World Cup

I try to keep this page with comments that are objective. But somehow i always get carried away (lapse of concentration?) So bear with me. Anyway, i would keep this page intact even after the whole World Cup. Kinda like a memory.
Oh and if you wanna go to the Roberto Baggio page, you've gotta look right at the bottom of the page. Don't miss anything on this page...........*grin*

Who's gonna win it now?
Well, i would go for a 1st Brazil 2nd France 3rd Holland 4th Croatia now
But it's no fun seeing Brazil win it again
Well the final result is 1st France 2nd Brazil 3rd Croatia 4th Holland.
So unexpected. But it was great that France won instead of the usual countries winning.
This end of the century world cup has been great, except that it's sometimes marred by poor refereeing. Highly competitive matches but there were lots of let downs. But despite that, the competitiveness would be something to look forward again 4 years later.

FIFA 98 Rankings:
1st: Brazil 2nd:France 3rd:Germany 4th:Croatia 5th:Argentina 6th:Czech Republic 7th:Yugoslavia 8th:Holland 9th:Italy 10th:England

Well Brazil still kept their place but FIFA said that they are in danger of losing that 1st place of theirs. But Holland, one of the semi-finalist didn't make it into the top 4 and it's Germany who did. Amazing cos Germany didn't play well at all. I wonder what is their criterior.

England Vs Argentina
England lost this because they were numerically at a disadvantage after David Beckham was sent off. Tough luck.
Match Diary

Italy Vs France
This match was a rather disappointing one for me, as an Italy fan. It was really tough luck for them. Very unfortunate that the match have to end by the penalty shootout. Italy have always lost out when it comes to penalty taking. And it clearly shows how bad their penalty record is. They have lost out 3 times in a row in penalty taking. For the past 3 World Cup's it's always the penalty that let them down. What a pity as they are indeed a good team which should have advanced further had it not been for the penalties.
This time, it's not Roberto Baggio who miss the penalty. But Luigi Di Biagio and Albertini who missed the penalties. But it was Luigi Di Biago whom people blame as he's the last penalty taker. Likewise in the 1994 World Cup, Baggio , the last penalty taker missed his too and he was blamed. He probably know that it's better to take the penalty first so that if anything were to happen, he would not be blamed yet again.
I've got to say that France played a good game too! They were just great. You get to see the talent of Zinedine Zidane at his best. He was supplying the forwards with the balls. And etc etc. He was really having a good game that day. And so was Emmanuel Petit. Oh that guy was praised for his wonderful act. And it is indeed a wonderful gentlemanly act. So much better then the Argentineans. France defence was also strong like Italy and being evenly matched, it had to be settled by a penalty shootout. I kinda like France too. But I prefer my 3 favourite teams.
Italy's defence consisting of Maldini, Cannavaro, Bergomi, and Costacurta was really effective in preventing France to score. But what a pity Del Piero didn't turn on the magic like what critics said, it would be his World Cup. But somehow he under performed. Making R. Baggio seem the better choice. But the coach always opted Del Piero as his starting line-up instead off R.Baggio. True, Baggio doesn't seem that he can last the full whole game. But he is really effective. Look how the game changes when Baggio is brought on. (that is what I think)

Roberto Baggio, a last minute inclusion in the squad fell in the pits after his failure to score the penalty in the World Cup 4 years ago. For 3 years, not much was heard from him or almost nothing. He choose to be with Boglona and this seems to boost his career. It took him 3 whole years to get back to what he is in the World Cup 4 years ago. Although he's not as spectacular as he was 4 years ago. But he really plays well, especially in the first match where he was opted for instead of the injured Del Piero or Inzhaghi or even when he comes on as a substitute for the ineffective Del Piero who have yet to make any impact or scored any goals for Italy.
R.Baggio almost didn't make it to the squad. Had he been out, I don't think Italy would have advanced so far. True there's Christian Vieri but who is to supply the balls to him? And make the runs to get the ball to him? It's Baggio who did that. He really is a wonderful player. But less of what he really is 4 years ago. Age is really catching up for him. Well…….this may be Baggio's last World Cup. Afterall he is 31 this year and 4 years later would make him 35 years old. By then age would really have caught up. I would really miss seeing Baggio play for Italy. I felt crushed when the coach didn't choose him but he finally did in the end.
The other player who might be bidding the World Cup farwell might be Paolo Maldini, a magnificent defender. One of the planet's better defenders, I should think. He's 29 this year and 4 years later would make him 33 years old which might mean less speed and stamina. But Maldini does have predecessors in the form of Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta. We really do see Cannavaro improving as compared to the other competitions he had played. He makes less mistake and is one player who goes all out to defend.
Well, let's hope that Italy would take this 4 years to brush up on their penalty taking and hopefully wouldn't be "kicked out" of the World Cup as a result of losing the penalties.

I would really miss Maldini and R.Baggio………………..

Holland Vs Argentina
This is a really fantastic game. Especially seeing Argentina losing to Holland. Holland deserved to win ( afterall I would not have continued watching had my 3 favourite teams( Italy, England , Holland) all exit). And well, Simeone have done it again, resulting in the sending off of Arthur Numan. Simeone, the captain of Argentina had caused the sending off of 2 players. Isn't that a record?!!?? Yes it certainly is!!!!!! Simeone, after being fouled by Numan, he rolled over and over for more than a mile( okie so maybe I am exaggerating but my exaggeration is nothing compared to him!)
I call him the captain of the actors team. Argentina shouldn't have won against England last week (okie so I still have not got over England's lost). Argentina didn't play as well as they should have played or rather lots of people said that Argentina is a really talented but they under performed. Anyway, this is the second match of Argentina that I have watched.
Holland was dominating the game a little, just a little. That is until Arthur Numan was sent off. Then you get to see Argentina surging forward. But Holland's got this lapse of concentration on the part of the defence. There are often cracks in the defence, just like when Lopez scored the first goal. Holland's defence is rather shaky. They were lucky. The Argentineans hit the post once and Batistuta looked close to scoring. After Arthur Numan was sent off , being numberically at a disadvantage, they played about 10 minutes with this disadvantage. But all was evened out a little later when Ariel Ortega head-butt Edwin Van Der Sar and was sent off. Holland was luckier , England was not. But England managed to hang on. Had Ortega not been sent off, I wonder what the outcome of the game would have gone. It looked as if it were dangerously going in favour of Argentina.
Dennis Berkamp was at his best. And so was the rest of the Holland players like Edgar Davids, Marc Overmars and the rest of them.
I was glad of Argentina having 10 men on the pitch. It was fairer, afterall they had played 11 against 10 in the last match and I found it not glorious on their part. But who cares about that. A win is a win and it will still be a win (sorry for the lapse of concentration on my part now).
I was laughing with joy when Ortega was sent off. Pay back time!!!!! I was glad of their downfall. What they played isn't real football especially against England. Anyway, they lost and Holland won.

Germany Vs Croatia
Well, since the World Cup started, I did not mention anything about the Germans. That is because I don't really think they are as magnificent as they were said to be. I have told someone that this is not Germany's year and that they would not win the World Cup as most of the players are aging and are at the sunset of their career. But well, apparently that person said that I was bias against them as there were no cute players. Ahem…….that person is wrong about me and I am right about the Germans.
Okie German fans may argue: "But we were one man down." Yeah yeah(sarcastic tone).......what crap. Well England was one man down too. But hey they managed to last for more than an hour with only 10 men. Where as Germany could not even last! After their defender was sent off, they conceded 3 goals! Got my point? FACE IT!!!The Germans are older and aging and can't last the match with 10 men left. They need new blood. By the way, I didn't watch the match.

France Vs Brazil
It was a wonderful match with the French men dominating the whole game. A far cry from the Paraguay match they played. Petit , Zidane and the rest of the guys were at their best.
It really makes me wonder what happen to the Brazilians.......it's like they played really horribly. There seems to be no defence line at all! I have not seen Brazil play that badly before.....oh well......
Oh yeah and not forgetting what Maradona said, he said that France would win this World Cup cos the matches been rigged. Well...France won but who knows.....

Summary:
This section is not completed. It'll be completed in a couple of days time.
I kinda get very disappointed for 2 weeks cos 3 of my favourite teams were involved in penalties. And there were 3 penalties in this whole World Cup! Gee......and basically all lost in penalties......oh well..... think the countries ought to brush up on their penalty taking.

The Flips and the flops:
Del Piero is one major flop.....not exactly a flop but just that he didn't perform as well as he did for his country. Ineffective during this whole World Cup.
As for Ronaldo, he wasn't the phenomenal in the first few matches, we kinda did not see any Ronaldo magic. But as the game progresses, he's getting back on track to being the phenomenal. So he ain't a flop after all. But then again, his showing in the last match was terrible. Wasn't the phenomenal he is supposed to be. Loads of people were disappointed with him.
Italy didn't perform as well as they were capable of. They lost out on penalties again. They ought to really do something about it. What a pity.
Argentina was touted as one of those who would be in the semis but they didn't perform as well as people expected them to.
The other team is Germany and Spain. Both teams underperformed. Especially Spain who got knocked out so early. People expected Raul to shine but apparently, he didn't. So it's bye for Spain

The Performers.
Zinedine Zidane, a really effective playermaker. But what a pity we only saw he for a few matches as he was banned for 2.
Patrick Kluivert, he really adds the special touch to the strike force. As with Philip Cocu but they weren't playing well at all in the last match against Croatia. (But we shouldn't penalise them just because of a match.) As for Overmars, he's really got speed. You really see the difference when he's on the pitch or off it.
England: Most of the players did well, especially Owen. The defence was so much better.Beckham and Le Saux played well, even though one played only one full match and the other was totally awful in the Romania match. But on the whole they were good. And the whole team has done really well, even thought they lost out to Argentina on penalties.

Au Revoir..........
Nothing is more fitting then the French goodbye. It's goodbye to some players whom we would no longer see in the next world cup. What a pity cos they are such a talent, but then again , age is catching up for them.
Like what Dunga said:"Nobody likes to leave. If it were possible, I would like to continute doing this for eternity."
Players we would not see:
@Dunga (Brazil) Age 34
@Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) Age 33
@Lothar Mattaeus (Germany) Age 37
@Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) Age 32
@Gheorghe Hagi (Colombia) Age 33
@Michael Laudrup (Denmark) Age 34
@Brian Laudrup Age (Denmark) Age 28

The rest we might not see in the next World Cup:
@Bebeto (one of the 4 survivals from World Cup 94)
@Taffarel
@David Seaman (possibility of him not playing in the next WC)
@Tony Adams (Age really is catching up with him)
@Teddy Sheringham
@Cesar Sampaio
@Leonardo
@Marcel Desailly
@Gianluca Piagluca (Almost didn't make it as a first choice goal-keeper, so chances of him appearing in the next World Cup is very little.)
@Jorge Campos (best remembered for his colourful jerseys
@Roberto Baggio (what a pity if he won't play 4 years later. Age really is catching up with him. But in 4 years time, there's still Vieri, Inzaghi and Del Piero, so looks like he won't be in the team)
@Paolo Maldini (says that he have not won anything major and that he feels like giving all up and let the younger players take over)

Snippets:
Shearer Not Feeling Upbeat Over Music
England captain Alan Shearer is not enamoured by the loud music the team uses as a motivating exercise in the dressing room before its World Cup matches.
"Don't ask me what is it --- it's garbage," he said when asked about the thumping tunes.
Shearer blames defender Rio Ferdinand for choosing the songs. "It's rap music , or something," said the unimpressed striker.

German Coach Berti Vogts said that England lacked the mental strength to beat Argentina in the penalty shootout. "When I saw the England players strolling up to take their penalties with smiling faces, I already knew they had lost. The Argentine players were much more focused."
He further added that Glen Hoddle should have stepped up to take the penalties himself.

Mario Zagallo criticises the 'inconsistent' referees : "…….We had a player who got knocked to the ground, raised his legs and clipped Argentina's Diego Simeone and got sent off," he said referring to Beckham's sent off. "Simeone knocked him over and only got a yellow card."

Lothar Matthaus blamed former foreign minister, Genscher for Germany's exit from the World Cup at the hands of Croatia. Matthaus tells Stern magazine that had Genscher not pushed the European Union to recognise Croatia in 1992, Croatia would never have qualified.
Pah! What crap!
Genscher replied : "If Yugoslavia still existed….the Croatia players would be part of that team and Germany could have been eliminated even earlier."
This is simply ridiculous. Bring in politics and blaming a minister for their defeat. By the way, did the minister play in the game? I think that players ought to be responsible for the way they play. This is totally ridiculous (I need to stress it again cos I have not heard such an absurd blame!) But the minister was simply great, hitting back at Matthaus. Matthaus is one person who have no communication skills, apparently, he can't get along with the team-mates or even the coach. He wasn't supposed to be included in this world cup had not one of his fellows got injured.

Things that make me wonder.....
Okie here are some stuff that make me wonder. Don't laugh. Well, i don't think it's funny anway..um.....think it should be at times....okie i'm blabbering......

Ever wondered why David Seaman's hair.ahem....i meant his crowning glory....is always so intact?
Well...i no idea. But his hair always seems to be in place.
And Zinedine Zidane....ahem.....i didn't know he's bald at the top. LOL.
And people like Shearer, Berkamp seems to be balding too......oops no i mean they have got receding hairline. haha who cares about that.
Hey this section seems to be talking about people's crowning glory! Maybe i should title this section: the pitch's crowning glory or balding glory. LOL. Oops sorrie guys....
Somehow i get this funny feeling people are gonna blast at me for saying all these crap. So maybe this section would gotta go soon. Otherwise i'll be seen by you people as a weirdo!! I would never want you people to think that , by the way......*grin*

Another thing that makes me wonder is where do all the players go after they retire? Some end up as coaches. But others just fade away eh? Or perhaps some have earned big bucks that they need not have to work for the rest of their lives again. Ha! But money is never enough.

Do You Know?
Well, here's some stuff........i think it's something not related to soccer......um..it is..the soccer players! So it is related after all.
David Beckham...the guy who dyed his hair blonde.....well apparently, he's says he's got long hair and he have got to slick it back when he's playing. Troublesome eh? Vain eh?They'll be putting on their shin pads and he would be applying his Brylcreem! And well, he says he's got to take his own shampoo into the showers after the match to stop his hair from going yellow! Apparently the rest of the guys take the mick because of that! How vain can he get!!!!! Perhaps he could join the Spice Girls if they are really really desperate. Maybe Beckham can join as Vain Spice? hahaha
Do you know that Roberto Baggio is a Buddhist? (um...trival stuff yeah but who cares what stuff i say...i don't!)
Do you know that Ze Carlos is a melon seller, mechanic as well as a soccer player for the local clubs? Apparently, the pay he gets from the local clubs are too little that he has to take on extra jobs. Tough life eh. Imagine other soccer players who earn big bucks, like Ronaldo. And the in the English League, a soccer player can earn up to 30,000 pounds per week. It's per week!!!

Comments I made earlier (before the quarter finals)
Well......my favourite teams are Italy, England and Holland and i do hope that they get a place in the finals.

Comments:
Somehow i don't think that brazil would be able to defend their title, what with no romario and internal dispute within it. But they did win their first match though.
But in their recent match lost against Norway. Ronaldo didn't perform as well as he should.....but somehow after his first goal in the tournement, somehow, you get the feeling that he's gonna show us what he really is..the phenomenal....
As for Italy, Del piero's back but who will the coach play? But then again Veiri and Baggio have been doing a great job...and so has Maldini...but their defence and midfield is a bit shaky at times. And after losing Lazio defender, Nesta......it would be a bit shaky for the coach cos he's only got 2 more defenders left....
England....their main disadvantage or rather weakness is their inconsistence.And the match the played against Romania was terrible.....maybe Hoddle should let Beckham and Owen start the game......and maybe he should let Owen come on a little earlier........For England to get thru, it's kinda tough....judging from the way they played.....
Norway , in my opinion would a country to watch out for , especially so because many of them are playing for the English league. But it was really poor showing from them in the game with morocco. But they won Brazil!!!!!Flo's the man....he's a not bad player.But they lost to italy.
Holland's a good team too but will Dennis Berkamp recover in time?And yes he's back.....played against South Korea and he really made his presence felt.The teams really improving!
The teams with lots of potential to be able to win it are argentina or italy, with the underdogs being nigeria, chile.And apparently both are out
Chile do have a really good chance though. But Chile seems to centre more on Marcelo Salas and Ivan Zamorano. Defence and luck wise.....terrible....they are always unable to maintain their lead.
As for England....well....it all depends on their consistency.
France is a not bad team...but well...Maradona said that this world cup is rigged and that the host country would win....how true....well...gotta wait till the 12 July for the answers

Maybe it would be 1st: Argentina 2nd Brazil 3rd:Italy 4th France
Somewhere along this line. But the above prediction is a bit bias. But theoratically, italy might meet france in the quarter-finals which means that either one would be knocked out.
And Holland might meet Germany and either one would be knocked out too....so perhaps the clearer prediction would be: Argentina, Brazil, France, Holland or Italy in place of France.
But i hope it'll be 1st:Italy 2nd:England 3rd Holland.....but tis is quite impossible for England.........
Anyway this is my opinion.

Updated before quarter-finals

After all the exciting action from the world cup, my appetite has grown bigger and it seems like the English Premier League would satisfy me no more. But.....i'll still watch it. :) Maybe i'll switch to the italian league, so much faster action. Um......but i still like the english game.
And if you have got any comments, feel free to email me.

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Roberto Baggio                    Paolo Maldini
English Premier League

                                        
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