WHAT A CONUNDRUM FOR A FOOTBALL FAN!

The semi finals of the World Cup 2010 saw range of emotions flowing from the football fans across the world. The players and the management involved on the match day were probably more tensed than ever as history beckoned on each one of them. Buoyed by the expectations from the fans, the captains of the team led from front; Gio Bronckhorst – a veteran of 3 world cups let one fly from his left boot for the goal of the tournament. Diego Forlan proved why he is still one of the deadliest strikers of the football. He tamed the Jabulani and beat the Dutch keeper with flight and swerves in the air. Carles Puyol, though he’s not leading the team but marshals the back line of Spain side with same vigour as for the Catalan team. His bullet header crashed into the German net and dashed the hopes of millions of German supporters. Philippe Lahm waved generously at the crowd and graciously accepted the defeat.

Not many were surprised by the Netherlands win, but that match went close up to 70 mins until Wesley & Robben show put Uruguay’s defence to mat. A few of my colleagues were absolutely sure about Germany thumping Spain based on the tournament form. The match was played exactly as I had dreamt about with Torres dropping off to bench and Pedro providing width. The pass until death philosophy worked its magic for the first time for Spain in this edition. This intricate style took the life out of young ethnic Germans and they eventually lost the plot. What followed was the outburst from fans. Spaniards are now called a boring team! Some fans have run out of excuses and are ordering for the “Soup of Octopus!”



Two days later we see another Nostradamesque prediction from ‘Psychic Paul’ that it would be EURO 08 repeat. I have been supporting Spain since exodus of Zinedine Zidane from France in 2006. In Euro 2008, the Dutch displayed striking football and I fell in love with their game play too.
At the start of 2010 World Cup, I had 3 wishes:
1) A Gunner to lift the trophy.
2) Netherlands or Spain to win.
3) Cesc Fabregas to stay with Arsenal for another season.

Now is the time to make a call – Van Persie’s Holland or Cesc’s Spain? With Barca continuing their pursuit of Fabregas and him too pledging of his Catalan blood as if it being of the “purest quality”… It prompts me to choose “The Netherlands”

Hup Holland Hup!!!

The Last Four

Ever since June 11th, ma life's been hectic watching footie. I had been thinking of penning down notes after the group stages where I wanted to abuse the French, Italians and the English badly. But the games flew thick and fast and I found no time to do it. Then, I thought of writing again after the pre-quarters to highlight FIFA's growing negligience towards introducing the simplest of goal-line technologies in their sport. Well I finally found time today, to write this piece of article to talk about Germany's prowess & my thoughts on how semis will unfold.

Meself was nevva a German fan, but I asked one of my friend to start following football by watching the way Germany play and it has been a delight watching them give footballing lessons to proud egoistical nations like England and Argentina. "Blitzkreig" is a famous word in world war history and this German team symbolizes their attacks on the opposition by that word.
Thomas Muller, Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose have all been scoring goals but one player that stands out is BASTIAN SCHWEINSTIGER. He's strong on the ball, controls the pace of the game in midfield and sets up those goals for the team. He's playing like Zidane's 1998 & 2006. He's been well supported by Ozil and Khedira who are barely as famous and rich as players playing in established clubs. Germany have hit the jackpot by having a excellent domestic setup run by good administrators and they are reaping the rewards. On the current form, they are favorites to lift the World cup 2010.

A team that has qualified to semis by virtue of "Hand of God" is the only South American team left at this stage of the tournament. With two World Cup titles to their name they are the dark horses to lift the title. Diego Forlan is their most recognized player and he works his socks off every match to ensure they do not get drubbed by the opposition and the young Luis Suarez who has scored one of the goals of the world cup will miss the clash against the Dutch.

Viva Espana!!! The chants can be heard from the Spanish fans who cheer every pass that gets played into path of David Villa. The striker who moved to Barcelona is showing his class to the rest of the world and currently favorite to win the Golden Boot. But, coach Del Bosque will not be satisified with that, he's here to claim the big prize and Spain still have a lot to do to justify their pre-tournament favorites tag. El Nino has not been sharp and they should try his look alike Llorente in game against Germans. The short passing game looks good to eyes but one mistake and Germans are lethal on counter.


Finally, I speak about my team that I picked at the start of the world cup - The Netherlands. Men in Oranje must be high on confidence after beating the world favorites Brazil in intense quarterfinal match. Who would have thought they will turn the tables on Brazil after going a goal down in just ten minutes of the first half? Ofcourse I knew they would! ;) The DUtch are doing an efficient job and are on a 24 match unbeaten streak, a national record. They havent exactly produced Total Football for which they are known, but its been giving them the results wanted. I have been banking upon the trio of Robben, Sneijder and RVP to lead the Dutch to their first ever World Cup victory. Hup Holland Hup!!!



I do not want to jump the gun and give my bold predictions for semis, I will rather sit back, have fun and watch the events unfold themselves.

Cheers!

World Cup Parties

Good days are coming soon. Football is returning on the telly again and we all will be praying, celebrating, cherishing, sulking or whining depending on the outcome of the game. Yes, and some of us will be bragging and blogging about the teams assigned to us by Mike.

Everybody needs a reason to party and events like World Cup give us chance to get together with Family, friends and relatives. If you've decided to host a World Cup party, then you'll need to get everything right, otherwise it might not just your team that loses out.

Here's 11 what you need to remember.

1. You'll want somewhere large enough to hold all your friends in comfort. If you're holding it at your home, then you'll want to make sure that all your valuables are out of the way of your TV.

2. You'll want to invite all of your friends to your world cup party, so that they can enjoy the football with you. Why not plan ahead and invite them now, so that there's plenty of time for them to swap work shifts as necessary.

3. Your guests will need somewhere to sit, so you'll have to have plenty of chairs, or large cushions for everyone. Maybe you've got enough seats already, or perhaps you'll have to buy some specially.

4. A large TV is essential, and if you haven't got one big enough for everyone to see, then you'll have to get one. You might want to go for a projector, and have the image displayed on one of your walls rather than on a dedicated screen.

5. You'll need to arrange freebies of that particular day's matches with jerseys, flags, posters & vuvuzela; so you can really soak up the atmosphere of South Africa.

6. You'll need plenty of food to keep your guests going between matches, and during half time. You might want to have a buffet, encourage guests to bring their own food, or arrange a takeaway.

7. You'll want your guests to bring their own drinks, so that you don't spend a fortune on drinks that nobody likes. One advantage of guests bringing their own, is that if they run out, it isn't your fault!

8. Ideally, you'll want someone to bring food and drinks to you, so that you don't miss any of the action.

9. Maybe you'll share goodies/sweets if your team wins, or maybe you'll just sulk if they lose. You'll want to have something planned in case you need cheering up after the game.

10. After a party involving food, drink and fantastic football, you'll hopefully have plenty of people to help you to tidy up afterwards. It's amazing how many people have things to do, and need to be elsewhere as soon as there's cleaning up and washing up to be done.

All in all, it can be too costly time to hold a World Cup Party at your home. Even if you don't buy a bigger TV, and your guests cannot bring their own food and drink, you can still hang out at pubs and each one from friend's circle can take turns in sponsoring the food and drinks bill. However, as the World Cup only occurs every 4 years, you'll want to make the most of it.

Now you know what sort of things you need, you'll be able to plan the perfect World Cup party, and enjoy the match even more.

I will be celebrating Oranje month meself and also brag about Denmark. Up the Dutch & Danes!!! ;)

On your mark, Get Set Go...