentines with a typically important strike.
Abdelkader Toure (Togo) - Hardworking, skilful striker overshadowed his more illustrious compatriot Emmanuel Adebayor!
Lukas Podolski (Germany) - The other half of the potent German strikeforce. Fifa Young Player of the tournament.
posted by Manoj at
11:31 AM
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