The first round of the FIFA World Cup 2010 has come and gone in the blink of an eye, what excitement, what passion, what a noise?? The games that have been played so far leave much to be desired, as the football seemed much rather like a timid game of "I'll attack if you attack, until then I'll just stand here and defend." Honestly that's what they were saying to each other, I've read their lips, you have to read the lips because hearing them is impossible over those vuvuzuelas!!
With none of the teams barring Germany really going out for a worthy goal filled extravaganza some neutral footballing fans, along with some offensive minded fans are beginning to grow weary. Not to worry however, the second round of matches begin this afternoon. This second round we will begin to see some more offensive minded action, as teams that are all tied up in their group will need to pull off a victory in order to keep their tournament hopes alive. With desperation and desire seeping in, the football promises to pick up, I guarantee!!
Of course for the patient, dedicated and knowledgeable footballing fans who have grown up watching this tournament and thus understand alot more about how the team strategy comes together, we understand that this is a strategic tournament.
This tournament is "THE TOURNAMENT" bar none in football. Players work their entire lives dreaming of the moment where they may represent their country in front of the entire planet, displaying their passion for the beautiful game in the only way they know how, by playing the sport that they know and love. All the players and coaches alike are also aware at how very rare this opportunity is, as the World Cup comes once every 4 years like the Olympics. Timing is everything as you can imagine, players have a limited career due to the human biological constraints.
A player peaks in performance generally in the mid to late twenties, after that its bye bye national team hello retirement. 5 years of peak performance for the average player, and perhaps 10 years of peak performance for an excellent legendary player. The timing issue once again becomes a factor in a teams calculation and selection of players. Keep in mind that a player like Ronaldinho for Brazil didn't even make the Brazilian squad selection, one can begin to draw a clearer picture of exactly how precise and at the same time delicate the process of winning a World Cup can get.
The team that holds, focuses and peaks at the right time will win. This is what separates the champions from the average team. Each and every team deserves to be there, that is certain. The qualification rounds just to qualify to enter into this tournament is a two year process which takes hard work, dedication and alot of talent. Coaching talent, player talent, physical strength and mental strength. Heck, I even read the other day that England will have their psychologist have a talk with the goaltender before making a decision on whether he is mentally fit to start another match. After that blunder of a goal vs. the United States who can blame them, at the risk of sounding arrogant, I honestly could have saved that shot.
What I see developing in the next round is more intense play, focused on grabbing the points needed to advance. The time is now or never, with many of the "Big Teams" drawing and being accused of a lack luster start, rest assured that the second round will be a more competitive affair, and third round of matches even more so. Once the "Big Teams" face elimination the game most obviously picks up to the level we are used to seeing at World Cups played before. As I mentioned timing is everything, by the way, the TIME IS NOW. With that in mind it's 2:45, 15 minutes into round two, South Africa is pressing Uruguay, now if they could just keep some of those shots down we'll see a goal in a minute.
Happy World Cup Everyone, some more videos and photos are on the way, stay posted!!
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