With about 9 days to go for one of the biggest events in sports to kick-off, FIFA World Cup is the flavor of the season everywhere you go. When the tournament was last held in Japan/South Korea in 2002, I was preparing to leave for Germany for my MSc.
The performance of Germany was not very great, except for the miraculous hands of Oliver Kahn. My all time favourites Brazil displayed some amazing performances in the tourney. My personal favourite was the one against China, when all the 4 R´s (Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho) showed their skills and the one against England when Ronaldinho´s free kick showed his true talent which was raw then. Now after an amazing season with Barcelona, he is back to create some Samba magic again. Clearly, he is one of the players to watch out for in this tournament. There are some others as well, who will keep you excited with their game. The legendary Zidane is probably playing in his last World Cup, then you have Ronaldo (though he has not shown any great form, but you can expect him to strike form soon). Rooney is said to be in the squad for England, he was a great talent in the Euro-2004 in Portugal. Christian Ronaldo is also a player to watch out for. Among some senior legs, Nilsteroy, Beckham will be a great sight. Ibrahimovich had shown some magical skills in Euro-2004, I hope he carries the same form in this tournament as well.
Well, the tournament is missing some good teams and players like Turkey and Eto´o (Cameroon striker) who could not qualify. But among the less glamourous teams, Iran is supposed to be a dark horse. The team is ranked 24th in the FIFA rankings, much higher than other Aisan entries (Korea and Saudi Arabia). In the Iran line-up, there are 4 players who play for various clubs in the Bundesliga and are sure to make use of their "home advantage".
My personal favourites (in order of preference) this year are Brazil (naturally), Italy, Germany (biased because of living here), France (Zizou for sure), Argentina, Portugal, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Sweden, Iran. I would love to see a final between Brazil - Italy with Ronaldinho bagging the golden boot award.
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