Spectacle the world is waiting every four years.

Just unlike an Indian Cricket mad fan am taking sides of a game which is slowly but surely gaining popularity in the subcontinent, yes Football (Soccer called in North America or specially in USA). The FIFA Football world cup is just a day away from today and it is the one which would be celebrated across 80% of the countries in the globe. This time the organizers are the country which is a football crazy country Brazil, like India which is a cricket crazy. Marred by a lot of controversies on the fitness of the stadia, the financial turmoil in the country etc., the fans and the players are ready to get along with the World's greatest show after the Olympics.


32 countries gonna fight it out for the ultimate championship which will be held over a month from June 12th to July 14th. Over the one month show there would be many new heroes coming out of nowhere and equally a lot of villains will be christened. Just like the hero of 1998 Zidane was finally turned into a villain 2006 after the head butt incident in the finals which went all the way to penalties. There would be many Managers who would be crucified but with all these things aside Brazil gonna see a lot of fireworks and massive changes in the world football and the game reaching a far more corners of the world.


There are usual suspects who can reach the top and my pick for the teams to watch out for and enter the Quarters are
a. Brazil
b. Germany
c. Spain
d. Netherlands
e. Argentina
f. Italy
g. Uruguay
h. France
The top 5 could form the last 4.


My take on the teams in the reverse order of my posting are as follows


France
France are one team which runs high on egos and emotions. There are quite a few good players who can be heroes on their day and can turn into villains very next day/match. They have been already dealt with a death blow with the injury to Frank Ribery who is one of the best midfielders in the world. His absence could cost the French a lot during the knok out stages but still hope they can get to the quarters and not beyond it. They have a good goalkeeper in Hugo Lloris and a not so bad defense line of Arsenal players in Koscielny and Sagna. Their midfield looks a bit shaky with the absence of Ribery and everyone would be dependent on the form of Yohann Cabaye and he would be the talisman for their chances. Olivier Giroud and Kareem Benzema could play their part but they have to receive the balls. Overall it would be pretty tough going in the Knock out stages and with luck on their side could get on to the Quarters.


Uruguay
The team that surprised everyone in the last world cup by entering the last 4. They showed the world of their supreme talent and they gonna display in their own backyard i mean in South America. They have an excellent defense and attack. The attacking prowess is the one to talk about. The partnership of two of the best strikers currently in the world of football Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani could give all the opposition defenders a nightmare. They have an ever reliable midfield marshall in Diego Forlan. At the back they have one of the finest goal keepers in Muslera and two good central defenders in Diego Lugano the captain and Diego Godin. Overall they should give the English and Italian defense a good run for their money. They gonna make life difficult for many of the teams in the knock outs.


Italy
The old warhorse of world Football perfectly fits Italy. They have two old men of World football in the most trusted goal keeper Gianluggi Buffon and the evergreen midfield marshall Andrea Pirlo, it seems these two men never grow old. They are the two important people who Cesare Prandelli would be trusting to lead the team on the field. Pirlo can change the course of a game with his magic from anywhere from the half way mark on the pitch. His vision for goal is unmatchable. They also have a mercurial player in Mario Balotelli need to see which mario turns up in the tournament, Super Mario or Stupid Mario. Traditionally the Italians are good in defense and this team also has good defenders in their ranks. The player to watch would be Immobile who Tato Schilachi has said he could be the game changer for them. They gonna give a lot of tough time for Uruguay and England.


Argentina
The team consisting of the World's best player Lionel Messi. Argentina boasts of the best forward line in Messi, Aguero, Higuain and Di Maria. The problem of plenty is such that one of the best poachers of the game Tevez is not available. The problem for Sabella would be who he should drop as all the four are in form of their life. Messi and DiMaria doing wonders in Spain, Aguero leading Man City to championship in England and Higuain doing good in Italy. Apart from these four the other departments of this team seems to be a bit weak. They have Mascherano who is mercurial leading the defense and they would struggle against quality attack. This makes them vulnerable to go past the last eight but with the luck on their side they can get over the quarters. Messi would be keen to take on the ever growing critics of being a club player than a player for the Country. Messi would also like to silence the critics by scoring his first goal in world stage for Argentina. My heart goes for him as he has carried the country through out and hope he gets some support from others.


Netherlands
One of the top teams in any of the World cups they have participated. They are excellent in all departments especially from the midfield. They have one of the best holding midfielder who does not hesitate to go far serious tackles Nigel De Jong. They have one of the best wingers in the world Arjen Robben who mesmerizes all the defenses. Wesley Snejder one of the best free kick takers. Robin Van Persie the captain and the best poachers of the game. They have other players on the benches like Klass-Huntelaar and De Guzman who are good in their own rights. Their defense is equally good and with all youngsters. They can decimate any opposition on their day and can succumb to anyone on an off-day. They can make it to the last four with their strength and the other major reason is because they have been managed by one of the greatest tactician of the game in Louis Van Gaal a genius in his own right.


Spain
La Furia Roja are still the team which every opponent would think twice to face. They have retained almost the same squad for this edition of the World cup. There is no major shake up in the Vincente Del Bosque's team. They have the same defense line just got better with the advent of Alba. The mid field is almost the same with Busquets and Xabi Alonso mastering the holding midfield and the twins Xavi and Iniesta controlling the ball all over the forward area and with Cesc and Torres/Costa upfront should be a dream team. David Villa should be the trump card for Del Bosque who scored 5 important goals in the 2010 edition. The problem with Spain is the could bore down with their tiki-taka. This may also back fire as the other countries have already read their game and would have already put a counter plan to take them on. They could very well be at Maracana on July 14th.


Germany
The favourites of every world cup and they live upto it everytime. Joachaim Leow has transformed this team into his own. The man has transformed a group of young players into world beaters. The most old player in the team apart from Miroslav Klose is Philip Lahm who is just 30 and the leader of the team. All others are almost under the age of 27. Another team which has the best in class midfield the players are Schweinsteiger, Ozeil, Khedira, Mueller, Gotze all are greats in their own rights at the very young age. The forwards Poldi and Klose are good poachers who can get in the penalty area from anywhere when there is an opportunity. The defense is thing to envy for others, Boateng, Hummels, Mertasacker and Lahm. It would be a miracle if they do not qualify for Semis. They are the one of the three to be on the flight to Maracana on July 14th.


Brazil
Jogo Bonito will be in action after almost 40 years. Brazil at home will be a team double their strength. They could repeat their performance in Confederations cup just a year ago here. Luiz Filippe Scolari is already a world cup winner in 2002. He knows to get things out of his players. He is a genius on his own right and he can transform an ordinary team into world beaters. This year Brazil is one of the strongest team and they have covered up all the bases with ease. Neymar Jr is the man the world is waiting to watch and going by his form in spain it is sure that he can set the field on fire with his pace and vision. They have a old war horse in Fred who is equally good and going by his form in the Confederations cup it could be really interesting the two forwards could score more goals against any team. They are very much to be part of the Marcana on July 14th and it would be a huge loss for the game if they do not get there.

Brazil vs. Dutch

This would be the biggest test for both the teams with respect to this world cup.

Dutch Progress

Dutch have had a easy route till the pre-quarters or the round of 16. They had a rather easy outing against the Danes, where we were able to see the opportunistic Dirk Kuyt the way he plays for Liverpool, though many of the premier league fans does not like his style of play he proved his worth in the dutch side just for that sheer brilliance. In fact they were never tested in that game and the other goal coming off a own goal from the dane defender. The next match was all possessional play by the dutch and a piece of individual brilliance of the Champions league winner Wesley Schneider that was a superb goal and one of the goals of the tourney. The Japanese goal keeper was unable to control the pace that Schneider hit. The rest of the second half was again mainly dominated by the Dutch possessional football. They were never really tested even in the second game. The third one was against the Cameroonians and rightly said by the then great Roger Milla that Samuel Eto' is not a player who converts is club form to the national side and he can talk about this for another four years which the entire world would accept. Again this game was not at all a test for either the mid field or the defence of the Dutch. In the pre quarters or the round of 16 the Dutch did have one of the easiest opponents but still they did not win it convincingly. The only bright piece of the match was the return of the star winger Arjen Robben who is still one of the best winger in the world football. He is really unstoppable when he is in full flow. Apart from the three players Wesley Schneider, Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt no one else had showed their full potential and the biggest flops are Van Persie, Van Bommel and VanderWart.

Brazil Progress

They started from the group tipped as the group of death of this world cup. Though criticized for playing the European style football there were glimpses of magic from Robinho,Fabiano,Bastos and Maicon in the first half against North Korea. They were denied by a 8 member North Korean defence in the first half which was a truly entertaining game considering the North Korean team was fairly unknown to anyone on the field. The moment of magic came in the second half from the best right back in the world, this ought to be the goal of the tournament so far what a finish with no angle to score it past the packed defence and the goal keeper. That was the real 'jogo bonito'. Then came the bad boy of club football Robinho, amazingly he is unlike other stars who play well for the club and not good for the country where as he plays well for the country than the club. Robinho’s show boated in his style and sent a neat pass to Elano who completed a very good goal past the keeper. At the back the Brasilians were superb until the 86th minute when a rare splurge of the Koreans beat the wall Julio Ceasar, which made Dunga really upset for conceding an easy goal which was basically a defensive lapse. In the next encounter the Samba boys took to the Elephants/Ivorians led by the Chelsea star Drogba. This game was tipped by football pundits that Elephants would knock the Samba magic but to their surprise the Samba magic was on in the initial minutes of the game and a superb passing by the 3 forwards of Brasil saw the first goal in the 25th minute which was a typical striker's goal. Robinho got the ball from the back and burst into the midfield where Kaka received the ball well just before the penalty area of the Ivorian goal and sent a beautiful pass to Fabiano who crossed a bit and sealed on the roof of the goal which was an amazing team effort. At the half period the game was almost sealed and the Elephants did drop their head and once the play resumed it was Fabiano again a solo effort with some help of the hand but still was a beautiful effort to score that goal past 2 or 3 defenders. Then came one of the beautiful play making by Kaka who got the ball from Melo/Gilberto at the middle of the park and took the ball surging forward past the mid fielders and the defenders and gave a through ball to Elano who made 2 in 2 of this world cup. That was the masterpiece of Kaka's genius. It was all Kaka in that goal even Elano acknowledged that by pulling Kaka to celebrate the goal. Again Brasilian coach hadto rue for a rare let off which Drogba scored a header. Then came the drama in the match where Abdul Kadar Keita fell on the ground for a touch on his chest by Kaka who was already booked for an offence for pushing Yaya Toure, holding the face as if the touch would have killed him. This play act of Keita got Kaka the second yellow and was immediately given the marching orders which Kaka accepted with a sarcastic laughter/smile on his face, though the match was already sealed. This was the shame of the world cup until the refreeing fault against England and Mexico. The next match was a dead rubber where Brasil didnt have Kaka, Robinho and Elano and they played out a dull draw but with occasional brilliance up front by Fabiona and Nilmar. They comfortably topped the group of death. In the pre-quarter or the round of 16 they faced their fellow south Americans Chile, the match started amazingly for Chile with more posession and a bit threatening but not for the defence of Maicon, Juan and Bastos lead by Lucio. Chile gave everything with deploying 3 forwards and wanted to take the fight to Brasil, but after 10 mins it started to settle down as Brasil started to play what they know the best in the world. They started to give tough times for the Chilean defence and many of their chances were saved brilliantly by Bravo until the 34th minute when Maicon took a corner from the right side and Lucio managed no one interfered with the towering Juan who broke the dead lock to put the ball past the keeper into the back of the net. Then the 'jogo bonito' was at display again and again threesome attack proved the Chilean defence was feeble when Brasil were on the counter on a ball from Maicon which was well received by Robinho who put the ball through to Kaka who was in the game after serving the suspension. Kaka fed the ball to Fabiano who went around the diving goal keeper and scored a perfect counter attacking goal which almost sealed the game. The samba boys went into the half time with a satisfaction and equally appreciated by the public on the ground. The resumption of the game did not bring any difference and this time at almost an hour mark defensive mid fielder Ramires took the ball tackling against the Chilean mid fielders and sent a cross to Robinho who finished that neatly at the back of the net which nailed the Chilean coffin. The good thing about the game was Dunga would have been extremely pleased with the Samba boys were unbreakable in the defence and Julio Ceasar was equally impressive.

Key Players

Dutch

Arjen Robben
He is one of the best left footed wingers in the world without any doubt. He created an aura during his first strike against the Slovakians which was a typical counter attack which was mostly missing in the first round matches for the Dutch and he created sensation on his first start in the world cup. He has what it takes to give the attack and nightmares to the formidable Brazilian defence. He will be the player to watch on the Dutch side who can be the X-factor of the outcome.

Weseley Schneider
The dead ball specailist and a good play maker. He has the temparament and mettle but have to see if he can deliver the goods consistently

Dirk Kuyt
He can play many roles, Striker, holding midfielder, attacking midfielder and also provide stability in defense.

Robin Van Persie
He has to come good and this is the right time if he can prove his worth. There were huge expectations of him before the World cup but he has not delivered it.

Brazil

Kaka
He holds the key in the centre of the mid field. He is getting back to form and his assists are proving deadly. His touches of the ball are good to watch and his partnership with his old club mate is being renewed to new horizons and the two have already contributed for 2 goals. If he starts scoring himself it would be a delight to watch and many of the Brazilian fans all over the world will be praying for the same. He can cause a devastation in the Dutch defense with his sheer presence and deft passing.

Fabiano
Already accounted for 3 superb goals one with the help of his hands. He has found old mate to partner him to pass the ball at the right moment at the right place. He is getting closer to be the top scorer this world cup and he can achieve it with the two behind him who are so good in breaking the mid field and defense and he is not new to that art either.

Robinho
This guy is the one which the entire world would be amazed as he is the only player who is playing well for the country than for the club which is often the reverse take any player into consideration. His skill on the ball is amazing to watch and his show boating is really good to look at. He has already opened his account and he has to be more team oriented than going for glory.

Maicon & Lucio
Arguably the best defensive pair in the world are having a good time. This is not most common for Brazil. Their presence in the field keeps the opposition forwards at bay.

Julio Ceasar
Arguably the best goal keeper in the World is having a good time saving lots of shots himself and his two mates in front of him.

Predictions
Brazil 3 - 2 Netherlands

IPL 2010 and Indian Cricket

First and foremost Lalit Modi does not deserve any credit for IPL. The credit goes only to the greatest Cricketer India has ever produced Kapil Dev Nikhanj and the Kerry Packer of India Subhash Chandra. IPL is nothing but the copy cat of ICL(Indian Cricket League brain child of Kapil Dev in support of Subhash Chandra). The greedy BCCI which wanted all the money to be in their pocket destroyed the founder of Franchisee cricket in India.

IPL 2010 started with a bang on 12th of April. The first surprise that MAX threw at me(most of the people) was it had dropped the good anchor Mandira Bedi from its panel. There are 3 jokers and one ok type of anchors on the panel i feel even Mandira knew a lot about cricket than the son of the famous spin bowler Angad Bedi (i would like to call him a pigeon for his nodding). The other guy Ayushmann he is a no show and that Gaurav thinks himself a pundit. To an extent can accept Sameer as he proves to be good. Let me get out of the MAX team and concentrate on the main
topic of Cricket.

IPL after a stint in South Africa is back to India and my thought was the placid batting beauties(wickets) would suit our tigers.(Indians) To my surprise it proved wrong on the day one, when i saw Manoj Tiwary (so called promising) youngster and Dada failed on the opening day. Surprising two relatively unknown international names took the mantle Owais Shah(unable to find a place in English line up) and Angelo Mathews(who is kind of unsteady sri lankan allrounder) played some good thinking cricket. Though i would not count it as clinical but they really applied themselves and played well. That was the first shock of no Indian performing well. Luckily in KKR there were no hopefuls for World T20. The next shock followed soon when DC lost that close tie. I really expected them to win as they were the
stronger team on paper. On the expected lines Rohith Sharma (so called one of the most fluent youngster who is yet to find the place in Indian team since last T20 world cup) failed. The next match at CCI was a treat to watch which brought the best out of two youngsters Tiwary and Rayudu(one of the finest players from the ICL). They played very well with good maturity and huge hittings. It was due to this duo
that MI posted a mammoth score of 211. T20 is something which has its own flavour of swings in a single game and i witnessed it within 30 mins when the much worthy Indian team select for World T20 Yusuf Pathan massacred the MI bowlers. Unfortunately for Royals there was no ample support and the swing was evident with a beautiful piece of run out by one of the best players form the ICL Sathish. Royals had to settle for a heart break after losing by just 4 runs. I think MI players would have atleast thought for a moment that 211 in 20 overs was not enough. Apart from these youngsters we have not seen any good contribution by anyone else except Manish Pandey, Robin uthappa.
Otherwise this has been a tournament of experienced cricketers. Orange cap holder Jaques Kallis shows that he is still best in the business with his all round show. Sachin Tendulkar, do i need to talk about him and the way he is playing the last 6 months is quite amazing and he has carried that into this version of cricket. Andrew Symmonds the bad boy of world cricket is still the best man in business. Virender Sehwag is no more a youngster and he is grown as a veteran. Anil Kumble is playing only in the IPL and no one would accept that he is away from cricket. Mutthiah
Muralidharan the smiling assasin is still assasinating with his mesmerising bowling. Zaheer Khan with his immaculate line and swing is swinging the batsmen. Mathew Hayden can never be ignored as he can single handedly demolish any team now with the help of another tiny animal he could be just ferocious as that animal. Last but not the least our DADA who showed what he is made of and his consistency in this season has been picture perfect.

Let me concentrate on the team that was selected for the World T20

1. MS Dhoni (C) - Played one good knock of 66 but got injured to get away from the string of losses and confessing they need Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger to strengthen their team. That shows that he is unable to inspire the existing team and needs the absentees. He has not impressed and he is certain to pick up another injury. Which would help him to provide a good reason if there is any failure in the World T20.

2. V Sehwag - Nothing can be said about this guy he knows how he plays and everybody knows how he plays. If he is in, there is no stopping for him. He is like a lottery for India once it clicks you can never lose.

3. G Gambhir- The promising youngster India has seen over 3 yrs. If he is fit he can do wonders in West Indies. I hope he gets a good outing in World T20.

4. S Raina - He is good at home turf but have to see how he fares in WI has traditionally he has failed abroad, not banking much on him. If he clicks it will be a treat to watch him play those big shots

5. Y Singh - The perennial yuvraj of Indian cricket who is never destined to be the King of India, is looking like a shadow of his past glory. He has to just remember he is not a natural leader and should accept that he can never lead any team further and concentrate on his work as a star batsman and handy bowler. I guess he has still 5 matches in the IPL where he can find his rythm and get back into the groove. I still bank on this southpaw for delivering goods at the World T20.

6. Y Pathan - All power and minimal technique is what we can describe about this guy who is a great talent well groomed by the legend Shane Warne. He has prooved that raw power is enough to shine even in the longest format of cricket by scoring the double hundred in a 5 day match. He is someone like a sehwag, a lottery on his day he can be a marauder else he will surrender meekly. Worthy to be present in the team.

7. R Sharma - Greatest disappointment from the selectors. I think he is not worthy of his place in the squad and going by the other names he is not going to be there in the playing eleven until something serious happens like last year. Total waste of him being in the team. Sorry to say this.

8. D Karthik - He is in form both with bat and gloves i guess he might get a nod ahead of R Sharma in the team in case of any emergency and i still believe he is one of the best keepers in India. His recent form for Daredevils suggest that he is really good with both the work.

9. H Singh - The most hyped player in the Indian team. Atleast the selectors should have taught him a lesson for his so called agression which always results in embarassment for India in the world level. This guy should thank Sachin, his saviour.

10. Z Khan - The best bowler for India after J Srinath. He performs really well and will be the trump card during the world cup. Hope he stays fit for the entire duration and provides good results.

11. P Kumar - He is a good choice to be in the team. Should be a perfect pair for Z Khan. Apart from his slower ones he can also be handy with the bat. He can come down and can blast the ball with ease.

12. A Nehra - The perennial injured bowler. There is no doubt on his ability to bowl at the begining of the innings, the major problem with this guy is his fitness levels and his bowling at the death. If he improves his fitness he can sure be a good prospect as we saw in the last season at west indies where he bowled well.

13. R Jadeja - Another player who lives on the laurels of IPL and the mentoring of the legend Shane Warne. He was wrongly banned by the IPL as he was out of contract and negotiated with some team. He is a good player but lacks the basics. His major flaw is he does not looks the ball while running which in most cases cause serious problems to himself and his partner. The other problem is he wants to be a hero in every game he plays and succumbs. If he improves on the basics he can be good.

14. P Chawla - The good looking leg spinner once termed as an able replacement for the Great Jumbo(Anil Kumble) has not been in the fray for quite a long time. With some good show in the domestic season has landed him a place in the team. I am not sure if he was a better choice with the other two men in contention Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha. Hope he does well and we have to see if he gets a chance to be in the starting eleven.

15. R. Vinay - Surprising choice but a good one as he has been rewarded for his consistent performance in the domestic circuit. Have to see if this guy stays long or he becomes another Abhishek Nayar in the Indian team.