World Cup Fever 2010

Well, that time is upon us once more; the World Cup will be filling everyone's screens and minds from now until mid-July, and the mood and feeling surrounding such an occasion is like no other. I've wanted to write about the World Cup for a while, because of the intense excitement everyone feels in the midst of it, and the sense of anticipation before it begins. It's not 'just football', as many women critics claim; this only happens once every four years, and you could say that every football-playing man has dreamt of lifting that trophy, that beautiful solid-gold trophy. Drama is at a high even before a ball has been kicked, with squad selections, fixture lists (and who has qualified) and doubts about players' fitness and injuries. This is the month that every professional top-flight player works towards; only the best are chosen to represent their countries, with the hopes of whole nations resting on their shoulders. In the build-up to the start of the tournament, programmes showing the history and highlights/bloopers of the World Cup are broadcast, and that only adds to the excitement.

At the beginning you have three or four matches shown on television daily, even the most average of teams in the competition have something up their sleeve, and sometimes the best goals come from them. This is a platform for people to pursue their childhood dreams, to show their talent off to prospective clubs, and leave the worldwide audience in awe as they shine. The knockout stages are the most dramatic, where a single loss means an early trip home, and a win allows your team to fight one more day. You couldn't get more suspense than when a match goes to penalties; England have never won a penalty shootout and will avoid them if they can, but for the moment we can enjoy asking each other which matches are being shown today, and where we want to watch them together. And we can go on discussing possible scenarios where certain teams get a certain number of points if they won, drew or lost, and the effects that would have on other teams in the group.  Things are especially exciting in 2010, as Algeria have qualified for the first time in my life, and they've been drawn in the same group as England. I'm hoping Algeria do progress to the knockout stages, which is unlikely as England and USA are far stronger, but it should be entertaining nevertheless! I've bought my (very pricey) Algeria shirt and can't wait to see how they fare; last time they were in the competition, they beat West Germany!

Some people may criticise the World Cup for becoming too commercialised (like Christmas), but the thing is, the football has remained the focus, and although yes, companies do take advantage of the event by making so many football-orientated (and entertaining) advertisements, the spirit of the beautiful game and purity of competition have not been tainted. It's still an opportunity for nations to come together and witness the spectacle that transcends all boundaries. It's difficult to explain how a spectator feels when the World Cup is in full swing, and it's different every time because of the different host nations, different matches being played, and new faces on the pitch. And once you start to get used to the whole thing; whether it be the Argentinian skill, Italian defence, Dutch flair or Brazilian genius, it's over, and every guy (and girl, who has a four-yearly sudden interest in football) has to wait for the next one to roll on, and inspire generations anew. But for now I'll try and take it in as best as I can.

UPDATE: With my late blog-posting, almost a week of the tournament has passed, with criticisms of the match ball and how difficult it is for players (and goalkeepers) to control it, as well the the 'vuvuzelas' (African trumpet things) drowning out the sound of everything in earshot. With the actual matches, some would say it has been a slow start as few goals have been scored (that changing when Germany met Australia), and Algeria had to slip up against a team they needed to pick up points against; the Algerian keeper making a muddle of a straightforward Slovenian shot, almost re-enacting a similar one the day before involving the England keeper, which raises further questions about the state of the ball. So I'm hoping Algeria can do what they do best and somehow unpredictably get results in the other two games. Otherwise, we've had New Zealand picking up their first ever point in their tournament history, with a very late dramatic goal, and the real minnows in the competition, North Korea (who qualified for the first time since England lifted the trophy- in '66), playing the best team in the world, Brazil, and holding them at 0-0 at half-time! It needed two world-class Brazilian goals to defeat them, but North Korea did manage to pull one back, and it was quite a well-worked goal too! The 'group of death' in which they occupy (including Ivory Coast and Portugal) may not finish as predictably as we'd thought!