Down with World Cup Fever!

Another eight days have gone by since I last penned down few thoughts on the FIFA world cup. The results of these eight days have been mixed and more than surprising, especially when one looks in the history.

When I look at the line-up of final 16, I am certain of one fact for sure i.e. only three European Teams are going to qualify for quarter finals. Even since the concept of quarter finals has been introduced in the world cup, European teams have been in the thick of stuffs and always dominated the listing of final 8. Never ever their performance has gone this low. This just goes on to prove that African and Asian countries are on a rise and they really believe that they can match up the standards set by European League teams. A factor for downfall of European Teams could be preference of overseas players to local players in their country leagues.

Most disheartening performances have been from France, Italy, Denmark and Switzerland. While Denmark showed Great Spirit in their game against Cameroon, Switzerland also raised the bar higher in their tie against Spain causing first upset of the tournament. They lived up to my expectations early on which were encouraged by the fact that other teams in their groups were less competitive than them. But, then final games of the league round sent them packing which meant that Chile and Japan qualified to the next round. If this was not too much, champions and runner up of last world cup disappointed every football fan around the globe. Their team composition did not let one believe for once that their campaign would end so early. Credit must go to Mexico and Slovakia for aggressive and confident show.

England, Germany, Portugal and Spain on the other hand raised the level of their games after a shaky start to the tournament. Rooney played a great final game to help England ensure a berth in final 16 and Portugal trounced North Korea with a whopping 7-0 score. Germany and Spain surged ahead with the win in their final games to meet England and Portugal in the final 16. Wow! What can be said about these battles – definitely pulses will see maximum oscillation during these two encounters.

Netherland, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina continued fantastic performances and moved to next round with ease. Argentina and Netherlands were the only teams who could manage to win all the league matches. Brazil and Portugal battle turned ice cold which had no significance on the fate of either team. Phew, Uruguay on the other hand has been surprise pack of the competition. They have already eliminated South Korea in knock-out stage and are all set to meet Ghana in quarter finals. Ghana on the other hand is playing outstanding game of football. Led by Asamoah Gyan, they ended USA’s dream of making it to final 8. Finally, USA ran out of all the energy which they always demonstrated in last minutes of all three league matches.

It has been a great world cup for South American teams with at least four of them likely to qualify for quarter finals. Raise a toast for their magnificent performance and raise one more for Ghana for keeping African hopes alive!

Anything can happen now… No team is a definitive favourite! Most consistent and outrageous show can only guarantee a step closer to the beautiful trophy. Sayonara for now! Waka Waka!

Ye safar...

Ye safar,
Kabhi tanha sa lagta hai,
Dil ko bechain sa karta hai,
Har pal ek imtehaan leta hai,

Ye safar…
Apno se apno ko dur karta,
Anjani raaho me bebas karta,
Anchaahe sawaalo ka ambaar lagaata,

Ye safar…
Parchhaaiyo ki giraft me baandhta,
Aaine me sachchaiyo ko samet ta,
Gahraaiyo ko chaadar se chhupaata,

Ye safar…

Fir bhi anmol hai, ye safar…
Mushkilo ka kitna bhi ho kahar…
Gham bhale hi kitne ho par…
Duriya kitni bhi ho magar…

Ye safar…
Zazbaato ko dil me mahfus rakhta,
Yaado ko zehan me samete rakhta,
Zindagi ko pyaar se sambhaale rakhta,

Ye safar…
Bepanaah khusiyo ka samandar hai,
Sapno ka aur armaano ka basar hai,
Maahi ke saath se mahakta ek asar hai..

Haan ye suhaana safar!!!

The fun continues…

Today is just the ninth day since the fun began. The fever is yet to soar and the drama is yet to reach the pinnacle! As the carnival continues, I thought of recalling the vivid memories thus far through few noteworthy remarks:

1. Brilliant hat-trick by Gonzalo Higuain in their match against South Korea. Though the goals came from Higuain, it was again the Lion-el Messi at the helm of affairs playing artistic football. The victory just reaffirms the prowess of Argentina this time around and virtually seals for them a place in the second round. While Nigeria is almost out of the tournament, Greece and South Korea will battle it out for second team to qualify from this group.

2. Spain losing its first game against Switzerland was first of major upsets. More upsets followed when France and South Africa lost their second group matches in Group A and Germany lost their match to Serbia in Group D. This essentially means that teams to go to next round from Group A could very well be Uruguay and Mexico. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Group D on the other side is still wide open.

3. Excellent form of Netherland continues which has taken them to second round. Cameroon really played well, but I am afraid they have to say “Goodbye South Africa”. If Denmark at all would want to make a point, they need to drastically improve their defense line.

4. Brazil is off to a great start with all the players looking in great touch. They displayed their typical deft style in their opening match against North Korea. Quite insipid performance by Portugal in another match of this group which led to a tie against Ivory Coast. This group is wide open too.

5. Few more insipid performances by Italy and England. England indeed struggled against the minnows Algeria. On the other hand, USA has shown great character to draw both their matches after trailing for a fair amount of time during the match. I am shocked to see the way Rooney has played. He is not at all living up to expectations.

6. Except a few games, there have been a lot of draws and bigger teams are lagging behind in the race to final 16. There have not been too many goals either. Teams are defensive in their approach and injury to some key players has not helped much either. A lot of penalty strokes have been awarded to the teams which is so unusual. Messi, Robinho, Forlan, Sneijder, Blanco, Hernandez, Higuain, Gyan, and Kyut have sparkled brilliantly through their individual performances.

The Vuvuzela Roars when Hips Don’t Lie and The Carnival Begins…

As the clock slowly ticked its way to 18.00 hours (GMT) this past Thursday, the world witnessed one of the most enthralling evenings straight from Orlando Stadium at Johannesburg. “Waka waka” is what everyone chanted with the gorgeous Shakira. She had the audience going crazy and the vuvuzela going even crazier with the most popular number of this century - Hips Don't Lie. The tempo picked up when stars like K’naan, Khaled and Kuti added vivacious flavor around the entire ambience. The celebrations continued till late night. The very next day saw terrific sky activities and Mr. Jacob Zuma’s address to mark the beginning of the excitement and captivation.

By the time one could come back to normalcy after such eventful time, real field action set the pulses racing and swaying. Opening day was scheduled for two matches from group A and would you believe that! The vuvuzela roared and roared even more when Tshabalala opened the goal account for this world cup by capitalizing on a wonderful pass from Modise and gave the hosts a dream start. The hosts played beautifully throughout the match but a very poor defense at the late stage of the game cost them the win. The match ended as a draw but both the teams had reasons to smile especially when other match of the group finished the day with a dull 0-0 score. If France fails to up the ante in its next two games, I am afraid it may be a repeat of 2002 for them. Uruguay, fourth team in the group, as it is did not show much of a prospect.

Two games from group B and one from group C were completed in day two yesterday. The gear suddenly jumped several notches up when two main contenders of the competition took the field. Something roared too on this day but not the vuvuzelas. The real lions were roaring on the field led by artistic and magical Lionel Messi. Watch out for Messi – he is going to be a hero if Argentina at all manages to lift the cup. Though he found a super goalie in the form of Enyeama inside the Nigerian D-box, Heinze’s header sealed the match for Argentines. South Korea in other game of group B made a mockery of Greece and won comprehensively by 2-0. Argentina and South Korea are likely to make the cut easily from this group unless Nigeria produces something out of the world in their next tie.

I wish I could have watched third and last match of the day from group C (though I did not watch earlier matches too). The match was supposed to be one of the high voltage clashes between USA and UK. Playing without Ferdinand and Beckham, England is still a force to reckon with and it was evident from Gerrard’s right-footed shot within minutes of start of play to give England an early lead. England played an absorbing game of football and should have had USA trailing by many goals. But destiny of the game was decided by the blunder from English goalie Green. I wondered how he could let the ball go inside the net. It was absolutely dismaying for English fans. England took their points tally to only one after this draw, but they are here to stay for long. They seem to easily qualify for next round, as other two teams in the group Algeria and Slovenia lock the horns in today’s game. Group D teams will also be opening their tally later tonight.

The fun continues...

96 Hours To Go - The stage is set!

Yes, few more hours to go and mother of all battles is about to get underway. After hosting several sports event successfully, South Africa gets to host World Cup Football across Africa for the first time. And they have left no stones unturned for this special event. They have built several new stadiums and upgraded existing venues. They have invested heavily in public transports and safety measures to ensure smooth traffic of fans.

Coming on to the tournament, once again 32 teams are participating in this World Cup. Each of these 32 teams has appeared in at least one of the world cups earlier and South Africa being the host automatically qualified for the final round. Final Draw of the teams happened in December 2009. As the event kick starts on Friday, I would be looking forward to great individual displays from the teams like Brazil, Argentina and England. It would be equally fair to expect great team game from Italy, France and Netherlands. South Africa will have home advantage for sure but I do not see them making it to final four. Mexico and Spain are the underdogs which can be a challenge for bigger teams in knock out stages. I am not sure who will be the surprise package this time from the minnows (Have not followed much recently). Having said this, I would love to see a Brazil-Argentina final match.

Though actual results may differ from my thoughts and may leave me astonished after 35 days, I cannot wait to submerge into the ocean of football and experience outstanding beauty of skill, grace, power and resistance.