One Ball and 22 Men = World Sporting Event

Alas, the time has come again for the entire world to get hyped up over the FIFA World Cup that comes once every four years! This time around, I feel that there's too much publicity that irked me to no end (plus the fact that my dad refused to subscribe to the sports package). XD

But... for once in my lifetime: THANK GOD FOR RTM!!!
(without RTM I would have ended up camping at my godbrother's place for a whole MONTH.)

Very few know me as the sports maniac during sports seasons; be it - soccer, tennis, wrestling, badminton, golf, basketball, athletics or American football. NYAHAHAHAHAHA. All thanks to my Dad's tutelage in wrestling and my Papa's wisdom in all the other fields.

ANYWAY, this year I'm all out for GERMANY as in 2006. Hidup Germany!! Whoo-hoo! XD

(... Hidup Malaysia for having sent a referee there too.)

Kudos for Germany's terrific first game against Australia which showed their prowess on the field even with the absence of captain, Michael Ballack (injured). And to think that this is the first time in a very long time that Germany is fielding out relatively young players as the starting line up. Sure, there's the experienced Miroslav Klose, Philip Lahm, Per Mertesacker and all - but promising fresh talent like Mesut Ozil amd Thomas Muller helped Germany to be a refreshing new team.

NYAHHHHHH~!! Germany! *love love*

Oh, and thank you, Joachim Low for believing in Klose and Podolski despite their rather low performance in clubs. They played brilliantly in the World Cup. (and I love Klose. XD)

The group of death for this World Cup was believed to be Group D: Germany, Australia, Ghana and Serbia but I think that Germany should have no problem following through as the top of the group. Serbia conceded defeat to Ghana because of a penalty kick (result of a handball in the box) losing to a mere score of 1-0. The aftermath? Serbia blamed it on the new ball and on the vuvuzelas.

The new ball is different from the old as it is lighter and shaped more aerodynamically. I believe that as professionals, they should not have trouble adapting themselves to the ball. It is believed that the new ball is among the reasons for a goal drought early into the World Cup - but players should get used to it and use it to their advantage. C'mon. You're pros!

But as for the vuvuzelas? Sheesh. Those things uncomfortably sound like swarms of mosquitoes. Eerie. Kills football sometimes because we can't hear the crowd's reaction. And support is kinda crucial to victory. But hate it or love it - they're here to stay.

Anyway, I feel the Group to watch would be Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast and Portugal. Very interesting line-up! Well, I would expect Brazil to go through to the next round since they're favourites, but what can I say? Football is unpredictable after all. They did win 2-1 against North Korea, but Ivory Coast and Portugal ended with a goalless draw.

Naturally, Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile will be another unpredictable group. Spain's one of the favourites to win... but it's hard to say as the Swiss have a solid defense, Chile is aggresively on the offensive and uh, Honduras...? The unpredictable underdogs, I guess? We'll just have to see...

I felt that England was given the easiest draw in Group C: USA, England, Algeria and Slovenia. But after the blunder that conceded a goal for the USA - England's definitely got to toughen up. England's got hordes and hordes of supporters, so I shan't say anything bad about them even though their performance isn't up to par as it is now. XD Wouldn't wanna get trampled on again now, would we?

(England's got too much publicity and WTH as compared to England; the odds are against Germany to win the World Cup WTH.)

AHEM. Pardon me. Of course, before I forget, Argentina will be a team to watch as well in this World Cup. Football legend Diego Maradona and his 'Hand of God' - we'll see if he's capable of leading Argentina to World Cup glory. They have World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi along with the likes of Angel di Maria and Sergio Aguero. I feel that much of the team's expectations lie heavily on Messi and to fulfill that - it's going to be a heavy burden on him. But all in all, his performance so far has been up to par. Kudos, Messi!

So... after all that is said and done - care to join me for a slice of Group H tonight? =)