fifa world cup 2010: can't, mustn't, won't, might not...
Today's the day we've all been waiting for: The FIFA World Cup 2010 will start with its first group match, the Bafana Bafana of South Africa versus El Tri of Mexico. Excited? I definitely am!
Four years ago, the World Cup was hosted by Germany, and I was in the middle of my finals at my university of applied sciences, which was just my luck, really. ;) I hadn't watched football in years. When I was about fifteen, I gave up following football due to lack of friends with whom I could discuss. But this time, I had a couple of classmates who were interested, and so we met in the TV room regularly to watch the matches together. And I was completely sucked in by the sport again. Despite my studying stress, I managed to watch two matches per day (and the only game I regret missing is the legendary one between Portugal and the Netherlands), and I also passed my finals (not with the best result, but nobody cares about that now).
Back then, I had no clue about how the preparations had gone, couldn't say whether the teams were playing up to their standards, didn't have an idea who would win. (Though, honestly, Italy was a surprise, and I haven't forgiven them since.)
This time, the circumstances are different. I've followed the preparations, I know enough about most of the participating countries and their players to say that Spain is - objectively speaking - the clear favourite. Some football pundits also mentioned Brazil and Argentina, but the Brazilians are in the process of making their squad younger and things like that take time, and the Argentines had a very erratic qualifying, and on top of it they have a coach to whom showmanship is more important than the benefit of the team.
However, as jennis_footie wrote in a comment, the World Cup winner might well be the 'luckiest' team with the fewest injured stars.
Which brings me to the topic of this post. Kicker magazine published a list of players who will miss the World Cup for several reasons, and most of them are vital for their clubs. The list is two weeks old already, so I'm going to do some research and add a few players.
These players can't:
NameCountryInjuryReplacementRené AdlerGermanyshoulderHans-Jörg Butt (FC Bayern München)Simon RolfesGermanyarticular cartilage damage in his knee--Michael BallackGermanyligament ruptures--Christian TräschGermanyupper ankle joint--Heiko WestermannGermanynavicular bone fracture--Rio FerdinandEnglandligament rupture in his kneeMichael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur)David BeckhamEnglandAchilles tendon--Lassana DiarraFranceundiagnosed sickle cell anemia--Michael EssienGhanakneeKevin-Prince BoatengCarlo CostlyHondurasankle--John Obi MikelNigeriaknee operation--Salvador CabañasParaguaybullet wound in headLucas Barrios (Borussia Dortmund)José BosingwaPortugalknee operation--NaniPortugalshoulderRuben Amorim (Benfica)Marco StrellerSwitzerlandtorn muscle fibreAlbert Bunjaku (1. FC Nürnberg)Christoph SpycherSwitzerlandkneeXherdan Shaqiri (FC Basel)Ivica DragutinovićSerbiaAchilles tendon--Miroslav KarhanSlovakiaAchilles tendon--Andile JaliSouth Africaheart problems--Tae-Hwi KwakSouth KoreakneeDu-Ri Cha (SC Freiburg)
These players mustn't:
NameCountryReasonWayne BridgeEnglandJohn Terry's affair with his ex-girlfriendBradley JonesAustraliahis son is severely ill
Leon AndreasenDenmarkinjury risk, operation
These are doubtful:
NameCountryReasonDidier DrogbaIvory Coastelbow fractureGareth BarryEnglandankle troubleAshley ColeEnglandankle fractureWilliam GallasFrancecalf injuryAndrea PirloItalycalf strainMauro CamoranesiItalykneeTim BrownNew Zealandshoulder fractureArjen RobbenNetherlandsligament ruptureValon BehramiSwitzerlandthighAlexander FreiSwitzerlandankle jointMartin ŠkrtelSlovakiaankle injuryAndrés IniestaSpainthigh problems
Four years ago, the World Cup was hosted by Germany, and I was in the middle of my finals at my university of applied sciences, which was just my luck, really. ;) I hadn't watched football in years. When I was about fifteen, I gave up following football due to lack of friends with whom I could discuss. But this time, I had a couple of classmates who were interested, and so we met in the TV room regularly to watch the matches together. And I was completely sucked in by the sport again. Despite my studying stress, I managed to watch two matches per day (and the only game I regret missing is the legendary one between Portugal and the Netherlands), and I also passed my finals (not with the best result, but nobody cares about that now).
Back then, I had no clue about how the preparations had gone, couldn't say whether the teams were playing up to their standards, didn't have an idea who would win. (Though, honestly, Italy was a surprise, and I haven't forgiven them since.)
This time, the circumstances are different. I've followed the preparations, I know enough about most of the participating countries and their players to say that Spain is - objectively speaking - the clear favourite. Some football pundits also mentioned Brazil and Argentina, but the Brazilians are in the process of making their squad younger and things like that take time, and the Argentines had a very erratic qualifying, and on top of it they have a coach to whom showmanship is more important than the benefit of the team.
However, as jennis_footie wrote in a comment, the World Cup winner might well be the 'luckiest' team with the fewest injured stars.
Which brings me to the topic of this post. Kicker magazine published a list of players who will miss the World Cup for several reasons, and most of them are vital for their clubs. The list is two weeks old already, so I'm going to do some research and add a few players.
These players can't:
NameCountryInjuryReplacementRené AdlerGermanyshoulderHans-Jörg Butt (FC Bayern München)Simon RolfesGermanyarticular cartilage damage in his knee--Michael BallackGermanyligament ruptures--Christian TräschGermanyupper ankle joint--Heiko WestermannGermanynavicular bone fracture--Rio FerdinandEnglandligament rupture in his kneeMichael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur)David BeckhamEnglandAchilles tendon--Lassana DiarraFranceundiagnosed sickle cell anemia--Michael EssienGhanakneeKevin-Prince BoatengCarlo CostlyHondurasankle--John Obi MikelNigeriaknee operation--Salvador CabañasParaguaybullet wound in headLucas Barrios (Borussia Dortmund)José BosingwaPortugalknee operation--NaniPortugalshoulderRuben Amorim (Benfica)Marco StrellerSwitzerlandtorn muscle fibreAlbert Bunjaku (1. FC Nürnberg)Christoph SpycherSwitzerlandkneeXherdan Shaqiri (FC Basel)Ivica DragutinovićSerbiaAchilles tendon--Miroslav KarhanSlovakiaAchilles tendon--Andile JaliSouth Africaheart problems--Tae-Hwi KwakSouth KoreakneeDu-Ri Cha (SC Freiburg)
These players mustn't:
- Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Zanetti, Ezequiel Lavezzi (Argentina)
- Ronaldinho, Adriano, Ronaldo, Rafinha, Carlos Eduardo (Brazil)
- Thomas Hitzlsperger, Kevin Kuranyi, Andreas Beck (Germany)
- Theo Walcott, Darren Bent, Bobby Zamora (England)
- Karim Benzema, Patrick Vieira, Samir Nasri (France)
- Luca Toni, Francesco Totti, Fabio Grosso, Antonio Candreva, Nicola Legrottaglie (Italy)
- Pável Pardo (Mexico)
- Orlando Engelaar (Netherlands)
- Daniel Güiza, Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla, Álvaro Negredo, Diego López, David De Gea, Bojan Krkić (Spain)
- Benni McCarthy, Rowen Fernandez, Bryce Moon (South Africa)
- Cristian Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, Álvaro González, Jorge Martínez (Uruguay)
NameCountryReasonWayne BridgeEnglandJohn Terry's affair with his ex-girlfriendBradley JonesAustraliahis son is severely ill
Leon AndreasenDenmarkinjury risk, operation
These are doubtful:
NameCountryReasonDidier DrogbaIvory Coastelbow fractureGareth BarryEnglandankle troubleAshley ColeEnglandankle fractureWilliam GallasFrancecalf injuryAndrea PirloItalycalf strainMauro CamoranesiItalykneeTim BrownNew Zealandshoulder fractureArjen RobbenNetherlandsligament ruptureValon BehramiSwitzerlandthighAlexander FreiSwitzerlandankle jointMartin ŠkrtelSlovakiaankle injuryAndrés IniestaSpainthigh problems