This month, its the football fever that has gripped almost everybody. With the top 32 teams vying for the world cup, the tournament has been a big draw as it always has been in the past. I have been closely watching the World Cup since 1990.
1986 saw the brilliamce of Maradona help the Argentines win the WC. Visuals of that individual brilliance captured my imagination and since then I grew to be an ardent Argentine fan. In the 90's, the Argentines play some decent soccer. However, the level of their game was nothing compared to the brilliance that they displayed in 1986. Maradona was a shadow of himself in the 90 WC. Burruchaga and Claudio Cannigia had a pretty good WC. But their real hero was thier goalkeeper (forgot his name) who used to see the Argentines through in every match that were decided through penalty shoot-outs. However, irony of ironies, the Argentines lost to Germany in the final courtsey of a single penalty that was awarded to the Germans. The Argentines were finally left high and dry and had to be satisfied having come second best in the competition.
1994 saw the infamous exit of Maradona when he failed the doping test. His departure gave a big mental blow to the Argentines who never seemed to recover from it, since then. Their prospects finally came to an end when the Romanians beat them 3-2 in the second-round qualifiers. The world cup in '94, as such, was not too exciting. The teams displayed a very defensive approach and even the Finals between Brazil and Italy did not produce the fire expected in a WC final.
1998 witnessed much better performance from the Argentinian side with Gabriel Batistuta being a star performer in the league matches. Their second round match saw them taking on the Englishmen. The Michael Owen goal is still etched in my memory. However, David Beckham got marching orders for an un-necessary act of aggression. And a clever set-piece, converted by Zanetti saw the Argentinians conquer the Englishmen. However, a Dennis Bergkamp master-piece in the quarter finals spelled the exit of the Argentinians from the WC. The '98 WC marked the first time a host nation, France in this case, had lifted the world cup. The finals saw an un-remarkably poor performance by the Brazilians (with an unfit Ronaldo). Zinedine Zidane headers marked the final nails in the Brazilian coffin.
The 2002 world cup is probably one which the Argentine fans would like to forget at the earliest. Pitted in the "group of death" involving Nigeria, England and Sweden, the Argentines had a real hard time. After having somehow snatched a victory against Nigeria, the Argentines lost to the Englishmen and were subsequently held by Swedes. They finally could not make it to the next round and faced an ignominious exit. Another team to bite the dust were the defending champions France who too could not clear the group stage. The same tournament also saw the Brazilians go from strength to strength before they finally went on to win the World Cup. And who can perhaps forget the stellar performance by Ronaldhino in the tournament!!!
The 2006 WC started with a bang with the Germans winning the match with a 4-2 margin over the Costa-Ricans. Never has the first match of a World Cup witnessed so many goals. And that has probably set the tempo for the entire tournament. We have witnessed some exciting soccer from the Germans, the Englishmen, the Spaniards, the Brazilians and off course, not too forget the effervescent Argentines (thier 6-Nil thrasing of the Serbs was pure magic). The African nations have not disgraced themselves. Although its only Ghana which has made ot to the 2nd round, Ivory Coast too did play some excellent soccer. The Asians have failed to make a mark this time unlike the 2002 WC where the Koreans went up to the Semi-Final stage.
All eyes are now on the 2nd round matches. The Germans have already routed the Swedes with a double strike in the first 12 minutes while the Argentines have moved on to the Quarter Final stage after beating a rather reusrgent Mexican side. However, the decisive Argentine goal against Mexico by Maxi Rodriguez was a sure winner.
Its now time to wait and watch what the WC unfolds in the remaining few matches. Its exhilarating stuff and I will sign off now to catch up with the England-Ecuador match.
So long till then!!!
"....The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind...."
1986 saw the brilliamce of Maradona help the Argentines win the WC. Visuals of that individual brilliance captured my imagination and since then I grew to be an ardent Argentine fan. In the 90's, the Argentines play some decent soccer. However, the level of their game was nothing compared to the brilliance that they displayed in 1986. Maradona was a shadow of himself in the 90 WC. Burruchaga and Claudio Cannigia had a pretty good WC. But their real hero was thier goalkeeper (forgot his name) who used to see the Argentines through in every match that were decided through penalty shoot-outs. However, irony of ironies, the Argentines lost to Germany in the final courtsey of a single penalty that was awarded to the Germans. The Argentines were finally left high and dry and had to be satisfied having come second best in the competition.
1994 saw the infamous exit of Maradona when he failed the doping test. His departure gave a big mental blow to the Argentines who never seemed to recover from it, since then. Their prospects finally came to an end when the Romanians beat them 3-2 in the second-round qualifiers. The world cup in '94, as such, was not too exciting. The teams displayed a very defensive approach and even the Finals between Brazil and Italy did not produce the fire expected in a WC final.
1998 witnessed much better performance from the Argentinian side with Gabriel Batistuta being a star performer in the league matches. Their second round match saw them taking on the Englishmen. The Michael Owen goal is still etched in my memory. However, David Beckham got marching orders for an un-necessary act of aggression. And a clever set-piece, converted by Zanetti saw the Argentinians conquer the Englishmen. However, a Dennis Bergkamp master-piece in the quarter finals spelled the exit of the Argentinians from the WC. The '98 WC marked the first time a host nation, France in this case, had lifted the world cup. The finals saw an un-remarkably poor performance by the Brazilians (with an unfit Ronaldo). Zinedine Zidane headers marked the final nails in the Brazilian coffin.
The 2002 world cup is probably one which the Argentine fans would like to forget at the earliest. Pitted in the "group of death" involving Nigeria, England and Sweden, the Argentines had a real hard time. After having somehow snatched a victory against Nigeria, the Argentines lost to the Englishmen and were subsequently held by Swedes. They finally could not make it to the next round and faced an ignominious exit. Another team to bite the dust were the defending champions France who too could not clear the group stage. The same tournament also saw the Brazilians go from strength to strength before they finally went on to win the World Cup. And who can perhaps forget the stellar performance by Ronaldhino in the tournament!!!
The 2006 WC started with a bang with the Germans winning the match with a 4-2 margin over the Costa-Ricans. Never has the first match of a World Cup witnessed so many goals. And that has probably set the tempo for the entire tournament. We have witnessed some exciting soccer from the Germans, the Englishmen, the Spaniards, the Brazilians and off course, not too forget the effervescent Argentines (thier 6-Nil thrasing of the Serbs was pure magic). The African nations have not disgraced themselves. Although its only Ghana which has made ot to the 2nd round, Ivory Coast too did play some excellent soccer. The Asians have failed to make a mark this time unlike the 2002 WC where the Koreans went up to the Semi-Final stage.
All eyes are now on the 2nd round matches. The Germans have already routed the Swedes with a double strike in the first 12 minutes while the Argentines have moved on to the Quarter Final stage after beating a rather reusrgent Mexican side. However, the decisive Argentine goal against Mexico by Maxi Rodriguez was a sure winner.
Its now time to wait and watch what the WC unfolds in the remaining few matches. Its exhilarating stuff and I will sign off now to catch up with the England-Ecuador match.
So long till then!!!
"....The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind...."
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