Category Archives: world cup

seven reasons why shaun toback is a xenophobe asshat

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I’m going to start today’s article off by apologizing for the very misleading title. I’m not going to be examining the seven main reasons why BleacherReport author Shaun Toback is an asshat, as I don’t have enough time in my day to pour through what is sure to be a litany of varied reasons.

the defeated u.s. women's national team

after the USWNT lost in the world cup final to japan, i braced myself for the "anti-soccer" backlash.

Instead, I’m just going to focus on a tiny sliver of Toback’s douchebaggery: his proclaimed hatred for the sport many of us (and I’d venture to say, most everyone who visits this blog) hold dear.

Let’s also be quick to address the rarity of this type of posting on wrong side of the pond: I’m not normally one to make direct attacks on writers whose opinions I disagree with. But Shaun’s typical, reactionary soccer-bashing article after yesterday’s Women’s World Cup final houses so much flawed logic that my brain is hurting. Trying to comprehend the sheer amount of stupid in this post is literally impossible. His seven “reasons” why non-gridiron football will never take off in this country needed a point-by-point retort, and I feel just pissed off enough to offer my services.

1. Soccer’s Great Moments Are Fleeting

barcelona passing

barcelona's tiki-taka movement is one of the subtleties that newcomers to the sport often overlook.

Mr. Toback starts off his article letting everyone know he’s a big all-around sports fan. He tells us that he hates soccer, but wants it to succeed, because he likes to watch “great athletes that play [sports] enjoy success.” I’m not exactly sure what the hell that means, but I think he’s trying to imply that it can, at times, be interesting to watch elite athletes compete in a sport he’s not particularly interested in. He probably doesn’t enjoy regularly watching swimming, but was still probably riveted (like the rest of us) by Michael Phelps at the Beijing Olympics.

However, he takes objection with soccer because in the average soccer game, “nothing really happens.” Of course, he’s referring to the typical argument that the only “big events” in soccer are goals. A tried yet tired argument, Toback and the rest of the soccer haters never listen to us when we say there’s significantly more to soccer than just goals. If he really appreciates sports, then he would take the time to understand that much of what makes soccer so special is what happens in between the goals: amazing offensive build ups, slick and tricky passes, intelligent defensive teamwork, brilliant individual displays of skill. Just as with basketball or hockey, it’s awe inspiring to watch masters like Messi, Ronaldo or Xavi completely take over and dominate a match.

Nuances, just as with other sports, are what makes soccer so interesting. Not taking the time to watch and identify those intricacies of each sport will ultimately sour any new viewer’s perception of the game.

2. Soccer Is a Finesse Sport and Americans Don’t Care About Finesse Sports
There is a one word answer that is the perfect, short retort to this point: golf.

nigel de jong kicks xabi alonso

nigel de jong packs enough violence into his game to keep in the most cerebral of american fans entertained.

But let’s be honest, one word rebuttals aren’t near as fun as long-winded ones.

Second, making a snap judgment about the lack of speed and power of an entire sport based upon the women’s game is plain retarded. I present: women’s tackle football. Have you ever watched paint dry a WNBA game? Aren’t there things called “ladies tees” in golf? All are slower, less explosive versions of the men’s game, and that ultimately makes them a different game that requires a different appreciation.

Third, watch a freaking men’s game. It’s borderline out of control it’s moving so quickly. And if you don’t think there’s violence in soccer: Nigel de Jong has a foot he’d like to put into your chest. Thinking there’s a lack of power in the sport seems silly when you consider that Ryan Shawcross will literally tackle through your leg.

3. The Field Is Too Big
I would believe one of the arguments that Toback makes if he could actually decide what he’s bitching about. Is the field too big or are red card ejections stupid? Sadly, neither argument is strongly backed up.

real madrid's ronaldo is fast

ronaldo is fast enough to make the field small.

He makes the assertion that playing a man down isn’t really that big of deal, and the team’s odds of still winning aren’t greatly reduced, all because the field is too big. I feel fairly safe in assuming that Toback probably missed the second leg of the Arsenal-Barcelona Champions League tie last year. After Van Persie’s crap ejection, Arsenal’s chances of the winning the match were effectively zilch. But throwing that or any other examples out, his argument is still poor. The whole point of the red card ejection is that the offending team should still be able to compete, just at a disadvantage. Sometimes they overcome it, but most times they don’t.

And if you want to shrink the field just to get more goals or have red cards be more impactful, there’s an existing solution for you: indoor soccer or futsal.

4. ESPN Doesn’t Care About Soccer
To paraphrase a quote from BASEketball, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen an MLS commercial for ESPN, I would have a shitload of nickels. Does this guy ever watch any of the ESPN channels? If so, I don’t know how he could miss the channel advertising soccer. Remember the six months leading up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? They advertised the Cup so much that I was getting sick of it.

And even though I know it’s not the same network, I’ve seen a plethora of ads pushing Fox Soccer Channel on numerous other stations on my cable provider. Both Fox and ESPN shelled out a lot of money to show MLS and English Premier League games, and they wouldn’t do so if there wasn’t an audience worth selling it to… so I’m pretty sure they care about the sport a little bit.

Comparing soccer’s struggles to pull in American audiences to the audiences pulled in by a 100-year-plus reoccurring national cultural event is like comparing apples and oranges. Soccer is a growing sport facing a tremendously biased and entrenched sports scene. Expecting it out draw something like the All-Star Game consistently is like expecting the professional lacrosse league to suddenly start attracting viewers in the millions in the next 5 years. It’s just not practical, possible or comparable.

5. Excessive Flopping and Terrible Refs
I would throw Toback a bone on this complaint, but he’s a little late to the party. Last time I checked, the quality of refereeing and the debate on how to aid them in an increasingly difficult decision-making process is one of the largest controversies in the sport. And as for diving, it’s one of the few problems in the game that FIFA and the governing bodies are actually attempting to alleviate. As he pointed out, even us diehard fans know these are two massive problems in our sport.

erika of brazil

i'll give toback credit: as erika showed us, simulation is rampant in the men's and women's game.

But while Shaun admitted that cheating and poor refereeing can give a team an “advantage” in American sports, he took it a step further by asserting that matches and tournaments are “routinely” and “completely” decided by these kinds of events in soccer. Is he trying to say that outcomes in the NBA, MLB and NFL are never influenced by these sins?

Wait, I seem to recall an NFL Conference Championship game that just might have been influenced by a controversial referee decision. I also remember Tim Donaghy and the NBA’s referee betting scandal that possibly influenced playoff basketball games.  Armando Galarraga had his place in baseball history destroyed when his perfect game was botched by umpire Bill Hohn.

I’m also guessing that Toback thinks player cheating is exclusive to soccer. Ignoring that the NBA’s Manu Ginobli is a serial flopper — after all, he’s a dirty foreigner — players try to deceive the referees with diving in the NHL (Alex Ovechkin), college basketball (Kemba Walker) and even the NFL (Brett Favre). And while we’re on the topic of players gaming the system, maybe we should just ignore that whole steroids thing that did/didn’t happen in baseball.

Point is, every sport has its black eyes and bad sheep. Holding those against one sport while ignoring the faults of other sports is not only hypocritical, but also a bad reason to think a sport can’t build it’s popularity if those horrible things are happening. Last time I checked, the American sports leagues all recovered from these “disasters.”

6. The Mystery of Extra Minutes and Other Vague Soccer Rules
Here’s the thing about sports: they all have different rules. And in every sport, there are confusing rules. Try explaining icing or offsides to a non-hockey fan, you’ll run into problems. The NBA has been grappling with how to call traveling for a half century. In the NFL, you’re allowed to hit certain players one way, but other players only in a different way.

Just like with any other sport, it takes some time to learn the rules. You can’t just learn them over night, and it takes repeated viewing to learn the differences in how to call a certain situation one way or another.

But if you say that there are virtually no people in this country that have been watching soccer their entire lives and that’s why no one get’s the rules, you must be smoking crack. I sat and watched yesterday’s women’s final with over 70 people (ages 15 – 65) yesterday at a bar in Dayton, Ohio, and just about all of them correctly thought the Japan offsides call in the second half was a bad one. And that’s just one small bar in a mid-sized Midwestern town.

And if you’re really in need of some clarification on the “vague” rules of soccer, read the damn rulebook.

7. Americans Suck at Soccer

giuseppe rossi of villareal

an american superstar does exist: rossi just chose to play for someone else.

No, the US Men’s National team isn’t a World Cup winner, and we’re still a ways off. But it would be foolish to suggest that we suck. There are a slew of Americans playing in the top leagues in the world. We knocked off World and European champions Spain in the Confederations Cup in 2009. We’ve made it to the World Cup quarter finals, something many nations can’t say. And that’s just the men. Our two-time world champion women’s team has made the semifinals or better in every major women’s tournament ever.

Even if we haven’t produced our own American star yet, that has more to do with our crap youth development system than the sport not attracting our biggest and fastest youth athletes. We don’t need LeBron James or Ray Lewis sized athletes to be competitive… Spain’s world-dominating side have an average height of just 5’10″.

And if he really does want the game to succeed, Toback propagating a bunch of biased, non-factual bullshit as to why the game sucks isn’t helping the problem.

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What it seems like is that, though Shaun insists he has tried to like the game, he has gone into every soccer experience with the same worn-out preconceptions and never looks past what the xenophobe hivemind has instructed him to believe. To fear what is foreign is natural, but to not take the time to learn about it before developing an opinion is ignorant.

Five minutes of Google searches on each objection would have stopped this article in its tracks, but it’s clear that the author didn’t feel it necessary to put in due diligence. It’s always best to bash things without doing your homework, right Shaun?

To be honest though, I don’t know what the guy’s problem is. Maybe some little football playing lassie (lad?) broke his heart at some point during his youth. Or perhaps he’s bent out of shape that he finally invested himself in the sport, and had his heart ripped out when the ladies lost yesterday’s final. So goes soccer, Toback… get used to it.

What’s really interesting though is that if Toback is so disinterested in soccer, then he wouldn’t have written an article all about it in the first place. Even though he thinks he’s tried and failed to get caught up in the “fever” that surrounds soccer, his article actually proves that he might have caught the sickness more than he thought.

the solution set

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Sometimes you have to wonder if humanity would ever get anything done if it weren’t for disasters.

tottenham's gomes prevents the ball from crossing the goal line

you knew i had to complain about this at some point, right?

It took a massive hurricane for New Orleans –a city stupidly built below sea level on a river delta–  to actually spend any money to build adequate levies to prevent rising river/lake/sea water from ravaging the city. Japan needed to have a nuclear meltdown at one of their power plants before they thought, “Hey, maybe it would be a good idea to build impenetrable sea walls around our nuclear power plants!” Apparently, reacting after a disaster is the only way to save face.

And just as in the real world, the powers that be in soccer need to have their lack of action blow up in their faces before they decide to go about making needed changes in the game.

Refereeing has been the bane of FIFA’s existence the last year and a half. Bad decision after horrible decision, missed call after botched call, affected game after ruined game, the overall quality of supposed “top-level” referees in the game seems to have taken a massive dip. Some high-profile recent examples include:

  • The France-Ireland World Cup qualification handball incident.
  • Frank Lampard’s un-awarded goal in South Africa.
  • Robin van Persie’s dismissal for shooting a ball after the whistle.
  • Barcelona escaping any punishment for all of their diving during the Champions League clásicos.
  • Tottenham falling to Chelsea on an offsides goal and a goal that never crossed the line (see above).

Now to be fair, and I have been pretty harsh to the lot on this blog, all of the blame can’t be shouldered by the referees. Yes, some of the poor performances are definitely their fault: not being in the right place on the pitch to see the action, being inconsistent in the calls being made, or just plain making the wrong call. But a lot of this can also be blamed on the dramatic increase in the speed of the modern game. It can be awfully difficult to make a judgement call on a possible infraction that took place in a matter of milliseconds.

Regardless of the reason for the poor quality of refereeing, it’s clear these blind mice need some sort of help. And luckily for us, these events over the last year have finally forced FIFA’s dirty little hand.

Last week, FIFA announced a 2012 deadline for finding a suitable solution to the much maligned goal line technology debate. A long over due pledge, goal line technology is likely the easiest to solve of the issues plaguing the organization (At least they’re finally caving on one issue). And just in time, as it’s an issue that has recently severely impacted the results of some very major games.

So in light of such an important announcement, I thought it might be worthwhile to take some time to look at some of the contenders proposed to solve FIFA’s big problem.

CTRUS W1

a brilliant concept, but can CTRUS actually meet the standards for an actual ball?

CTRUS by agent

Purely conceptual (I think), we’re still a long way from seeing CTRUS as a viable solution for FIFA… and for multiple reasons.

  1. A functioning model has yet to appear.
  2. It requires no inflation, meaning by definition, it’s not a ball FIFA would approve. Massive rule changes would need to be instituted just for this mechanical ball to earn the coveted official “FIFA Approved” logo.
  3. It’s way too cool for an archaic, old-fashioned organization to adopt.

What’s awesome about the CTRUS concept is that it’s not just the referee who will receive notice of a potential goal: everyone will. Thanks to the ball’s on-board GPS, RFID and multiple POV cameras, the ball will be able to determine its location and signal a goal or ball out-of-touch by changing its colors with LED lighting.

All bad ass ideas, but all assuming that Agen can actually get the thing to work.

uefa has been testing the 5-man referee system for two years

"wait, i can't see around this post."

The Five-Man System

Everyone should be fairly familiar with FIFA’s only somewhat-sanctioned form of goal line technology, where an extra official is placed just behind and to the left of each goal mouth. Let’s first diligently declare that this is not a “technology” per se… unless the extra officials are some form cyborgs. And to be honest, this solution is really just four extra eyes to watch a ball from a closer angle.

Problem is, I don’t think that these guys provide that much additional value.

Since these guys are already qualified as professional referees, they’re allowed not only rule on goals, but also on other infringements in the penalty area. Sadly, I can’t think of one occasion where I’ve seen them call anything. Secondly, there’s still plenty of room for human error. In fact, there’s twice as much room for human error. So there’s really no possible way that this “technology” could even meet FIFA’s own 100% accuracy standards.

Goalminder

A relative unknown, at least as far as the media are concerned, Goalminder is a solution that involves placing fiber-optic, high-speed cameras in the posts and crossbar of each goal. Very reminiscent of the NHL’s downward facing camera used to verify goals, check out the video below for a horribly drawn out (and ADD distracted) demonstration:

One major problem with this solution is the time it would take to make a decision with cameras. Someone would need to watch the video, possibly frame by frame, and every angle could potentially be obscured by an errant arm, leg, foot or body. Are the referees supposed to pause the game as they wait for or make a decision? Who watches the video replays? In reality, there are more questions that actual answers with regards to Goalminder.

adidas-cairos teamgeist II goal line technology solution

the infamous sputnik ball makes a return to WSOTP.

Cairos

remember the Sputnik ball that I had stupidly propped up on my site a few weeks back that purported to be the official 2014 World Cup ball? Well, as I said in the story, it’s not the next ball but rather an old prototype utilizing the “Cairos GLT” technology in adidas’ Teamgeist II.

A joint venture between adidas and Cairos Technologies, this system utilizes a series of in-ball sensors that, when the ball completely crosses the goal line, would immediately notify the referee that a goal should be awarded. It requires the posts and bars to transmit electromagnetic fields that would be measured by the ball’s microchips to determine its location on the pitch.

An earlier version of this system was demoed at the 2005 U-17 World Cup, but apparently wasn’t able to make the grade. With a bad taste already in FIFA’s mouth, adidas and co hopefully did their homework a bit better this time around in order to convince anyone that it’s a viable option.

Vegum/Tag-Heuer’s Goal Line Technology (GLT)

Cleverly named product, isn’t it? The famous watchmaker’s system was first developed ahead of 2010 Olympic Hockey tournament, and is currently solely marketed for use in hockey. It utilizes a centrally located microchip within the ball to gauge its position with regards to an electromagnetic field emanating from the posts, crossbar, and goal line.

Other than this link to a promotional video, I can’t dig up much on Vegum and Tag Heuer’s innovative collaboration.

hawk-eye goal line technology

hawk-eye's software uses multiple views to verify a goal. extra sets of intelligent eyes are never a bad thing.

Hawk-Eye

Already the master of millimeter-precise solutions for tennis, cricket, and even snooker, Hawk-Eye is the solution FIFA should already be using.

Hawk-Eye is a computer program that utilizes a set of 6 high-speed cameras at both ends of the stadium, each providing a different angle on the goal line action. The computerized brain then analyzes all of the video feeds to determine the trajectory, speed, and exact location at any given time. Even in situations when the ball is obstructed from every view, the system’s historical database can make accurate assumptions about the ball’s location, based on where it isn’t and historical data. So for those not able to follow, the system can “see” the ball even when it can’t.

The company and Premier League claimed in 1997 that they had the technology ready for in-game implementation, but FIFA was too busy turning a blind eye to the situation at that point. It’s proven to be invaluable in the sports that currently use the technology, which should lend plenty of credence to using it in goal-line decisions.

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Others companies (such as Swiss watch-maker Longines) are reportedly submitting proposals, but they’ve kept their brainchildren hidden away in the depths of the internet where I can’t find them.

It is also important to remember that this isn’t the first time FIFA have attempted to tackle the goal line technology debate. Back in February, FIFA put ten solutions through the wringer only to have them all fail to meet the stringent accuracy standards demanded by the ruling regime governing body. And that begs to question whether or not any of the possible solutions listed above will even be able to make the grade.

For everyone’s sake, let’s hope it does. FIFA and UEFA have spent too much time with their heads in the sand, and their precious game is suffering tremendously for it.

the next ball we’ll complain about (DEBUNKED)

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Two posts in less than 24 hours… you should feel very privileged. Anyway, while browsing the internet during lunch at work today, I happened to stumble upon what is supposedly a leaked image of the ball that will supposedly be used as the official match ball for World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

Hold on to your shorts…

the supposed official ball of world cup 2014

is this funkylooking contraption the official ball of the next world cup? i don't know.

So first things first, let’s cement the fact that I have absolutely no clue if this is legit or not. It’s very possible this could be an artistic rendering, a hypothetical prototype, or a wonderfully done bit of trolling from the underbelly of the internet. Discovered in a Facebook group entitled “WOW!! THIS IS WHAT THE 2014 WORLD CUP BALL LOOKS LIKE!!”, which if you’re like me, definitely threw up a red flag or nine. Either way, I figured it would be worth posting just for joy of speculation.

In my highly un-qualified professional opinion, it looks like some odd combination of K’nex building toys and the Russian satellite Sputnik.

What purpose do those little internal arms serve? Maybe the ball doesn’t require any sort of inflation, or maybe it’s some futuristic solution to the whole goal line technology dilemma. What would it feel like to kick that thing? I think could totally shatter the plastic pieces with a good kick, right?

Secondly, would adidas really go with that similar of an external design to the last two World Cup balls? Maybe I’m nitpicking a bit, but it’s a case that could be made.

Either way, if this is the real Brazil 2014 ball, I’m sure of two things:

  1. adidas and FIFA will charge three arms and a leg for it.
  2. Everyone will hate it.

Please, please, please comment and let me know if you have any more information on what’s pictured above, and i’ll be sure to give you due credit with the “breaking” news. More pictures, technical reports… someone’s got be able to debunk this thing in a heartbeat.

Update: How quickly things can be debunked. Reddit user “JimmySinner” pointed out that this was a prototype ball developed a few years back. Further investigation has revealed that it was used in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, and went by the name of “adidas Teamgeist II”. Here’s some video of the technology, which was supposed to be able to assist with goal line technology. No word on how effective the technology was, though I would imagine it will never see the light of day again so long as Blatter is alive. My apologies for my very amateur reporting.

the big (possible) switch

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I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but World Cup 2014 preparations in Brazil are going horribly. Construction delays are the face of the problems undermining the planning of the event, though the roots of those problems lie much deeper in the Brazilian culture.

brazil's ambitious plans are lagging far behind schedule; will they be able to get everything done by 2014?

Bribery and corruption are near-omnipresent in Brazil, and are likely at the heart of the problems surrounding the lead up to the next Big Show. So ingrained in Brazilian culture are these elements, that not even the country’s most famous son — and borderline demigod –, Pelé,  is exempt of it’s sway and influence. That’s not to mention the country’s enormous crime problem, which undoubtedly also has its roots in these ethical issues in the country’s cultural personality.

Not that we haven’t seen construction delays and budget shortfalls in the run up to major sporting events before, but the sheer volume of work needed to be completed in just over three years makes it a daunting task. According to a report from the Bazilian Audit Court, critical problems are wide ranging:

  • Several host city airports are in danger of not being able to complete renovations in time to handle the massive crowds and increased flights expected in 2014. Work at the Salvador airport has yet to begin due to problems with the bidding process… more or less meaning they haven’t yet figured out who is willing to put in the biggest bribe(s) to land the contract(s).
  • Construction is way behind pace at the stadiums too. The opening match stadium in São Paulo, which would be built and owned by domestic power Corinthians, has yet to even have its design approved by FIFA. The renovations at the renowned Maracana in Rio de Janiero, set to host the final, have only just gotten underway and are already over budget. Officials fear that all 12 locations are currently in a race against time to meet their deadlines.
  • Allegations of misappropriations of public funds for both infrastructure and stadiums are piling up on top of a withdrawal of promised private funds, further compounding issues mentioned above.
  • The stadium in the capital city of Brasília — a planned “city of the future” that was literally cut from the jungle — seats 71,000. However, after the Cup it is likely to sit vacant as the local clubs don’t have large enough followings to fill them. Echoes of post-Cup South Korea in 2002 are ringing in my ears.

After construction delays and rumors that the South Africa finals relied upon the government to fund much more than originally promised, the lack of finalized plans and financial backing at this stage in Brazil is extremely worrisome. With many of the stadia and airport renovations/constructions yet to even start or absent of proper funding, you wouldn’t be off base in wondering whether there is enough time to get it all done.

So the question that begs to be answered is: what happens if they can’t get it all done?

FIFA have luckily already set precedent for that scenario. If need be, they will move major tournaments. The moving of 1986 finals from Columbia to Mexico, where the Columbian drug lords government couldn’t afford to meet FIFA’s ridiculous financial requirements to host, is the most glaring example of a massive change on short notice. More recently, they shifted the 2003 Women’s World Cup host from China to the United States (despite hosting the previous edition) just months before the tournament was to start due to some silly bird flu.

But, do FIFA have the stones to pull the 2014 edition from Brazil if necessary? Let’s first examine why they would not want to pull the trigger on such a move.

The Brazilian federation — and more importantly, their national teams — are the pride and joy of the FIFA’s overall Fair Play initiatives. Lately, the world’s governing body has been masking their evilness by trying to promote the game in third world and underdeveloped nations, many of which have weak international credentials. Despite a majority of Brazil’s population living at or below the poverty level, their national team is the most successful in the world.

The country has become such a proficient player factory, that its citizens literally feed the world’s demand for joga bonito in their own domestic leagues. Perhaps taking a page out of America’s Manifest Destiny mantra, the Brazilians have pulled themselves up by their boots straps to get where they are today. But taking away the marquee event from a country that pride’s itself on the sport would be like a gigantic stomach punch to the entire country.

As for the money that’s already been invested by the government and private parties, pulling the World Cup out would mean that those parties were epically swindled to donate to public works projects with no payout at the end. This could easily create a lack of investing confidence in the country, running the risk of destabalizing one of the fastest growing economies on the planet.

think the rioting in libya is bad? watch what happens if you take a world cup away from a country so passionate about their national sport.

It’s also been ages since a World Cup has been held in Latin America. Since their selection was based on Sepp’s continental rotaion policy — which is meant to be fair to the fans — FIFA would tarnish their already crap image if they go back on their word. Although, maybe that would make more people start to think that FIFA can’t even pick an adequate host for its own main event. Moving the big show would be just another huge black eye for the organization… though they’ve probably grown quite accustomed to that lately.

So if FIFA have all of these reasons to not ship the tournament off to another country, why then would they consider doing it? Just like with everything else FIFA, the answer is likely as simple as money.

As much as they would receive black eye for yanking the Cup from one of it’s most successful member nations, having the Brazilians run a shoddy tournament in inadequate confines would be just as bad. Under Blatter’s guidance, FIFA have built an incredibly strong brand that companies want to utilize for their own advertising initiatives. A poorly run tournament in Brazil could easily tank that incredible value, which would ultimately scare off big money corporate investors for future tournaments.

Sure, Brazil’s economy has been one of the few bright spots in the gloomy global economy. It’s likely the only country in South America who is economy strong enough to host an event of such magnitude. But it sure ain’t the American or Chinese for that matter, either.

It’s a safe assumption to say that the capability for maximizing the value of corporate sponsorship deals for a Brazilian tournament would be drastically smaller than if it were being held in Europe, Asia or North America. Is Brazil’s middle class wealthy enough to compensate for any drop in foreign attendance due to the underdeveloped airports or fear of crime?

Listen, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an economist. But I can’t imagine that FIFA wouldn’t make more money by moving the tournament from Brazil to a more traditional, Western market. Of course, this likely means more money that could find it’s way into the highly ethical pockets of FIFA Executive Board members. so with the Brazilian tournament seemingly on the path to disaster, why not pull out and place it in a more lucrative location?

we know that brazil can put on a good party... whether they can do the same for a 21st century world cup remains to be seen.

Now, I’m certainly aware that from an American fan’s perspective, this kind of switch would likely be the equivalent of hitting the soccer lottery. There’s little doubt that the US would be the automatic front runner to become the replacement host, edging out the English due to our track record of sort of pulling this off for FIFA in the past. Regardless of which of the two would be chosen as the replacement, it could be seen by many as a move by FIFA to try to mend some bridges after screwing over both associations in the 2018/2022 bidding processes.

Let it be clear, too, that I am not in support of giving us the tournament that is rightly Brazil’s (Though i would certainly take advantage of the situation if it were to work out that way!) unless it’s absolutely necessary. By all means, I’d prefer we give the Samba Boys some time to get their shit together. Because if we’re being honest, a World Cup in Brazil done right could be an absolutely amazing affair. Think Carnival (flair, extravagance, and of  course boobs) combined with the Fan Zones at the Germany 2006 (cheerful socializing, beer and boobs).

Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised if FIFA pulled this move off. Whether their reasoning is for the benefit of the game or for their bank accounts, is another thing all together. And for that reason, let us hope that we don’t ever have to find out.

leaving a legacy

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as humans, we have this complex about how important we are in the world.

sepp clearly wants us to remember him. but in what way will we remember him?

it’s hard for most people to swallow how insignificant they are in the big scheme of things. we live a very short amount of time when compared to the billions of years the universe has been around, and each of us is just one of the billions of humans that have ever lived on this planet.

many of us can’t stand the thought that after we and all of our friends and family die, we’re very likely never to be remembered. think of those billions of people who have lived throughout time and how few of them we actually still talk about today. that’s why we see people like kanye west, evil kenevil and rupaul, who, despite being extremely famous, still feel the need to be as outrageous and controversial as possible. humans will do anything to be remembered.

maybe that innate desire can help explain what exactly sepp blatter is trying to do.

as has long been known (and explained here for those unaware), blatter is a master politician. and like most career politicians, he also has left a lengthy trail of controversy along the way. so it wouldn’t be any stretch of the imagination to think that blatter has been almost directly responsible for the placements of not just two of the next three world cups (russia and qatar), but also three of the last five (usa, korea/japan and south africa).

(now as a side note, there is obviously some conjecture in the last sentence that i wrote above. i know that blatter was not president when the usa bid and korea/japan bid were selected in 1998 and 1996 respectively. however, prior to his controversial takeover in 2008, blatter had been working for fifa for 23 years in a number of high ranking positions. specifically, his role for the five straight tournaments before his presidency was CEO; that job entails overseeing the world cup.)

prior to his presidency, the world cup had only been held on three of the six habitable continents. in fact, of the 16 tournaments to that point, only six had been held outside europe. but including the seven tournaments held during and decided during his presidency, five will be held outside of europe. of those five, three were held/are being held on continents that have never before hosted.

perhaps what we’re seeing with blatter is him trying to make his mark on history. maybe his goal is leaving a legacy of “the man who brought the world cup to the rest of the world.” and it’s a very noble effort if that’s actually the case.

but blatter is also playing with fire with these decisions. there is a high potential for qatar 2022 and russia 2018 to blow up in his face if:

  1. either turns out to be a disastrous tournament (both have the great ability to do so), or
  2. any light is shed on the suspected shady dealings that brought qatar and russia their success.

qatar and russia have a lot to get done now that they've "won" their bids.

russia has to build or rebuild every single stadium they intend to use for tournament, not to mention the billions that will need to be spent to sure up the massive country’s horrendous infrastructure. aside from host cities that will have multiple stadiums, the distances between host cities will make it nearly impossible for a county’s fans to follow them throughout the tournament.

qatar… well, where do we start. their team is currently ranked 113th in the world, and they’ve never qualified for a world cup (going all the way back to the original EA fifa soccer game in the mid 90′s, qatar were always the worst team). another drawback is that the country is situated in what we could consider a “hotbed” for hostile activity towards the west; good thing there won’t be any teams from the west, right? oh wait…

they have pledged self-sufficient air conditioned stadiums to protect players and fans from the expect 105°+ heat, despite having the highest CO2 output per capita in the world right now. recall that this cooling technology hasn’t yet been proven on a large scale, and they also have to go about  building/rebuilding every stadium on their list too.

also, how can a nation of 1.7 million expect to handle an influx of a half million rabid fans? there are certainly logistical issues such as having enough hotel rooms, restaurants and manpower to accommodate them. not to mention that effectively all of these fans will be coming into just one city, doha.

Swedish soccer fans kissing

if you're expecting more of this awesomeness in qatar in 12 years, you better save this picture to your phone.

oh yeah, and there’s this little issue of the quasi-illegality of alcohol in the country: there are only 4 places in the entire country to purchase it. good luck getting soccer fans to forgo drinking during the tournament in 2022.  i also hope you’re not a fan of the hot south american and scandinavian females that support their teams at each world cup in agonizingly tiny outfits. thanks to strict religious laws, those “gifted” supporters will likely have to cover up. starting to sound like a buzz kill yet?

and that’s just addressing the first point. the second point has growing momentum in less than a week since the announcement, and this is where it’s beginning to look like blatter might have finally bitten off more than he can chew. in lieu of me writing every single allegation being hoisted up against the irregular bidding process, read this link (no, for real… READ IT) which does a great job of covering the myriad of accusations. while all of these can’t be true, it’s not improbable to think that many of them are.

and maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to award the tournament to the most corruption-prone candidates just after it was leaked that at least two of the executive committee members were selling their votes.

either way you look at it, blatter’s gamble at bringing the world cup to places anew is surely a risky bet. with many stating that sir sepp is gunning for a noble peace prize, the results of the bid decisions for 2018 and 2022 surely back that up. i get that thought process, but in my humble opinion it has more to do with padding his swiss bank account than it does to making sure he get’s a prize. regardless, he probably won’t ever face any punishment for it.

whatever the case may be, the legacy that blatter leaves behind is far from written. we’ve got just under 12 years to wait and see.

this is not a popularity contest

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greetings from south africa on the last day of world cup 2010… ok, i’m lying. i’m sitting in my living room in ohio at 9 in the morning, just like i have for a majority of this summer’s big event.

and from my bird’s eye, HD view of the action, i’ve had a chance to watch a constant stream of amazing footballers grace the pitches in south africa. and though the football wasn’t necessarily the greatest most of the time, there is no doubt that some players really stepped up to the occasion.

of course villa made my best XI, but there is no way his world class teammate cesc could squeeze in.

with that in mind, i’ve tried my best to assemble my best XI of south africa 2010. i’ve always been quick to criticize to bash fifa’s decisions for this team in past tournaments, but doing this for the first time on my own was way more difficult than i had imagined. this is especially true when you could probably just use the whole of the spanish starting eleven and call it a day. and the difficulty of not naming high profile players, even those who didn’t perform to their abilities, is that much harder.

(a quick tangent… “the high profile player” pick easily explains how claudio reyna made the 2002 best XI, despite having a poor tournament. a USMNT spot on that team was guaranteed because of their impressive run to the quarters, and that spot should have been landycakes, or brad friedel’s. instead, the organizers probably looked down the US roster and said to themselves, “oh, i know who reyna is… he used to play for rangers!”)

anyway, without further delay, here are my picks for this summer’s edition. and feel free to throw out any objections you like.

fernando muslera (gk – uruguay)
i really struggled not to pick muslera’s teammate, luis suárez, for the keeper spot in the eleven. however, picking a striker who just so happened to make the save of the tournament seemed a little out of place. either way, muslera deserves the nod over portugal’s eduardo due to his team’s deeper run in the tournament and his huge penalty saves against ghana. despite the fact that muslera had only 12 caps with the national team.

giovanni van bronckhorst (d – netherlands)
love him or hate him, the oldest player in the tournament (this includes goalkeepers and outfield players) has been a rock in the back for the dutch. the captain somehow always evades the probing eyes of the referee when pulling off his dirty tricks, which makes him few fans despite the fact it’s part of what makes him so effective at this age. add in his thundering goal in the semifinal against uruguay, and there is just no way you can leave him off his this team.

philipp lahm (d – germany)
another captain, another solid performer. and it should have been expected from the right-sided back from bayern munich, as he was one of the standout performers in germany’s 2006 run to the final on their home soil. he also had to stepp up big to hold the captaincy in place of the injured michael ballack, and managed the job very well.

carles puyol (d – spain)
it pains me to put him in this team, even though he rightfully deserves it. at times for barcelona, he is so out of control that you have to wonder if he has any clue what he’s doing out there. and yet he always seems to make it work. plus, do i really want to put a neanderthal in my best XI? (after writing this, i’ve now become a little afraid of having the geico caveman show up and kick my ass.) alas, i have to. puyol was instrumental in spain’s three game clean sheet run to today’s final, and the winner in the semi against germany doesn’t hurt either.

michel bastos (d – brazil)
this kid is fun to watch. he runs up and down the flank just like any brazilian left back should, yet he does it with a little more style and class (probably due to the fact that he plays on the left wing for lyon). i’ll probably get some cocked heads from this selection, but i think the 26 year old is had a strong tournament and is a rising star in the game.

xavi (m – spain)
although i prefer the stylish play of his teammate, iniesta (who was a hard snub for the first XI), there is no doubting xavi’s place here. if he’s not on your team, you didn’t watch enough games or have no clue what you’re talking about. he will be one of the front runners for the golden ball, heavily depending on the result of today’s final and whether or not villa scores again.

wesley sneijder (m – netherlands)
i still don’t get how real madrid didn’t think they would need sneijder any longer. it makes me so mad. and yet here wesley is, after leading his new side inter to champions league glory this spring, pushing the oranje towards world cup glory. yeah, there is no way you would need him. especially when kaka is a shell of his former self.

schweinsteiger pushed his way into my team, despite the fact that he haunts my nightmares.

bastian schweinsteiger (m – germany)
i like to describe schweinsteiger as a bigger, stronger and more technical version of craig bellamy. they both look like they could kill you if they felt like it… you know, that crazy eye look that they both give players that they’re mad at. and all i can picture schweinsteiger as is a gigantic SS officer… and that’s exactly how he patrols his midfield. with intimidation, size and great technical ability.

thomas müller (f – germany)
in addition to making my best XI, he is probably a shoe in for the young player of the tournament award too. the young bayern stand out has been incredibly impressive this summer. he has formed a very impressive partnership up front with whomever he plays with, but is an especially strong 1-2 punch when partnered with klose. look for young thomas and his other young teammates (ahem, ozïl) to be an international force for years to come.

david villa (f – spain)
he’s been lethal. i don’t think i really need to say much more than that. and as a real madrid fan, he makes barcelona infinitely more scary.

diego forlán (f – uruguay)
from manchester united flop to perennial pinchichi candidate in spain, “san diego” continued his fine run of form this summer in south africa. along with national hero suárez, forlán carried uruguay all the way to the last four with style and pin ache. could a big move back to england be in the cards for the atletico madrid man?

on the bench are a few more decent players:

  • iker casillas (gk – spain)
  • john mensah (d – ghana)
  • andres iniesta (m – spain)
  • landon donovan (m – united states)
  • lionel messi (m – argentina)
  • keisuke honda (m – japan)
  • asamoah gyan (f – ghana)
  • luis fabiano (f – brazil)

the themes of south africa 2010

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Sixty games into this World Cup finals, and with only four left to go, I can’t help but feel like this tournament has had some distinct, tournament-wide trends. While there have been some outliers, I feel like these themes have been prevalent in nearly every match.

That’s how it feels to me at least. And since this is my blog, I feel like you need to hear about them. So here are the four themes of South Africa 2010, in no particular order…

so many people were scratching their heads about the tournament as to why france kept domenech for the finals. apparently, raymond was doing the exact same thing.

CcCrRrAaAzZzYyY coaches
I thought for sure this space would be dominated by Maradona headlines. But while the legend has kept his trap mostly shut for a majority of the month, his counterparts from other countries are busy fighting with one another over who gets to fill the shoes I expected El Diego to be wearing.

First up: Italy’s Marcello Lippi. Critized long before the tournament for choosing a squad that would — nearly in its entirety – qualify for Social Security benefits here in the States (they’re so old), Lippi was busy laying the foundation of his craziness months ago. And following the Italians’ three-and-out performance, Marcello was so embarrassed that he literally ran out of the stadium. No handshakes with the opposing coaches. Nothing. Class act.

But Lippi was to be outdone, as the much-maligned Raymond Domenech continues to fly the flag as the world’s stupidest coach. Despite having a squad ripe with talent, everyone in the world knew that Domenech was a lame duck and that Les Bleus would suffer for having him there. And suffer they did. Raymond succeeded in letting the team implode, had to send home Anelka for subordination, had a team coach quit, and saw his players refuse to train under him. Further more, the Fench went winless for the second straight competition and were generally awful.

The icing on the cake? After being eliminated by a loss to 89th ranked South Africa, Domenech didn’t shake Bafana Bafana manager Carlos Alberto Parreira’s hand either. No, instead he lectured the brazilian for a comment he made about France’s illegitimate qualification… a comment he made nearly 4 months ago. Brilliant and extremely mature timing by the craziest coach in South Africa.

Blind men are everywhere
Aside from when I’m personally playing in a game, I really do hate to criticize referees. The (un)lucky refs picked to deputize the World Cup games honestly do have some of the hardest, most pressure-filled jobs on the planet. But in this summer’s tournament, I feel like you couldn’t walk through the South Africa without tripping over a crap referee.

Yes, the most talked about topic during this summer’s finals is the unbelievably poor standard of refereeing that we’ve seen almost completely across the board. The biggest poor call so far, at least from an American’s point of view, was the Coulibaly fantom offsides/foul in the USMNT-Slovenia game. But other atrocities so far have included: Tim Cahill being wrongly sent straight off against Germany, Lampard’s non-goal in the England-Germany match, Tevez’s clearly offsides goal against Mexico, the soft yellow that Thomas Müller was given against Argentina that will cause him to miss the German’s semifinal.

Needless to say, the level of officiating in their marquee event should be extremely worrying for FIFA. With mounting evidence to justify the use of some sort of goal line technology — and fifa finally “admitting” as much – this World Cup may finally be the last straw for keeping some sort of referee aid from making its way into the game. Though odds are, FIFA will intentionally pick the worst option just so they can reject it as a failure and go back to the current, mucked up system in a few years’ time.

It is important to remember that they aren’t all doing poorly… England’s Howard Webb has turned in a very consistent set of performances.

Empty seats
 This is a trend of the tournament that I really haven’t heard much talk about to this point: why are there so many empty seats? I figured at first it was just because the opening round games sometimes feature dud match ups. But this empty seat phenomenon has even reared it’s head in the later rounds (Japan’s snoozer against Paraguay being the chief example).

we probably wouldn't be seeing as many empty seats at the world cup if they didn't make the tickets so damn big.

I mean this is the world cup, right? How does this happen? In Germany, there were fans coming to host cities just to be near the stadium. In the ’94 in the USA, there were fans trying to sneak into games. But in South Africa in 2010, there are games with thousands of seats sitting empty.

Perhaps this is due to the African citizens not really being able to afford the tickets, or maybe it’s due to the fact that this game was so damn far away from anyone with money. Whatever the reason though, it’s unacceptable and frankly, a little embarrassing.

This is supposed to best football in the world, right?
Wrong. And in this tournament in particular, I feel like we’re not quite getting the Grade A, world-class level of play everyone expects from the World Cup. Or at least that’s what the American media market keeps telling us to expect.

As moronic SportsCenter anchors go on calling the World Cup the footballing world’s equivalent of the Super Bowl, it has become increasingly clear that the best comparison to the super bowl is still the Champions League. And it’s not just because their formats and functions are similar.

Let’s be honest: South Africa 2010 has proven that the world’s best football can be found in the Champions League, not in the World Cup. The play has been sloppy, disconnected, and at times down right atrocious. How many crosses have been off by about a mile? How many errant passes have been made by world class players?

Maybe it’s the ball. Maybe it’s the altitude carrying the ball further than normal. Maybe it’s even those damn vuvuzela’s distracting everyone. Maybe it can be attributed to an overly-long, drawn-out club season that keeps national teams from training together and pushes players past their physical limits. But it’s probably a combination of all three. Either way, the best football has not been on display this summer.

public enemy #1

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it’s been over a week and the anger persists. every time i think about it, i still start to boil over in a fit of rage. and if you’re an american soccer fan, i don’t doubt that you feel the exact same way. and all this hate can be attibuted to just one man.

yes, i’m speaking about you, koman coulibaly.

could this man be a terrorist? i think so.

in case you’ve been living under a rock, i’m speaking about the referee in charge of last friday’s critical second round game between the USMNT and algeria.  the woman man from mali put in arguably one of the absolute worst refereeing performances in world cup history. i feel fairly certain that i am just in saying this because we actually have neutral, third party commentators agreeing with me.

while the obviously biggest blunder of the game was coulibaly’s fantom call to bring back maurice edu’s game winning goal, his performance over the entire course of the game can best be described as awful. word is that he probably won’t get to see the center of the pitch, possibly even working lines too, for the rest of this world cup. i would take that one further and say that he probably shouldn’t be allowed to referee any game, anywhere, ever again… and make him clean all of the stadium toilets in rustenburg for the rest of the world cup.

not only did he kill my team’s chances of making an incredible comeback win, but he also killed the first truly stunning match of the world cup. i’m allowed to hate someone for reasons like this, right?

if you’re sitting there shaking your head and thinking, “no, it’s not alright to hate someone,” let me paint a picture for you.

imagine a young koman coulibaly growing up in poverty stricken mali, a country with 90% of it’s inhabitants being muslim. young coulibaly loves the game of football, but can’t play because the u.s. has pulled all of the funding from his local school which supplies their equipment. resentment from the local community towards the u.s. grows, soon consuming koman. he starts hanging out with the radical islamic crowd, as they share and nurture his growing hate for our country.

and before you know it…. BAM… he’s been recruited into al-queda.

knowing of his deep-rooted love for soccer, his commanders instruct koman to begin taking referee courses. using connections, money and the fear they’ve instilled in the local governments, they eventually land koman a job working games in an african soccer league. eventually, he becomes a respected referee, ultimately being named to the “prestigious” list of world cup officials. again using their extensive network of connections, al-queda arrange for coulibaly to take charge of a match between the united states and slovenia.

far fetched? maybe. but it’s still completely possible.

how else can you possibly explain coulibaly’s actions? i dare you to find a better explanation.

karma is a bitch

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i have to admit that i have been overly focused on the USMNT in the last few weeks. it’s not like i don’t have my reasons though. i mean i am american, and i do support my own national team first and foremost. and for a change, the national team is relevant in the national sports landscape, so i’m getting way more news about the team than i had in years past.

selling your soul to the devil isn't exactly worth it now... right gio?

but there is so much else going on with the upcoming world cup, let alone the rest of the world of football, that i’m beginning to feel a little one dimensional at the moment. so let’s change it up a little.

the story of this world cup (so far) can be easily summed up with one word: snubs.

there are some ridiculously major names that have been snubbed off their world cup rosters. i wrote a piece a while back that outlined the best players that wouldn’t be going to the world cup, but that was mostly about players whose teams didn’t qualify.

well we could easily construct another list just as long with even more great players who were simply cut from their country’s world cup squad. these are players like theo walcott and adam johnson from england (i’m still raging that capello didn’t take johnson, and i think he’ll regret it when he finally puts shaun wright-phillips in), pato and ronaldinho from brazil (not surprising though), zanetti and cambiasso from argentina (this is further proof of maradona’s lack of brain), benni mccarthy for south africa, and totti and giuseppe rossi for italy.

maybe we could get an “alterna-cup” with a team of these guys playing against my original column’s roster? i would definitely watch that game.

but what really interests me about this new list is the very last name i mentioned. the exclusion of villareal striker giuseppe rossi wasn’t a huge shock, but at the same time he performed really well for italy in the confederations cup last summer. remember his goals against the USMNT? i certainly do, and also certainly remember him celebrating like a 12-year-old little girl and rubbing it in our faces.

if you were wondering if i sounded bitter in that last sentence, you’re right. but why?

well just in case you didn’t know, rossi was born in new jersey to italian parents. after being snubbed by the US olympic development program at the state level (take this time to un-swallow your tongue), gio used his dual citizenship with italy to represent italians at the u-16 through u-21 levels. he’s also one of the hottest properties in europe right now, and i would be shocked if the yellow submarines don’t cash in on him this summer.

his desire to play for the full azzuri team was so strong that he turned down a chance to play with the USMNT at the 2006 world cup. needless to say, we seriously dropped the ball at the beginning of his career.

but his decision to turn down his birth nation left me hating him just a little bit… at least as a person. on the pitch, i think he’s a fantastic footballer and the most talented player our country has ever produced (sorry landon and clint… perform like he does at the level he does, and i’ll reconsider).

and that’s what really chaps my ass about the entire situation. you see, rossi is currently a fringe player for the italians. he’s still young (only 23) and has a fantastic opportunity to advance his game and make it into the 2014 tournament and beyond. but that’s assuming that another young player doesn’t crop up between now and then and steal his place, which is a very real possibility.

had he played for the US, he would be a guaranteed starter and one of the biggest stars of the show. we wouldn’t have to be freaking out about charlie davies not making the squad if that were the case. he would have gotten to play in probably three world cups, maybe even four. and if playing in the world cup is the ultimate goal, then his ship could possibly have sailed.

i do get why he did it, though. and i doubt that playing in a world cup is his primary motivation. if i could, i would rather play for a world class national side that has a chance to win world cups. the US is still years away from being considered that class of a team.

but i can still feel bitter, because he turned us down like a jerk.

so that’s why when i saw that rossi didn’t make italy’s final 23-man squad, i couldn’t help but smile. i know i should probably feel a little bad for him, as i would certainly feel crushed if i were in his position. but turning your back on my national team is something that i can’t exactly forget.

karma is a bitch sometimes, and i’m sure rossi is feeling the burn right now.

enjoy your couch like the rest of us, gio. and when you watch the USMNT play, i hope that you have a tiny voice in the back of your head saying, “what if… what if…”

the missing

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it’s the game’s biggest stage, and that stage features the world’s biggest stars. well, most of them anyway.

every four year’s, hundreds of millions of adoring fans to watch the brightest stars of football shine during the world cup. unfortunately, some of those star names don’t get the final invite to the the big ball because their team suck, or their team is a little unlucky, or their coach simply won’t bring them along.

whatever the case may be, south africa 2010 will be devoid of some of the best players in the world. it’s kind of like kanye west not being at the grammy’s; you know he’s talented enough to be there, but he just hasn’t earned it.

ibrahimovic will have some excellent company with which to watch the world cup on the tube this summer.

in fact, we came really, really close to almost having the two best players in the world in messi and ronaldo due to their teams drastically underperforming in qualification. luckily, by some divine influence, both of them stumbled their way into the tournament, sparing fifa some major embarrassment.

but we’re not here to talk about who squeaked their way into the tournament. let’s talk about the best players who had the door slammed into their face.

zlatan ibrahimovic - sweden / barcelona
arguably the biggest name on this list, it’s really not that surprising that big swede isn’t booking his flight to south africa. despite zlatan’s obvious talent, can you name a single other player of true quality in the swedish ranks? i sure can’t. and considering that ibra can’t seem to decide if he actually wants to play for the national team, he’s not exactly going to be the one to lead the charge to the finals.

ryan giggs – wales / manchester united
while giggsy’s younger, speedier red devils teammate antonio valencia might be the better player at this point (debatable), i’m going to go with the wise, old welshman for this list. why? two reasons: 1) despite a glittering club career, giggs has never made an appearance at the world cup finals as wales are confined to minnow status, and 2) at the ripe age of 36 he is still one of the most dangerous and creative players in the EPL. i know my praise won’t mask his disappointment of never making it to the big dance, but he deserves the nod either way.

roman pavlyuchenko – russia / tottenham
even though he’s been buried on the bench for a majority of the season at white hart lane, pav’s recent form is hard to ignore. with five goals in his last three games, it’s no wonder former russia manager gus hiddink wanted pav in form for their qualification campaign… unfortunately for roman and russia, he wasn’t.

edin dzeko – bosnia / wolfsburg
so when you play for bosnia, qualifying for the world cup is about as likely as slobodan milošević not commiting genocide. despite making it to the finals in germany four years ago under the banner of serbia & montenegro, the newly independent serbian side is just not quite as solid. however, the future is bright for serbs. led by dzeko, who is one of the most sought-after strikers in the game, they should be considered a threat during the 2012 euro qualification process.

stephen ireland – ireland / manchester city
when the irish were knocked out of the world cup by thierry henryy’s infamous handball assist in the waning moments of their second leg qualification play-off with france, it plunged a country already renown for their heavy drinking into a drunken furor. so close but so far, as the saying goes. and the fact that they made it so far without the nations best player should be a testament to the team’s strength. the mercurial stephen ireland of manchester city has been in personal exile from the irish national team for some time now, and my guess is he would have continued it even if they had qualified.

antonio cassano – italy / sampdoria
what makes cassano different than everyone else on this list? his national team is qualified for south africa, yet he won’t be making the trip this summer with the azzuri. after tumultuous spells at roma and real madrid, the oft controversial cassano has found his form in sampdoria, prompting numerous calls from the media for his return to the national team. however, italy coach marcelo lippi has thus far refused due to his reputation as a team cancer.

luka modrić - croatia / tottenham

modric seems shocked that his croatia didn't qualify... i'm shocked too.

the croatians were a shock exclusion from south africa, being the highest ranked national side not qualified for the tournament (11th as of march 2010). the absence of the spurs playmaker during qualification, due to a broken leg, likely played a part in the team’s poor results. i could have easily put a couple of the croatians on this list (niko kranjčar, dario šimić, eduardo da silva, etc.), but modrić is the engine that drives his club and country, despite being the size of your average pet hamster.

goran pandev – macedonia / inter milan
the diminutive forward has had a rough go over the last few years for both club and country. despite a tremendous goalscoring record, he was frozen out at former club lazio due to a rocky relationship with management. however, his return to inter has been fruitful with the macedonian netting three times in nine appearances. in the national team shirt, pandev shouldn’t ever expect much success as the macedonians just don’t have the infrastructure or talent to compete at an elite level.

andrei arshavin – russia / arsenal
this gunner will be one of the more notable outcasts for this summer’s main event. his flashy style and creativity made him one of the most attractive transfer targets after russia’s deep run at euro 2008. the russians are stocked full of high level talent and had an excellent manager in gus hiddink, making their absence from south africa even more surprising.

emmanuel adebayor – togo / manchester city
adebayor drives me crazy, and i often say that i don’t intend to write about him on my blog if i can help it. but there’s doubting that the city striker is one of the best strikers not making his way to the world cup finals. probably all the better for togo, seeing as how the team were brutally attacked at the africa cup of nations in angola.

honorable mention
shay given – ireland / manchester city
mikel arteta – spain / everton
petr cech – czech republic / chelsea
hamit altintop – turkey / bayern munich
antonio valencia – ecuador / manchester united
josé bosingwa – portugal / chelsea

so in short, i apparently think strikers are the only good players out there. i’m sure i’m completely missing someone on this list, but then again, this is a list of people who are missing out. if you can think of anyone i left out, feel free to share.