Weltschale 2006 - Deutschland

The world comes to a halt for one month. All other sports, move over, for here comes the most beautiful game in the planet. Not that football has receded in importance all this while. World Cup means business, serious business. My brother stopped his business for one month during the last World Cup. There is no reason why this year should be any different. He says the fever started in S.Africa quite a while back. As for me, i don't have to stop working as i'm pretty jobless@work or workless@job in any case. Over the last 4 World Cups, i've had a generous share of heart breaking disappointments. I don't know if i've progressed from the stage of 'ripping-pillows-apart' because Argentina or Italy lost, and if so, to what extent*. At least, i hope justice prevails this time, unlike in 2002 when God was a South Korean, and the referee was His messiah.

I've always been a die hard fan of the Azzuri, the Italian team from 1990 [that's when i started watching serious football]. After all, they are not a free-flowing style team. They are traditionally known as the team with a rock solid defence. They are a team/country where the names of Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini [my evergreen favorite] are equally, if not more popular than say Roberto Baggio or Alessandro Del Piero. There is something to my unflinching support to team in blue which eludes rational justification. Ironically they always seem to get into the toughest of groups and end up playing top teams right in the second round. This year it is as bad as it can get. At best, they will face France in the quarters, or at worst, will face Brazil in the second round!
Del Piero has always underperformed in World Cups. Hope he breaks the jinx this time around.

As [bad]luck would have it, my next favorite team Argentina don't have it easy either. To start with, they are paired with Holland, a team i would love to see doing well. In the second round, either of them will meet Portugal, another team i like! Pappom...

Most hotels have made arrangements to have giant screens and the works for one month. Matchpoint or Fort St.George @ Taj Coramandel would be good choices, next of course to home sweet home.

Likely winner? Unfortunately, Brazil look unstoppable at the moment. What a lineup, what technique, what skill! At least i hope Ronaldo outplays Ronaldinho, if at all he gets fit and manages to stay away from injuries. [Blisters ellam remba over]

Official World Cup Site

As Kounder says in "Suryan", Start Meesic!!

* - 1990 final, Argentina vs West Germany. Of course God Maradona was there but was invisible. We recorded the match and derived a sado-masochistic pain/pleasure in watching that Andreas Brehme penalty over and over again
- 1994 Maradona makes a far from gracious exit and in the final Italy vs Brazil, the heart breaking miss by Baggio